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Received    iti^    /Z  187^ 


I 


REI>OIlT 


OP  THE 


COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  AFFAIES, 


MEMORIAL  OF  PORTER  C.  BLISS 


GEORGE   F.  MASTEEMAN, 


IN 


IIKLATION   TO  THEM   IMPIIISONMENT   IN   PARAGUAY. 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  MAY  5,  1870. 


WASHIKGTOl^: 

OVERNMENT    PETNTINO    OFFIOE, 
1870. 


/d^f 


¥ 


41st  Congress,  )    HOUSE  OF  REPEESENTATIVBS.    (  Report 
'Id  Session.       ]  \    No.  65. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 


May  5,  1870. — Ordered  to  be  printed  and  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 

Affairs. 


Mr.  Orth,  from  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  made  the  following 

REPORT. 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  to  whom  teas  referred  "  the  memorial  of 
Porter  C.  Bliss  and  George  F.  Masterman,  in  relation  to  their  imprison- 
ment in  Paraguay  by  the  President  of  that  republic,  and  subsequently  on 
the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp  and  the  flagship  Guerriere,  of  the  South 
Atlantic  squadron,  by  United  States  officers,'"  beg  leave  to  report : 

That,  in  pursuance  of  the  authority  conferred  upon  them  by  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  House,  of  March  19,  1809,  directino:  them  *'  to  inquire  into  all 
the  circumstances  relating  to  the  allegjed  imprisonment  of  said  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  and  into  the  conduct  of  the  late  American  minister  to  Par- 
aguay, and  of  the  officers  commanding  the  South  Atlantic  squadron 
since  the  breaking  out  of  the  Paraguayan  war,"  they  commenced  the 
examination  of  witnesses,  at  Washington  City,  on  the  30th  day  of  March, 
1809,  and  continued  such  examination  until  all  the  testimony  that  could 
then  be  conveniently  procured  had  been  taken ;  that  finding  it  necessary 
to  bring  before  them  witnesses  then  absent  from  the  United  States  on 
duty  with  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  a  sub-committee  was  appointed 
to  take  further  testimony  whenever  the  attendance  of  the  remaining 
witnesses  could  be  procured.  A  recess  was  then  tjiken  until  the  21st  of 
October,  at  which  time  Messrs.  Orth,  Wilkinson,  Swann,  and  Willard, 
members  of  the  sub-committee,  met  at  New  York  City  and  resumed  the 
examination  of  witnesses  at  that  point.  Subsequent  sessions  were  held 
in  Washiugton  City,  at  which  place  the  examination  of  witnesses  was 
concluded.  The  testimony  thus  taken,  covering  all  the  points  named 
in  the  resolution  of  the  House,  accompanies  this  report.  The  com- 
mittee will  state  with  reference  to  this  testimony  that  much  of  it  is  of  a 
conflicting  character,  and  reveals  a  feeling  of  bitterness  and  animosity 
between  different  officers  of  the  navy,  and  between  the  naval  and  diplo- 
matic officers  of  the  government,  connected  with  the  matters  under 
investigation,  not  creditable  to  the  parties  concerned,  and  subversive  of 
that  efiftciency  in  the  public  service  which  the  government  has  a  right  to 
expect  from  its  officials. 

In  discharging  their  duty  the  coinmittee  have  allowed  to  the  parties 
implicated,  the  utmost  latitude  in  eliciting  all  the  facts  which  might  in 
any  manner  be  relevant  to  the  ])oints  at  issue  j  have  endeavored  to 
reconcile,  wherever  practicable,  all  conflicting  testimony,  and  to  arrive 
at  their  conclusions  uninfluenced  by  the  feelings  or  prejudices  of  those 
whose  official  conduct  hj^s  been  the  subject  of  this  investigation. 


n  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

As  the  committee  accompany  this  report  with  all  the  testimony 
brought  before  them,  they  deem  it  necessary  only  to  present  a  summary 
of  the  most  prominent  facts  in  the  case. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1801,  Charles  A.  Washburn,  esq.,  was  appointed 
by  the  United  States  its  minister  resident  to  the  republic  of  Paraguay, 
and  proceeded  soon  thereafter  to  the  government  to  which  he  was 
accredited  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties.  He 
remained  at  Asuncion,  the  capital  of  Paraguay,  discharging  his  duties 
to  the  entire  satisfiiction  of  both  governments  until  January,  1865, 
when,  in  pursuance  of  leave  of  absence  previously  obtained  from  our 
government,  he  returned  to  the  United  States. 

On  the  expiration  of  his  leave  of  absence,  early  in  September  of  the 
same  year,  he  left  the  United  States,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  to  return 
to  his  post  at  Asuncion.  Some  time  in  March  or  April,  1865,  and  after 
Mr.  Washburn  had  left  Paraguay,  a  war  broke  out  between  Paraguay, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Brazil,  Uruguay,  iind  the  Argentine  Confederationy 
known  as  the  ^'  allied  forces,"  on  the  other  hand. 

On  Mr.  Washburn's  arrival  at  Rio  early  in  October,  1865,  he  ascer- 
tained that  in  consequence  of  such  war,  and  the  blockade  of  the  allies 
in  the  Plata,  all  ordinary  communication  with  Paraguay  was  cut  off,  and 
that  he  could  not,  in  all  probaljility,  reach  Asuncion  without  the  aid  of 
some  vessel  or  vessels  belonging  to  our  South  Atlantic  squadron. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1865,  Admiral  Godon  assumed  command  of  this- 
squadron — consisting  of  the  following  vessels,  Susquehanna,  (the  flag- 
ship,) Juniata,  Kipsic,  Shawmut,  Wasp,  and  Shamokin — which  was  kept 
in  the  distant  waters  of  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean  at  a  heavy  expense 
to  the  government,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  over  and  protecting  all 
American  interests  and  sustaining  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  national 


It  was  the  duty  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  proceed  to  his  destination  with- 
out unreasonable  delay,  and  this  duty  was  not  rendered  less  imperative 
by  the  fact  that  the  nation  to  which  he  was  accredited  was  engaged  in 
war,  in  the  progress  or  result  of  which,  our  government  might  have 
interests  requiring  his  attention.  Fully  appreciating  this,  he  lost  na 
time  after  his  arrival  in  Rio  in  calling  upon  Admiral  Godon  and  request- 
ing of  him  the  use  of  some  vessel  of  his  squadron  to  enable  him  to 
reach  Asuncion.  The  committee  have  no  doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of 
this  request.  The  various  departments  of  our  government,  while  in  a 
measure  independent  of  each  other,  are  nevertheless  parts  of  one  general 
system.  Although  attached  to  the  different  branches  of  the  public 
service,  they  are  officers  of  the  United  States,  and,  as  such,  under  obliga- 
tions to  discharge  their  duties  in  such  manner  as  shall  best  promote  the 
public  harmony  and  efficiency.  The  officers  of  one  department  are 
under  obligations  to  render  such  assistance  to  the  officers  of  any  other 
department  as  will  facilitate  and  render  effective  the  public  service, 
when  such  assistance  can  be  rendered  without  interfering  with  specific 
orders  or  more  pressing  duties.  .Applying  these  positions  to  the  case 
under  consideration,  we  hold  that  it  was  the  duty  of  Admiral  Godon  to 
furnish  the  requisite  transportation  to  Mr.  Washburn,  provided  he  could 
do  so  without  an  interference  with,  or  violation  of,  express  orders  from 
his  department. 

The  evidence  discloses  how  the  admiral  received  and  treated  this 
request  of  Mr.  Washburn,  the  commencement  of  their  differences  being 
thus  detailed  in  Mr.  Washburn's  testimony : 

I  started  again  in  SeptemLer  from  New  York  to  go  back  with  my  wife,  and  reached 
Rio  Janeiro,  I  think,  the  27th  of  September,  or,  at  any  rate,  near  the  1st  'of  October. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  HI 

I  saw  Admiral  Godon  the  same  day.  He  was  then  stationed  at  Rio.  I  was  on  board 
his  flag-ship.  I  hatl  a  great  deal  of  conversation  with  him  at  different  times  in  regard  to 
the  situation  of  affairs,  and  from  other  sources  learned  that  in  all  probability  I  should 
not  be  able  to  get  up  to  Paraguay  without  the  aid  of  a  gunboat ;  that  all  communica- 
tion otherwise  had  been  stopped.  Admiral  Godon  remarked  that  he  had  no  suitable 
vessel  to  send  up  the  river,  but  that  the  steamer  Wasp  was  expected  very  shortly  ;  in 
the  meanwhile  he  said  he  was  going  down  to  St.  Catharines,  which  is  four  hundred 
miles  down  the  coast. 

I  remained  at  Rio  waiting  for  the  Wasp  to  come,  in  order  to  ascertain  about  what 
time  she  might  be  expecte<i  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  when  I  could  calculate  upon 
being  able  to  leave  and  go  up  to  Paraguay.  I  waited  there  accordingly  until  the 
admiral  had  gone  down  to  St.  Catharines  and  returne<l.  In  the  meantime,  while  he 
was  absent  I  think,  the  Wasp  arrived,  and  as  he  said  she  must  have  some  improve- 
ments or  repairs  made  upon  her  that  would  take  some  time,  I  took  the  first  steamer 
after  her  arrival,  according  to  my  recollection,  and  went  down  to  Buenos  Ayres.  I 
took  an  inferior  st^^amer  because  I  had  been  delayed  there  longer  than  I  expectetl.  The 
admiral  told  me  before  I  left  that  he  should  soon  follow,  in  ten  or  twelve  days  at  least. 
I  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  4lh  of  November,  and  it  was  about  Christmas  before 
I  heard  of  the  admiral's  arrival  at  Montevideo. 

This  manifest  indifference  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon  to  the 
reasonable  request  of  an  American  minister  continued  for  a  considerable 
period  of  time,  and  finally  resulted  in  excuses  which  soon  became  as 
numerous  as  they  were  frivolous. 

Among  the  earliest  of  the  reasons  assigned  was  the  want  of  sufficient 
fuel  for  the  vessel  which  might  be  detailed  on  this  .service,  and  his 
inability  to  procure  it. 

That  this  was  a  mere  subterfuge,  appears  most  conclusively  by  the 
testimony  of  the  following  witnesses. 

Captain  Crosby  of  the  ''  Shamokin"  testifies  as  follows  : 

By  Mr.  Okth  :  » 

Question.  Did  you  have  plenty  of  fuel  ? — Answer.  I  ha<l. 

Q.  Where  did  you  get  it  T — A.'  I  filled  up  with  coal  at  Buenos  Ayres  before  starting, 
and  replenished  at  Rosario,  about  three  hundred  miles  distant.  The  squadron  obtaintnl 
fuel  at  Rosario.    I  could  also  have  obtained  coal  at  Corrientes,  and  at  Parana. 

Q.  Did  you  accompany  the  admiral  in  his  visit  to  Un[uiza? — A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Where  were  you  at  that  time  ? — A.  I  was  either  at  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres, 
I  do  not  remember  which. 

Q.  You  knew  of  this  visit  ? — A.  I  remember  his  making  a  visit  at  that  time.  I  re- 
member Mr.  Kirk  speaking  to  me  about  it. 

By  the  Chaikman  : 

Q.  Where  was  the  general  depot  of  coal  for  the  South  Atlantic  squadron  T — A.  At 
Rio  Janeiro.  I  also  purchased  coal  at  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres.  Montevideo  is  a 
coaling  port  where  there  is  always  a  large  supply  on  hand,  and  where  the  United 
States  vessels  got  their  supply  wlien  in  the  river.  I  also  purchased  coal  at  Rosario, 
three  hundred  miles  up  the  river,  and  at  Corrientes  when  I  was  at  that  port. 

Q.  How  much  additional  coal  would  it  have  required  to  have  taken  your  vessel  up 
the  river  more  than  to  have  lain  still  ? — A.  I  consumed  no  coal  while  lying  still,  except 
for  condensing  water. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  consumption  of  coal  for  such  a  trip  ? — A.  I  consumed  about 
two  hundred  tons  from  going  up  and  down. 

Q.  What  did  you  have  to  pay  for  the  coal  there  ? — A.  Nineteen  dollars  per  ton  at 
Corrientes.  I  have  obtained  coal  at  Montevideo  for  about  $13.  I  have  purchased  coal 
at  Buenos  Ayres  at  various  prices,  ranging  from  $19  to  $30  per  ton.  At  Montevideo  I 
could  have  got  the  coal  at  |13  a  ton,  which  was  only  one  hundred  miles  distant  and 
would  have  tilled  up  fairly,  but  my  orders  were  to  fill  up  at  Buenos  Ayres ;  $13  is  the 
regular  price  for  supplying  United  States  vessels  by  the  coal  agents  at  Montevideo. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 

Q.  Which  consumed  the  most  coal,  the  Wasp  or  the  Shamokin  ?— A.  The  Shamokin. 

Q.  How  much  more  ? — A.  I  might  safely  say  fifty  tons  more  for  the  trip. 

Q.  Was  there  any  expense  attending  your  trip  except  that  of  fuel? — A.  None  other. 

Q.  If  you  had  received  at  any  time  a  direct  order  to  facilitate  Mr.  Washburn  on  his 
way  to  Paraguay,  would  the  want  of  coal  be  any  obstacle  in  the  way  ? — A.  Not  the 
slight^Ki ;  1  had  no  trouble  at  all  about  coal.    At  times  coal  was  scarce  up  the  river, 


IV  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

but  I  never  thought  of  that  as  a  serious  objection.  Montevideo  is  the  general  depot 
for  coal.  There  is  always  a  large  supply  of  coal  there.  I  have  here  a  letter  among 
the  papers  appeu<led  to  this  statement,  written  in  Buenos  Ayres,  one  hundred  miles 
oft',  on  that  subject.  At  any  time  within  a  couple  of  weeks  at  the  farthest,  you  could 
get  all  the  coal  you  might  wish  at  Buenos  Ayres. 
Q.  So  you  considered  that  excuse  as  amounting  to  nothing  ?— A.  Nothing  at  all. 

Captain  Patterson  testifies : 

There  was  about  one  thousand  tons  of  anthracite  coal  at  St.  Catharine's  belonging 
to  our  government. 
There  was  a  very  large  depot  of  coal  at  Montevideo. 

Mr.  Washburn  also  testifies  in  reference  to  the  supply  of  coal  as  fol- 
lows : 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 
Question.  What  do  you  know,  of  your  own  personal  knowledge,  in  reference  to  the 
;supply  of  coal  at  Montevideo,  and  in  points  on  the  Paraguay  or  Uruguay  Rivers  ? — An- 
swer. I  have  been  up  and  down  the  river  a  great  many  times  from  Paraguay.  There 
was  always  a  large  quantity  of  coal  at  Montevideo ;  as  much  so,  according  to  my  be- 
lief, as  there  is  at  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  or  Boston.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  coal- 
dealers  there  to  keep  a  supply  equal  to  any  emergency.  Sometimes  the  supply  becomes 
short,  but  it  is  only  for  a  few  days.  There  is  coal  in  abundance  at  Buenos  Ayres,  at 
Montevideo,  and  then  at  Rosario,  three  hundred  miles  above  Buenos  Ayres,  there  is 
always  coal.  I  think  I  never  passed  Rosario  in  a  steamer  (and  I  have  passed  it  fifteen 
'Or  twenty  times)  that  the  steamer  did  not  take  in  coal  there  ;  I  do  not  remember  of 
there  ever  being  any  scarcity.  The  supply  there  was,  I  think,  of  English  coal.  At 
Parana,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  Rosario,  there  is  another  coal  station ; 
and  there  is  stiU  another  point  between  that  and  Corrientes. 

Pending  the  controversy  in  reference  to  the  supply  of  coal,  which  had 
become  publicly  known  to  the  people  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo, 
causing  remarks  not  at  all  flattering  to  our  government,  an  American 
citizen  residing  in  Buenos  Ayres,  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Hale,  desirous  of  re- 
moving the  admiral's  excuse,  and  enabling  our  minister  to  reach  his  des- 
tination, "  asked  the  admiral  if  he  would  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  Para- 
guay if  American  citizens  there  would  furnish  the  coal,"  and  the  admi- 
ral's reason  for  non-compliance  then  was  "  that  he  did  not  wish  to  send 
a  vessel,  because  the  men  would  suffer  from  the  climate."  The  evidence 
discloses  that  there  was  as  little  reliance  to  be  i)laced  in  this  as  in  the 
alleged  trouble  in  reference  to  fuel.  Mr.  Kirk,  our  minister  resident  at 
the  Argentine  Eepublic,  testifies  that,  at  the  time  the  admiral  made  this 
excuse,  *'  it  was  in  the  winter  season  and  not  the  unhealthy  season  of 
the  year ;"  that  he  ^'  knew  several  men  connected  with  the  fleet  wanted 
to  go  up  to  Asuncion — were  anxious  to  go ;  that  Captain  Walker  and 
Captain  Wells  were  both  anxious  to  go  uj)." 

Notwithstanding  the  scarcity  of  coal,  which  the  admiral  alleged  as  an 
excuse  for  thus  preventing  Mr.  Washburn's  early  departure,  he,  on  a 
very  slight  pretext  undertook  a  voyage  which  probably  consumed  more 
coal  than  was  necessary  to  place  Mr.  Washburn  at  Asuncion.  The  ad- 
miral relates  this  in  his  own  testimony  as  follows  : 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Question.  When  you  previously  went  to  St.  Catharines,  what  was  your  object  ? — 
Answer.  I  went  to  look  after  some  coal,  to  exercise,  and  for  one  other  thing,  which  I 
will  state.  Admiral  Bell  was  expected  daily  at  Rio.  He  was  mysenipr  in  lineal  rank, 
but  I  had  been  promoted  in  advance  of  him.  I  carried  a  blue  flag,  and  under  the  reg- 
ulations I  should  have  been  obliged  to  wear  my-  blue  flag  in  his  presence,  and  he  to 
wear  the  red,  although  he  was  my  senior.  I  thought  that  that  would  not  be  agreeable 
to  him,  and  that  there  might  be  some  little  contention  about  it ;  and  to  avoid  any 
naval  complication  of  that  kind  between  offieers,  I  sailed  from  Rio,  and  did  avoid  it. 
When  Admiral  Bell  was  afterward  promoted  for  war  services,  he  took  his  proper  place, 
and  was  placed  above  me. 

By  Mr.  Sheldon  : 
''  Q.  It  was  out  of  courtesy  to  his  feelings  ? — A.  Entirely  so.     I  knew  the  sensitiveneaa 
in  regard  to  this  matter  of  rank.    I  was  on  my  own  station,  and  did  not  want  to  haul 
down  my  flag  in  violation  of  the  regulations,  nor  did  my  officers  wish  me  to  do  so.    It 
was  a  matter  of  naval  delicacy. 


•PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  *     V 

On  another  occasion  the  admiral  performed  a  "pleasure  trip^'  that  con- 
sumed more  time  and  coal  than  were  required  of  him  by  Mr.  Washburn. 
The  circumstances  were  these:  General  Urquiza,  formerly  president  of 
the  Argentine  Eepublic,  resided  in  the  interior  of  the  country  distant 
several  hundred  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Admiral  Godon  informed 
this  committee  that  he  felt  ^Hhat  it  was  his  duty  to  pay  his  respects  to 
him."  Urquiza,  though  a  man  of  wealth  and  importance,  was  at  that 
time  in  private  life  and  ^*  reported  as  hostile  to  the  Argentine  govern- 
ment." Our  government  then  was,  and  still  is,  on  the  most  friendly 
terms  with  the  Argentine  Eepublic,  and  represented  then,  as  now,  by 
our  minister  resident,  Mr.  Kirk.  So  soon  as  Mr.  Kirk  was  informed  of 
the  admiral's  intention  to  make  this  visit  to  Urquiza,  he  remonstrated 
with  him,  stating,  among  other  things,  "that  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  the  Argentine  government  being  friendly, 
I  thought  such  a  visit  would  be  interpreted  by  that  government  as  un- 
friendly in  its  nature,  and  I  thought  he  ought  not  to  make  the  visit." 

Mr.  Kirk  adds  further : 

He  expressed,  seemingly  with  some  feeling,  the  opinion  that  he  was  under  no  obli- 
gations to  me.  I  told  him  I  was  quite  aware  that  I  had  no  right  to  control  his  move- 
ments, but  that  I  thought  when  a  minister  had  resided  for  several  years  in  a  place,  that 
an  admiral  coming  to  that  place  could  properly  consult  the  minister  in  regard  to  any 
snch  movement ;  that  the  minister  would  be  more  likely  to  know  the  condition  of 
alfairs  and  to  judge  of  the  eflfects  of  a  particular  line  of  policy  than  a  man  who  had  just 
come  to  the  country. 

Admiral  Godon,  in  his  testimony,  thus  alludes  to  this  matter- 

Mr.  Kirk  did  not  want  me  to  go  and  visit  Urquiza,  who  was  an  influential  man,  but 
not  holding  a  position  in  the  government.  I  thought  that  Urquiza  would  be  the  great 
man  of  the  country,  and  that  there  was  no  reason  why  I  should  not  go  and  see  a  man 
of  his  immense  influence.  But  Mr.  Kirk  seemed  to  think  it  would  not  be  pleasant  and 
agreeable  to  the  government,  and  wrote  me  a  note  to  that  effect.  I  differed  from  him 
entirely,  and  I  wrote  an  answer,  in  which  I  stated  that  I  guessed  he  (Kirk)  would  And 
that  I  scarcely  needed  a  dry  nurse.  I  did  not  go  because  of  this  little  mishap.  But  I 
afterwards  did  go  and  have  an  interview  with  nim,  as  I  felt  that  it  was  my  duty  to  pay 
my  respects  to  him. 

That  this  excuse  of  an  "insufficiency  of  coaJ"  was  a  mere  evasion  of 
the  admiral,  is  furthermore  apparent  from  his  own  testimony,  viz : 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  that  no  coal  was  to  be  had  on  the  river  except  from  the  Brazilian  squad- 
ron. Were  there  not  private  coal  stations  at  Rosario,  Parana,  and  Corrientes  ? — A.  I 
do  not  know  that  there  were ;  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  them. 

Q.  You  allege  the  expense  of  the  coal  as  a  reason  for  not  sending  Mr.  V\f''ashburn  up  ? — 
A.  One  of  the  reasons. 

Q.  As  a  reason,  not  the  only  reason.  Was  any  proposition  ever  made  to  you  by  any 
private  person  to  furnish  the  coal  gratuitously  f— If  so,  what  was  your  reply  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir,  there  was.  After  I  had  settled  in  my  mind  that  I  could  not  go,  Mr.  Hale,  one  of 
the  oldest  merchants  in  Buenos  Ayres,  came  to  see  me.  He  is  an  American,  and  a  very 
respectable  man.  He  mentioned  that  if  that  were  the  only  difficulty  in  my  way,  he 
would  furnish  coal  to  go  to  Corrientes.  I  replied,  "  Mr.  Hale,  if  it  is  necessary  and 
proper  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  Corrientes,  I  will  burn  all  the  coal  in  my  squadron. 
But  as  there  is  no  interest  in  the  matter,  1  do  not  see  why  I  should  burn  any  coal  to 
send  him  up  there." 

The  question  of  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  sending  Mr.  Washburn 
to  Paraguay  was  not  one  which  the  admiral  Vas  called  upon  to  discuss. 
That  question  had  been  settled  by  the  government,  in  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Washburn. 

Finding  the  excuses  of  "want  of  fuel"  and  the  " unheal thiness  of  the 
season"  to  be  rather  insufficient  for  the  course  he  had  adopted,  the  ad- 
miral sought  another,  in  the  "blockade  of  the  river  by  the  allies."  He 
could  not  take  upon  himself  "so  grave  a  responsibility  as  would  be  in- 


VI  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.    ' 

volved  in  forcing  the  blockade;"  "it  would  be  an  act  of  war;"  it  "an- 
noyed" him  verj^  much;  true,  it  was  "unfriendly"  on  the  part  of  the 
"allies,"  but  then  he  must  "respect  it;"  and  yet  the  sequel  shows  that 
this  excuse  was  as  groundless  as  the  rest,  and  that  the  admiral  did 
eventually  "  force  the  blockade,"  and  pass  Mr.  Washburn  "through  the 
military  lines"  of  the  allies,  all  upon  his  own  responsibility,  and  there 
was  no  war,  nor  the  semblance  of  it,  and  no  trouble  anywhere  but  in 
his  own  imagination. 

Let  us  review  briefly  this  question  of  blockade  by  the  allies. 

Our  government  has  at  all  times  occupied  a  position  of  strict  neutrality 
toward  all  the  parties  involved  in  this  unfortunate  and  desolating  war, 
then  and  still  existing  between  the  governments  of  Paraguay  and  the 
allies ;  and  at  the  date  of  these  transactions  had  diplomatic  representa- 
tives accredited  to  each  of  said  governments.  Occupying  this  attitude, 
we  had  a  right  to  expect  and,  if  necessary,  to  exact  from  each  of  said  gov- 
ernments the  consideration  due  to  such  friendly  and  neutral  position. 

The  right  of  embassy  is  regarded  by  all  civilized  nations  as  sacred 
and  inviolable ;  it  is  the  means  which  enables  them  to  hold  communion 
with  each  other,  and  hence  all  are  interested  in  maintaining  it. 

This  includes,  of  course,  the  right  of  "innocent  passage"  of  a  minister 
over  the  territory  of  another  nation  on  his  way  to  the  government  to 
which  he  is  accredited,  and  this  right  of  passage  cannot  with  impunity 
be  hindered  or  obstructed.  These  principles  of  public  law  are  well 
known  and  recognized,  and  should  be  understood  by  those  who  at  any 
time  may  be  called  upon  to  enforce  them. 

In  addition  to  this  right,  existing  by  general  law,  we  have  a  treaty 
with  the  Argentine  Eepublic,  ratified  on  the  30th  of  December,  1854, 
the  sixth  article  of  which  provides : 

If  it  should  happen  (which  God  forhid)  that  war  should  break  out  between  any  of 
the  states,  republics,  or  provinces,  of  the  river  Plata  or  its  confluents,  the  navigaiion 
of  the  rivers  Parana  andUrugnay  shall  remain  free  to  the  merchant  flag  of  all  nations,  except- 
ing in  what  may  relate  to  munitions  of  war,  such  as  arms  of  all  kinds,  gunpowder, 
lead,  and  cannon  balls.  j 

As  already  stated,  we  had  our  diplomatic  representatives  accredited* 
to  and  present  at  the  governments  of  Brazil,  Uruguay,  and  the  Argen- 
tine Republic,  at  the  date  of  these  transactions,  and  also  prior  thereto 
at  the  government  of  Paraguay.  Our  minister  at  the  latter  government 
had  left  his  position  temporarily,  with  the  assent  of  his  government, 
and  was  now  seeking  to  return. 

The  allies,  composed  of  Brazil,  Uruguay,  and  the  Argentine  Eepub- 
lic, under  these  circumstances,  had  no  right  or  pretense  of  right  to  offer 
any  hinderance,  obstruction,  or  delay  to  our  minister  in  his  efforts  to 
return  over  their  territory  to  Asuncion. 

The  passage  of  an  American  vessel,  with  our  minister  to  Paraguay  on 
board,  from  Buenos  Ayres  or  Montevideo,  up  the  Plata  and  Paraguay 
■  Eivers  to  Asuncion,  through  the  blockading  squadron  of  the  allies, 
could,  under  no  state  of  circumstances,  be  considered  a  w^arlike  or  even 
unfriendly  act ;  to  offer  any  hinderance  or  obstruction  to  such  passage 
would  be  both  unfriendly  and  warlike. 

The  circumstances  connected  with  the  refusal  of  the  allies  to  permit 
the  passage  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  A^suncion  are  fully  and  minutely  de- 
tailed in  the  evidence  accomx^anying  this  report. 

The  motive  of  the  allies  in  this  matter  is  very  apparent.  They  were 
at  war  with  Paraguay,  and  believed  the  return  of  Mr.  Washburn  to 
Asuncion  would  afford  moral  support  to  the  Paraguayans,  by  giving 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  Vn 

them  assurauce  that  in  their  unequal  struggle  with  the  allies  they  had 
not  been  utterly  abandoned. 

These  and  probably  other  reasons  actuated  the  allies,  and  they  must 
have  been  mjich  gratified  as  well  as  strengthened  in  their  course  when 
they  found  that  Admiral  Godon  coincided  with  their  views,  and  held 
that  they  had  a  right  thus  to  impede  the  passage  of  our  minister. 

The  admiral  testifies  very  fully  on  this  branch  of  the  investigation, 
maintaining  the  legality  of  the  blockade,  and  his  desire  to  respect  it. 
He  .said: 

I  had  no  interest  in  breaking  that  blockade,  or  do  anything  that  might  involve  a 
question  of  war  with  the  United  States;  and  I  left  with  the  full  determination  that  I 
would  not  break  that  blockivde. 

Again: 

I  said  to  Admiral  Tamandar^  that  when  that  blockade  is  established  at  Tres  Bocas 
I  will  acknowledge  it.  I  told  him  (Octaviana,  the  Brazilian  minister)!  would  acknowl- 
edge that  blockade ;  that  I  could  not  resist  it ;  and  I  told  him  more :  that  whatever 
ipart  he  conquered  I  would  acknowledge  the  blockade  there,  but  that  he  must  conquer 
it.    But  I  did  not  claim  the  right  to  have  Mr.  Washburn  go  through. 

Again  the  admiral  says: 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson: 

Question.  Did  you  or  did  you  not  think  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 
had  no  interests  that  required  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  up  there  at  all;  did  you  entertain 
that-  idea? — Answer.  I  knew  that  there  were  no  American  interests  there  at  all,  nor  any 
mercantile  interests,  so  far  as  the  American  merchants  were  concerned. 

Q.  Did  that  knowledge  influence  your  action  at  all  in  this  matter? — A.  Very  much, 
in  connection  with  the  blockade;  that  was  the  point  in  my  mind. 

(^.  Did  you  think,  as  a  naval  officer,  it  was  your  business  to  judge  whether  the 
United  States  government  had  interests  there  that  made  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Washburn 
to  i)rocoed  there  ? — A.  Yes ;  I  knew  there  were  no  interests  there. 

Q.  But  the  government  having  appointed  Mr.  Washburn  minister  to  Paraguay,  and 
he  having  reached  your  8qua<lron  on  his  way  there,  did  you  regard  it  as  your  province 
as  a  naval  officer  to  say  whether  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  go  up  there,  or  not, 
as  an  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Would  you  not  think  it  was  Mr.  Washburn's  province  to  determine  that  question, 
whether  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  up,  or  not,  rather  than  the  admiral's  ? — A.  I 
think  so ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Yet  I  see  by  the  testimony  of  Governor  Kirk  that  you  gave  as  a  reason  for  your 
course  that  you  did  not  think  it  was  necessary  that  the  United  States  should  have  any 
minister  up  there? — A.  I  had  the  view  that  it  was  my  business  to  judge  about  taking 
him,  not  about  his  going  there.     I  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  going  there. 

Q.  If  you  had,  in  your  official  capacity,  thought  it  was  necessary  for  the  interests  of 
the  United  States  that  he  should  be  taken  up  there,  would  you  have  regarded  it  as 
your  duty  to  have  detailed  a  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  taking  him  up  there,  and  even 
.  to  have  broken  the  blockade,  if  necessary,  that  the  goverameut  should  have  a  minister 
there ;"  would  you  have  detailed  a  vessel  to  help  him  through  ? — A.  I  would  not  have 
broken  a  blockade  because  there  might  be  particular  interests  there,  without  I  knew 
what  those  interests  were. 

Q.  But  if  you  had  regarded  it  for  the  interests  of  the  United  States? — A.  I  could 
not  have  broken  the  blockade  under  those  circumstances.  It  involved  a  great  many 
•questions.  I  should  have  been  verj^  careful  about  taking  action  unless  my  mind  was 
very  clear  that  the  interests  were  equal  to  bringing  on  a  war. 

These  were  the  views  of  the  admiral  and  the  allies  in  reference  to  this 
blockade. 

They  were  not  approved  by  our  government,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
most  emphatically  and  i^eremptorily  repudiated,  as  appears  by  the  fol- 
lowing dispatches  of  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward.  On  the 
16th  of  April,  186G,  Mr.  Seward  wrote  to  Mr.  Washburn  as  follows: 

Department  of  State, 

Washingiou,  April  16,  1866. 

Sir:  Your  dispatch  of  the  8th  of  February  last  has  beeu  received.  I  thank  you  for 
the  very  interesting  information  which  it  gives  concerning  the  military  situation  m 
the  war  between  the  several  allied  powers  and  the  republic  of  Paraguay. 

The  President  is  suqirised  to  learn  that  you  have  been  hindered  and  delayed  m  the 


VIII  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

military  lines  of  the  allies  on  your  return  to  Asuncion.  That  delay  is  inconvenient 
and  is  deemed  not  altogether  courteous.  The  President  desires  to  regard  it  as  a  not 
unfriendly  proceeding. 

Should  the  hindrance  still  continue,  you  will  address  yourself  at  jonce  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  allied  forces  and  to  the  president  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  You  will 
inform  them  that  you  are  proceeding  as  resident  minister  for  the  United  States  at  Asun- 
cion ;  that  you  are  charged  with  no  duties  that  are  inconsistent  with  the  neutrality 
which  the  United  States  has  maintained  in  the  war  in  which  the  allies  are  engaged 
with  Paraguay.  You  will  ask  them,  in  the  name  of  this  government,  to  give  you^ 
together  with  your  family  and  domestics,  safe  conduct  through  their  military  lines» 
Should  the  hindrance  not  cease  within  a  reasonable  time,  you  will  then  deliver  a  copy 
of  these  instructions,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  accompanying  letter  of  instructions- 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Admiral  Godon,  and  will  proceed  in  such  vessel^ 
under  such  convoy  as  he  shall  furnish,  to  the  place  of  your  destination. 
I  am,  sir,  &c., 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

On  the  26tli* of  April,  1866,  Mr.  Seward  wrote  to  Mr.  Kirk  as  follows:: 

We  sincerely  hope  to  learn  that  the  president  of  the  Argentine  Republic  has  neither 
ordered  nor  approved  of  this  hindrance  to  the  passage  of  the  diplomatic  representative 
of  the  United  States,  so  disrespectful  in  itself  and  so  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  law  of  na- 
tions. You  will  bring  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  ask  an 
explanation. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  1866,  Mr.  Seward  wrote  to  Mr.  Webb,  our  min- 
ister at  Rio,  as  follows : 

Nevertheless,  the  sovereignty  and  honor  of  the  United  States  will  admit  of  no  hesi- 
tation or  delay  in  the  matter.  Mr.  Washburn  is,  therefore,  now  instructed  to  return  at 
once  to  the  United  States  if  the  hindrance  before  alluded  to  shall  not  have  ceased 
through  some  proceedings  of  the  governments  concerned. 

In  the  case  that  you  shall  not  have  put  into  execution  the  instructions,  »fec.,  and 
shall  not  have  received  the  satisfactory  explanation  which  you  were  instructed  to  ask 
of  the  government  of  Brazil,  you  will  now  demand  such  explanations  peremptorily. 
If  this  shall  not  be  given  to  you  within  six  or  eight  days,  you  will  ask  for  your  pass- 
ports to  return  to  the  United  States. 

And  again,  writing  to  Mr.  Webb  on  the  23d  September,  1866,  Mr. 
Seward  says ; 

So  far  from  considering  the  question  of  the  right  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  proceed  to  hifr 
destination  as  debateable,  the  United  States  cannot  consent  to  argue  that  question. 

Following  the  spirit  of  these  dispatches,  and  in  maintenance  of  this 
dignified  position  of  our  government,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  on  the 
26th  of  April,  1866,  instructed  Admiral  Godon  as  follows  : 

You  will,  therefore,  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  allied  authorities  to 
permit  him  to  reach  the  government  to  which  he  is  accredited,  (which  refusal,  however^ 
is  not  anticipated,)  furnish  him  with  the  necessary  facilities  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  meantime  the  admiral  commenced  getting  ready  to  ascend  the 
river.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1866,  he  ordered  Captain  Crosby,  of  the  Sha- 
mokin,  to  '*  fill  up  with  coal  and  provisions  immediately,  and  hold  your- 
self in  readiness  for  service  up  the  river.''  On  the  16tli  of  August  the 
admiral  was  informed  that  the  Shamokin  was  ready.  On  the  26th  of 
August  Captain  Crosby  informed  the  admiral  that  ''  the  United  States 
minister  at  Paraguay  is  at  this  place,  (Buenos  Ayres,)  expecting  to  go 
up  the  river  in  this  vessel."  Captain  Crosby  testifies  that  his  purpose 
in  thus  informing  the  admiral  was  to  ascertain  whether  Mr.  Washburn 
was  to  be  sent  in  the  Shamokin,  and  if  so,  he  (Captain  Crosby)  desired 
*^  to  prepare  accommodations,''  &c. 

To  this  information,  the  admiral  briefly  replies,  '•'■  continue  to  hold 
yourself  in  readiness  to  sail  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  orders  to  do 
so."  Captain  Crosby,  therefore,  determined  'Ho  await  patiently  for 
orders." 

Subsequently,  on  the  5th  of  October,  1866,  the  admiral  ordered  Cap- 
tain Crosby  as  follows : 

On  application,  in  writing,  from  our  minister  resident  in  Paraguay,  Mr.  Washburn 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  IX 

t©  whom  I  have  written  this  day,  you  will  proceed  with  him  and  his  family,  in  the 
Shamokin,  under  you  command,  to  Paraguay,  and  land  him  in  Asuncion, 

In  connection  with  this  order  it  may  not  be  improper  to  state  that  the 
admiral,  three  days  thereafter,  to  wit,  on  the  8th  of  October,  1866,  sent 
the  following  letter  to  Captain  Crosby : 

Private.]  U.  S.  S.  Brooklyn, 

Jih  de  Janeiro,  October  8,  1866. 
My  Dear  Capt.  :  I  have  sent  you  an  order  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  and  his 
family  up  to  Asuncion.  It  will  be  as  well  that  you  should  know  how  matters 
stand.  I  had  declined  to  take,  or  rather  have  Mr.  W.  taken  to  Asuncion  some 
time  ago.  The  Navy  Department  app'd  of  my  course.  Since  then  the  refusal  of 
t  he  allies  to  give  to  Mr.  W.  free  pass  through  the  military  lines  has  annoyed  the 
^over't  at  home,  and  they — that  is  the  State  Depar't — have  directed  him  to  write 
to  the  Argentine  gov't  and  com'r-iu-chief  of  the  allied  armies  and  demand  a  free  pass 
through  the  lines;  if  this  was  refused  again,  I  was  to  take  Mr.  Wash'n  up  in  a  man- 
of-war.  Presuming  Mr.  W.  has  applied  as  directed,  I  have  written  him  to  inform  him 
of  my  order  to  yon  and  to  tell  him  to  apply  to  you  in  writing.  At  all  events,  it  is 
proper  now  that  Mr.  W.  should  go  to  his  post,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  desires  it. 
Mr.  W.  will,  if  he  pleases,  show  you  a  copy  of  mj'^  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  I  am  not  required  to  send  him  up  if  a.  free  pass  is  given  him,  and  it  is  known  that 
f)rder8  have  been  sent  from  here  not  to  obstruct  his  passage ;  but  I  think  it  is  proper  he 
hhould  go  in  a  vessel  of  war,  any  how,  now ;  a  protest  by  the  blockade  need  not  be  re- 
garded— nothing  but  absolute  force  should  prevent  you;  however,  if  the  river  is  too 
low,  then  you  cannot  go  up  now.  Go  as  high  as  you  can  and  wait  till  the  waters  rise. 
Jiosario  would  be  a  gootl  place  to  remain  at  till  you  can  go  up.  The  Wasp  does  not 
(any  coal  enough  to  go  and  return.  Mr.  Washburn  must  pay  his  own  expenses.  I  do 
not  feel  much  confidence  in  Mr.  W.'s  judgment  as  an  international  lawyer,  or  as  to  his 
views  in  general.  So  follow  your  own  common  sense,  which  will  be  the  safest  way,  I 
hope.  When  you  reach  Asuncion  do  all  you  can  to  make  Mr.  W.'s  landing  of  conse- 
quence to  him,  and  give  him  every  attention.  Get  me  a  dozen  of  those  rings  made  in 
Paraguay,  marking  piices  on  them — they  are  for  others.  Get  me  some  of  that  Paraguay 
cordial  or  cana.  I  shall  be  down  at  the  river  about  the  Ist  or  15th  of  next  month.  You 
can  get  wood  to  burn  in  your  furnaces  along  the  river  if  you  have  means  to  cut  it.  You 
know  that  the  river  gets  hot,  full  of  kisects,  and  unhealthy  later ;  so  govern  yourself 
accordingly. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

S.  W.  GOD  OX. 

Captain  Crosby,  in  his  testimony,  speaking  of  this  letter,  says : 

I  also  received  a  private  note  from  Admiral  Godon,  which,  I  see  in  his  letters  to  the 
honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Welles,  he  mentions  as  a  semi-official  note,  and 
says  in  it  he  directed  me  not  to  regard  the  protest  that  would  be  made  by  the  Brazilian 
admiral  in  command  of  the  force-s  up  the  Paraguay.  The  semi-official  note  mentioned 
in  Admiral  Godon's  dispatches  was  not  a  semi-official  note,  but  was  a  private  note,  and 
so  considered  by  Admiral  Godon  at  the  time  he  wrote  it,  as  he  wrote  upon  it  the  word 
private,  and  merely  directed  to  "My  Dear  Captain,"  and  signed  himself,  "S.  W.  Godon," 
without  even  given  his  title.  Here  is  the  original  note,  which  I  considered  as  merely 
giving  Rear- Admiral  Godon's  private  views  of  matters,  and  did  not  consider  it  an  order 
in  any  way,  nor  did  I  consider  myself  bound  to  obey  his  directions  in  that  note,  or  that 
it  relieved  me  from  any  responsibility,  but  letFt  me  to  obey  his  orders  to  take  Mr.  Wash- 
bum  and  his  family  to  Asuncion,  on  his  application  in  writing,  according  to  his  order 
of  October,  1866,  and  not  to  delay  my  journey  ;  ignoring  entirely  in  his  official  letter 
and  order  to  me  any  difficulty  or  obstructions  that  I  might  encounter. 

Yet  in  his  private  note,  which  he  calls  a  semi-official  note,  he  says  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  that  a  protest  would  be  made,  (see  Admiral  Godon's  letter  published,  dated 
Montevideo,  December  10,  1866,  No.  132,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  79,)  and  that  he  had  instructed 
me  to  disregard  it.  Now,  had  Admiral  Tamandar^  opposed  me,  and  had  taken  'the 
responsibility  of  firing  into  the  Shamokin,  and  had  prevented  me  by  force  from  going 
through  the  blockade,  Admiral  Godon's  instructions  to  me  were  such  as  would  have 
shielded  him  from  the  responsibility  of  my  act,  as  he  conveys  the  idea  in  his  private 
note  that  he  supposes  instructions  had  been  sent,  and  at  the  same  time  his  orders  were 
such  as  would  not  have  saved  me  from  his  censure  or  that  of  the  government,  had  I 
delayed  my  journey  until  I  could  hear  from  him,  or  learned  that  orders  had  been  received 
from  Admiral  Tamandar6  to  allow  the  Shamokin  to  pass  under  protest. 


X  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Captain  Crosby  in  pursuance  of  his  orders,  proceeded  with  Mr.  Wash- 
burn on  board  the  Shamokin,  and  landed  him  safely  in  Paraguay  on  the 
5th  of  November,  1866,  meeting  with  no  hindrance  or  obstructions  more 
formidable  than  a  simple  ^'  protest'^  which  Tamandar^,  commanding  the 
blockading  squadron,  felt  it  his  duty  to  make  in  the  absence  of  specific 
instructions  from  the  allies. 

Thus  after  a  delay  of  over  a  year,  for  which  there  was  in  our  opinion, 
no  justifiable  excuse  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon,  Mr.  Washburn  was 
permitted  to  reach  his  destination. 

During  this  investigation  your  committee  have  seen,  with  regret,  the 
existence,  among  the  officers  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  of  a  feeling 
of  extreme  bitterness  and  malevolence,  accompanied  with  acts  of  super- 
ciliousness and  petty  tyranny  totally  unworthy  of  their  position,  derog- 
atory to  our  national  character,  and  subversive  of  that  efficiency  in  the 
naval  service  which  can  spring  only  from  harmony  and  proper  respect 
on  all  occasions.  The  necessity  and  justification  of  these  remarks  are 
to  be  found  in  the  accompanying  testimony. 

In  this  connection  we  also  feel  compelled  to  advert  to  a  feeling  of  dis- 
respect exhibited  by  Admiral  Godon  towards  our  diplomatic  represent- 
atives with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  which  probably  furnishes  the 
motive  for  his  course  in  this  matter. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Kirk's  suggestion,  that  it  might  be  considered  im- 
proper for  the  admiral  to  pay  his  visit  contemplated  to  Urquiza,  he  re- 
marks, ''  1  diifered  from  him  entirely,  and  I  wrote  an  answer  in  which  I 
stated  that  I  guessed  he  (Kirk)  would  find  that  I  scarcely  needed  a  dry 
nursed 

The  following  appears  in  the  testimony  of  Captain  Wells : 

By  Mr.  Wllkinsox  : 
Question.  Did  yon  ever  hear  him  (Godon)  use  any  discourteous  or  improper  language 
in  regard  to  Mr.  Washburn  ? — Answer.  Unless  the  committee  insist  upon  it  I  would  de- 
cline to  answer  the  question. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Why  do  you  decline  ? — A.  Because  he  did  make  use  of  an  expression  such  as  no 
naval  officer  should  make  use  of ;  and  for  the  sake  of  the  service  I  would  prefer  not  to 
answer  the  question. 

The  committee  insisting  upon  an  answer.  Captain  Wells  said :  "  It 
occurred  at  his  (Godon's)  dinner  table.  In  speaking  of  Mr.  Washburn 
he  called  him  damned  son  of  a  bitch.  I  made  no  reply.  I  ate  my  dinner 
in  silence  and  shortly  afterward  left.''    This  occurred  in  December,  1866. 

Captain  Crosby  testifies  as  follows  : 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  How  did  he  sj)eak  in  your  presence  of  American  ministers  as  a  general 
thing,  favorbly  or  unfavorably  f — Answer.  I  covdd  not  state  anything  more  on  that 
point  than  to  repeat  what  he  says  in  his  private  note  to  me,  which  I  have  read.  When 
he  was  asking  me  about  paying  Mr.  Washburn's  expenses,  he  remarked,  "  you  seem  to 
think  a  minister  is  of  great  importance." 

Q.  What  was  his  manner  in  uttering  these  words  ? — A.  He  said  them  in  a  contempt 
uous  way. 

Mr.  Kirk  testifies  as  follows : 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  You  remarked,  did  you  not,  that  the  refusal  of  Admiral  Godon  lessened  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Washburn  ? — Answer.  It  did  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  or  lowered 
the  character  of  all  the  representatives  of  our  government.  I  made  the  application 
generally  to  all  of  us.  It  looked  as  if  (and,  in  fact,  he  remarked)  that  we  were  merely 
the  representatives  of  political  friends. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Godon  make  that  statement  ? — A.  He  did  ;  that  these  ministers  were 
the  mere  representatives  of  political  friends. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  XI 

Mr.  Washbiirn  testifies  as  follows : 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Question.  What  motive  coulrl  have  influenced  Admiral  Godon  I— Answer.  He  wanted 
it  impressed  on  everybotly  that  he  was  the  representative  of  the  great  republic,  and 
that  nobody  else  was  of  any  importance  whatever.  He  said  so  verbally  in  regard  to 
United  States  ministers  a  good  many  times.  He  always  spoke  with  the  utmost  con- 
tempt of  all  ministers  of  the  United  States ;  said  that  he  was  not  responsible  to  them 
and  did  not  care  anything  for  them ;  that  they  were  political  humbugs  and  worn-out 
jtoliticians,  &c.,  who  were  sent  out  there  to  get  rid  of  them.  That  he  was  admiral. 
Mis  conduct  was  most  ridiculous  and  scandalous. 

Mr.  Webb,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  State  Department  of  date  June  10, 
18C7,  uses  this  language  : 

While  I  have  taken  no  part  in  the  controversy  between  Admiral  Godon  and  Mr. 
Wiishburn,  and  have  not  permitted  myself  to  express  to  either  of  them  an  approval  or 
«lis!i]»proval  of  their  proceoilings,  I  have  a  very  clear  conviction  that  if  the  admiral 
had  bced  so  dispose<l  he  could  have  sent  Mr.  Washburn  to  his  post  of  duty  shortly  after 
iiis  arrival  in  the  river,  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  allies.  But  it  ap- 
l)ears  that  the  admiral  made  it  a  matter  of  pride  to  ignore  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
ministers  and  consuls,  aiulhas  quarrelled  with  nearly  all  of  them  except  myself;  tliat  is 
to  say,  with  Ministers  Kirk,  Washburn,  and  Asboth,  and  with  Consul  Monroe,  and  one 
or  two  othei-s  ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  add,  that  he  has  no  friends  among  the  officers  of  the 
squadron.  Witli  me  he  has  never  had  one  word  of  difference,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
.shut  my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  difficulties  which  have  taken  place  and  now  exist  on 
this  coast  between  the  admiral  and  the  officers  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  which 
are  widely  known  and  discreditable  to  our  countrj',  are  mainly  attributable  to  the  ad- 
miral's m«Mldllng  with  what  does  not  concern  him.  His  own  statement  to  me  in  rejjard 
to  his  diftVicnc*'  with  Mr.  Asboth  is  an  illustration  of  his  mistaken  conception  ot  his 
rights  aiul  duties.  In  reply  to  my  question  why  he  did  not  permit  General  Asboth  to 
go  up  the  river  in  the  United  States  vessel  which  took  up  letters  and  dispatches  to  Mr. 
Washburn,  his  answer  was,  that  Mr.  Asboth  had  no  right  to  leave  his  legation  without 
the  ii.ssent  of  the  State  Department.  I  said  that  was  true ;  but  the  minister  was  the 
only  person  to  judge  of  his  responsibility  in  so  doing.  He  replied,  "  No ;  it  was  my 
right  to  demand  of  him  whether  he  had  authority  from  the  State  Department  to  leave  ; 
and  because  he  did  not  produce  such  authority  I  would  not  permit  him  to  go  up  in  the 
steamer  to  have  an  interview  with  Washburn,  which  was  quite  unnecessary." 

Tlien,  again,  in  the  admiral's  quarrel  with  Consul  Monroe,  and  his  contemptuous 
treatment  of  him,  ho  is  altogether  in  the  wrong;  and,  in  my  judgment,  without  any 
excuse  whatever. 

Such  manifestations  of  feeling  against  our  di])lomatic  representatives 
as  a  class  by  an  American  admiral  are  rei)rehensible,  and  we  dismiss 
this  part  of  our  investigation  with  the  single  remark,  that  the  duty  to 
speak  thus  plainly  of  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Godon,  in  view  of  his 
high  position  and' his  public  servi*  <  s.  i.s  not  by  any  means  pleasant  or 
agreeable. 

On  Mr.  Washburn's  return  to  Asuncion  he  soon  found  that  during  his 
absence  of  nearly  two  years  great  changes  had  taken  place  in  Paraguay. 
At  the  time  of  his  departure  the  country  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  pro- 
found peace,  and  the  people  engaged  in  their  usual  avocations ;  on  his 
return  he  found  the  country  involved  in  a  disastrous  war ;  terror,  alarm, 
and  distrust  prevailed  on  every  side ;  industry  paralyzed;  the  citizens 
denied  their  most  precious  rights,  and  all  the  resources  and  energies  of 
the  country  pressed  into  the  military  service.  Lopez,  the  "  Marshal 
President  of  Paraguay,"  was  entering  upon  that  era  of  blood  so  indelibly 
impressed  upon  his  subsequent  career.  He  possessed  absolute  authority, 
and  governed  by  his  unrestrained  will  a  country  whose  history  presents 
a  continued  series  of  tyrannical  exactions  on  the  part  of  its  rulers  and  of 
submissive  obedience  on  the  part  of  its  people. 

As  the  tyrant  is  ever  the  slave  of  jealousy  and  suspicion,  it  is  natural  to 
find  that  Lopez,  in  his  imagination,  saw  himself  constantly  surrounded 
by  enemies  conspiring  his  ov^erthrow. 


XII  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

This  caused  him  to  establish  a  system  of  espionage  so  general  and  so 
thorough  that  almost  every  citizen  became  a  voluntary  or  involuntary 
informer.  Torture  was  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  confes- 
sion of  crimes  or  criminal  intentions  which  never  existed,  and  charges 
were  fabricated  by  these  means,  which  involved  alike  all  who  were  sub- 
ject to  his  unjust  suspicions,  including  even  those  of  his  own  blood. 

The  testimony  shows  that  the  victims  of  his  cruelty  are  numbered  not 
by  tens  but  by  hundreds. 

Dr.  Stewart,  who  resided  for  twelve  years  in  Paraguay,  and  who  oc- 
cupied the  position  of  inspector  general  of  the  hospitals  and  medical  ad- 
viser of  the  Lopez  family,  having  thus  full  opportunity  of  knowing  that 
to  which  he  testifies,  states  in  his  evidence  the  following : 

I  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  horrible  atrocities  committed  ui)on  many  hundreds  of 
human  beings  who  were  accused  of  conspiracy.  I  saw  them  heavily  laden  with  irons, 
and  heard  their  cries  and  implorings  to  their  torturers  for  mercy ;  Lope«  knew  all  that 
was  going  on. 

Tortm-e  wa«  almost  indiscriminately  applied,  and  those  who  survived  its  barbarities 
were  put  to  death. 

No  fewer  than  eight  hundred  persons,  comprising  natives  of  nearly  every  country  in 
the  civilized  world,  were  massacred  during  those  terrible  months  of  June  and  Decem- 
ber, 1868. 

The  next  relative  whom  Lopez  seized  was  his  own  brother-in-law,  Don  Saturnine 
Bedoya,  who,  in  July,  1868,  was  tortured  to  death  by  the  sepo-uruguayano — a  mode  of 
torture  correctly  described  in  the  published  statements  of  Mr.  Masterman  and  Mr. 
Bliss. 

I  saw  Lopez's  two  brothers,  Venancio  and  Benigno,  in  irons,  and  heard,  from  many 
witnesses  of  the  butchery,  that  Benigno  had  been  cruelly  scourged  and  afterward  exe- 
cuted in  December,  1868. 

General  Barrios  attempted  suicide  after  the  imprisonment  of  his  noble  wife,  the  sister 
of  Lopez,  but  recovered,  and  was  then  laden  with  irons.  I  saw  him  professionally  be- 
fore his  execution,  and  found  him  quite  insane ;  *  *  and  had  Mr.  Washburn  been 
thrown  into  prison,  as  was  at  one  time  suggested  by  Mrs.  Lynch  and  by  the  late  bishop 
of  Paraguay,  I  am  convinced  that  he  would  have  been  tortured  and  made  away  with 
like  the  other  victims  of  Lopez. 

The  evidence  submitted  with  this  report  fully  corroborates  the  testi- 
mony of  Dr.  Stewart,  and  proves  that  cruelties  have  been  practiced  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  sacred  name  of  home  and  the  blessings  of  civil- 
ization are  almost  unknown  in  Paraguay.  That  in  the  prosecution  of 
the  deplorable  struggle  in  which  that  unhappy  country  has  been  involved 
for  the  last  five  years,  old  men,  the  youth  of  tender  age,  and  in  some  in- 
stances even  the  gentler  sex,  have  from  time  to  time  been  ruthlessly 
swept  into  the  constantly  diminishing  ranks  of  the  army,  until  the 
country  is  almost  depopulated. 

In  the  absence  of  positive  information  on  this  subject,  it  is  estimated 
by  those  who  have  had  opportunities  of  judging,  that  the  population  of 
Paraguay  at  the  commencement  of  this  war  was  about  six  hundred 
thousand,  which,  in  the  short  space  of  five  years,  has  been  reduced  by 
disease,  famine,  war,  and  its  attendant  evils,  to  less  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  persons,  and  this  number  consisting  almost  entirely 
of  women  and  children. 

The  testimony  and  official  correspondence  state  fully  and  succinctly 
thfe  condition  of  affairs  connected  with  our  legation  at  Ascuncion  from 
the  time  of  Mr.  Washburn's  return  there  in  November,  1866,  until  his 
final  departure  in  October,  1868,  and  show  very  conclusively  that  he 
could  effect  but  little  in  his  dipjomatic  capacity,  or  by  his  personal  pres- 
ence, in  the  way  of  ])rotecting  the  rights  or  interests  of  the  few  Ameri- 
cans resident  in  Paraguay,  or  of  any  others  who  might  apply  to  bim  for 
protection. 

His  continuance  there  was  no  longer  pleasant  to  himself  or  useful  to 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  XIII 

the  government.  He  was  subjected  to  annoyances  and  indignities  which 
soon  culminated  into  open  disrespect  and  contumely,  derogatory  to  his 
official  character  and  insulting  to  the  honor  of  the  nation  he  repre- 
sented. 

Among  other  things  Lopez  sought,  by  the  basest  means  to  implicate 
him  in  one  of  those  imaginary  conspiracies  which  appeared  to  haunt  him, 
and  even  made  this  baseless  charge  the  subject  of  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence. 

The  committee  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  recapitulate  the  evidence 
connected  with  this  matter,  feeling  fully  satisfied  that  the  inherent  falsity 
and  absurdity  of  the  charge  carries  with  it  its  own,  and  its  strongest, 
refutation. 

Mr.  Washburn  felt  that  he  could  no  longer  be  useful  to  his  government 
in  the  position  he  then  occupied ;  that  self-respect  and  the  duty  he  owed 
to  his  government  required  that  he  should,  so  soon  as  practicable,  close 
all  further  official  intercourse  with  President  Lopez,  who  had  thus 
wantonly  assailed  him,  and  through  him  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  In  view  of  this  state  of  affairs,  and  entertaining  also  serious  ap- 
prehensions in  reference  to  the  future  safety  of  himself  and  family,  while 
at  the  mercy  of  one  who  had  given  such  abundant  evidence  of  his  capacity 
for  the  commission  of  crime,  he  wisely  concluded  to  close  his  official  rela- 
tions and  retire  from  the  country. 

In  doing  so  he  was,  however,  prevented,  by  the  iuterj^ositiou  of  a  mili- 
tary force  acting  under  the  authority  of  Lopez,  from  bringing  with  him 
two  of  the  members  of  his  personal  suite,  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
whose  memorial  has  been  presented  to  Congress,  and  is  the  basis  of  this^ 
investigation. 

I*orter  Cornelius  Bliss,  one  of  the  memorialists,  is  a  native  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  went  to  South  America  a«  the  private  secretary  of 
James  Watson  Webb,  minister  of  the  United  States  at  Brazil,  in  1861. 
He  remained  at  that  point  in  this  capacity  until  December,  1SG2,  at  which 
time  he  went  to  Buenos  Ayrfis  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Argentine 
government  for  the  purpose  of  "  obtaining  information  concerning  the 
character,  languages,  wants,  manners  and  customs,  habits,  and  mode  of 
life  of  the  Indians"  in  the  valley  of  the  Vermejo.  In  January,  1865,  he 
embarked  for  Paraguay  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  classification  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  that  r.egion,  as  indicated  by  the  languages  or  dialects 
spoken  by  them.  While  in  Paraguay  he  was  employed  by  the  minister 
of  foreign  affairs  of  that  government  to  write  a  pamphlet  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  boundaries  between  Paraguay  and  Brazil.  While  engaged  in 
this  work  war  was  declared  by  Paraguay  against  the  Argentine  govern- 
ment, and  by  order  of  President  Lopez  no  foreign  subject  was  permitted 
to  leave  the  country.  Finding  that  he  would  be  compelled  to  remain  in 
the  country  for  sonie  time,  he  proposed  to  Lopez  to  write  the  history  of 
the  republic  of  Paraguay,  commencing  at  the  date  of  the  settlement  of 
that  country,  which  proposition  was  accepted  by  Lopez  and  a  stipulated 
price  agreed  upon.    Mr.  Bliss  testifies : 

I  supposed  myself  to  be  in  the  employ  of  Lopez  for  a  little  more  than  a  year ;  but  at 
last  Lopez,  api)arently  dissatisfied  with  my  progress  in  the  work,  and  perhaps  not  lik- 
ing the  cautious  way  in  which  I  spoke  of  other  nations,  he  being  eager  that  I  should 
bring  my  history  down  to  more  modern  times,  and  especially  eager  that  I  should  write 
something  which  would  be  of  use  to  him  in  the  war,  which  I  was  as  equally  desirous 
to  avoid,  I  was  at  last  met  with  a  refusal  to  supply  me  with  any  more  money.  This 
occurred  near  the  middle  of  1866,  as  near  as  I  can  remember.  (Mr.  Washburn  arrived 
in  the  country  the  2d  of  November,  1866.)  And  when  finally  I  was  met  with  a  refusal 
to  give  lae  any  more  money,  I  considered  myself  as  disengaged,  and  ceased  to  write  any 
further.     I  hail  then  brought  my  history  down  to  about  the  year  1810,  and  during  all 


XIV  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

this  time  I  had  continued  to  be  more  or  less  an  object  of  suspicion.    The  reason:  of  that^ 
I  suppose,  was  that  I  had  not  met  his  anticipations  in  the  history  I  had  written. 

Soon  thereafter  Mr.  Bliss  was  engaged  by  Mr.  Wasliburn  to  collect 
information  to  be  used  by  him  in  his  work  on  Paraguay. 

On  the  21st  of  February,  1868,  the  Paraguayan  government  ordered  the 
evacuation  of  Asuncion,  and  declared  that  city  a  military  post.  At  that 
time,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Washburn,  Mr.  Bliss,  who  for  some  time 
previously  had  occupied  the  position  of  translator  in  his  legation,  took 
up  his  residence  in  that  capacity  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Washburn.  On 
the  22d  of  February,  Mr.  Washburn  informed  Jose  Berges,  the  minister 
of  foreign  affairs  of  Paraguay,  that  "  the  present  critical  position  of  affairs 
in  and  near  this  capital  has  rendered  it  necessary  for  me  to  take  into 
my  service  several  persons  in  addition  to  those  hitherto  connected  with 
this  legation."  In  a  list  of ''  persons  "  above  specified  accompanying  said 
communication,  the  committee  finds  the  name  of  *' Porter  C.  Bliss,. 
American.-'  It  will  be  perceived  that  Mr.  Bliss  became  a  member  of  the 
personal  suit  of  Mr.  Washburn  in  strict  accordance  and  full  compliance 
with  diplomatic  usages  in  this  respect. 

George  F.  Masterman,  the  other  memorialist,  is  an  Englishman  by  births 
and  a  subject  of  her  ^lajesty's  government.  In  October,  1861,  in  i^ur- 
suance  of  an  agxeement  with  agents  of  the  Paraguayan  government,  he 
entered  its  service  as  professor  of  materia  medica^  and  subsequently  as^ 
assistant  surgeon  at  the  general  militarj^  hospital  at  Asuncion.  In 
November,  1866,  he  w^as  arrested  and  imi)risoned  by  that  government, 
as  is  alleged,  "  for  not  obeying  a  telegraphic  order,  which  arrived  too 
late  for  execution,"  and  was  held  as  a  prisoner  for  the  space  of  about  a 
year,  and  until  released  through  the  intercession  of  Mr.  Washburn,  who 
testifies : 

Mrs.  Washburn  being  unwell,  and  there  being  no  physician  there  on  whom  I  could 
rely,  I  obtained  his  liberation  from  custody ;  and  when  he  came  out  of  prison,  where 
he  had  been  for  eleven  months  in  solitary  confinement,  I  took  him  to  live  at  my  house  f 
that  was  in  October,  1867.  He  continued  to  live  in  my  house  and  to  attend  as  a  physi- 
cian in  my  family.  * 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1868,  Mr.  W^ashburn  informed  the  Para- 
guayan government  that  Mr.  Masterman  was  one  of  the  persons  attached 
to  his  legation. 

Your  committee  have  failed  to  perceive  in  its  investigation  any  objec- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Paraguayan  government  to  Bliss  and  Masterman 
being  recognized  as  attached  to  and  forming  a  part  of  the  personal  suite 
of  Mr.  Washburn;  nor  was  there,  prior  to  or  at  the  time  of  notice  being 
given  of  the  fact  that  the  gentlemen  formed  a  part  of  the  personal  suite 
of  the  American  minister,  any  complaint  whatever,  civil  or  criminal, 
against  either  Bliss  or  Masterman. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion  had  been  declared,  the  government 
of  Paraguay  established  its  capital  at  Luque.  Mr.  Washburn,  in  the 
meantime,  very  properly  declined  to  change  his  residence  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  that  government,  but  remained  at  Asuncion,  the 
former  capital,  until  his  departure  from  the  country,  on  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1868;  Bliss  and  Masterman  remainiug  as  inmates  of  the  lega- 
tion and  performing  their  respective  duties. 

During  the  summer  of  1868,  Mr.  Washburn  commenced  making  his 
l)reparations  to  withdraw  from  his  mission,  and  accordingly,  on  the  14th 
of  July,  applied  to  the  Paraguayan  government  for  passports  for  himself, 
family,  and  suite,  including  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman.  About  this 
time  'Mr.  Washburn  received  the  following  communication : 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  ^  XV 

f  Translation.  J 

Ministry  of  Sta'te  for  Foreign  Affairs, 

Lu<ju€,  July  13,  1868. 
Again  called  upon  by  the  judicial  authorities,  I  beg  your  excellency  will  excuse  me  for 
mok'Sting  you  once  more,  to  request  you  to  dismiss  from  your  hotel  the  North  American 
citizen,  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss,  and  the  British  subject,  George  Masterman,  accused  of 
crimes  not  less  grave  than  the  others  whose  flismissal  I  have  already  had  the  honor  to 
request. 

I  embrace  this  occasion  to  renew  to  your  excellency  the  assurances  of  my  distin- 
guished consideration  and  esteem. 

GUMESINDO  BENITEZ. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

To  which  Mr.  Washburn  on  the  following  day  replied,  saying,  among 
other  things : 

Respecting  these  two  individuals,  I  have  to  say  that  I  have  always  considered  them 
as  belonging  to  the  legation.  Mr.  Masterman  came  to  reside  in  it  as  a  medical  attend- 
ant of  my  family  in  September  last,  and  in  my  note,  dated  February  24,  but  forwarded 
with  my  other  note  of  April  4,  his  name  is  include<l  as  one  of  the  legation.  As  no  ob- 
jection was  then  made,  I  considered  that  he  was  recognized  as  such  by  the  government 
at*  much  as  any  one  in  niv  house.  The  name  of  Mr.  Bliss  wa.s  likewise  given  as  of  tlie 
legation  in  both  of  tlm  tists  aliove  referred  to.  In  reply  to  my  note  of  February  2*2, 
his  excellency  Senor  I'.,  i ".  >  v;,i,l  that  Bliss,  not  being  in  the  class  of  servants,  would 
confine  himself  to  th<*  lr-;u  k.h  i»remise8,  as  he  would  be  liable  to  arrest  if  found  outside 
of  them.  For  the  hist  three  months  he  has  scrupulously  done  so,  and  besides  has  been 
of  ^reat  assistance  to  me  in  my  official  duties,  and  so  long  as  I  remain  in  Paraguay  I 
desire  to  retain  him.  Considering,  therefore  as  I  do,  both  of  these  persons  as  members 
of  the  legation,  I  can  have  no  discussion  in  regard  to  delivering  them  up  or  sending 

them  from  my  house. 

■♦  ».#  «  #  #  #  #  # 

I  therefore  have  the  honor  to  ask  for  passports  for  all  persons  belonging  to  this  lega- 
tion, and  that  facilities  for  leaving  the  country,  such  as  comport  with  the  character  of 
an  accredited  minister,  may  be  furnished  with  as  little  delay  as  circumstances  may 
permit. 

I  avail  myself  of  the  present  occasion  to  tender  to  your  honor  the  assurances  of  ray 
distiuguished  consideration. 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

This  request  of  Mr.  Washburn  for  passports  having  been  refused,  he 
again,  on  the  2d  of  September,  18G8,  writes  to  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment as  follows : 

I  am  greatly  surprised  that  the  passports  have  not  been  given  me,  as  I  furnished  the 
list,  as  requested,  on  the  day  that  I  received  your  note.  I  therefore  have  occasion  to 
repeat  the  request  matle  in  my  note  of  July  14,  that  i>as8ports  may  be  furnished  me  ami 
the  members  of  my  legation,  and  such  facilities  for  leaving  the  country  be  provided  as 
comport  with  the  character  of  an  accredited  minister,  with  as  little  delay  as  circum- 
stances will  permit. 

To  which  he  received  a  reply,  with  passports  for  himself,  family  and 
suite,  except  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  Paraguayan  minister 
saying : 

Among  the  individuals  of  the  legation,  the  accused,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  as  not  be- 
longing to  it,  cannot  obtain  their  passports,  and  they  must  remain  to  answer  the  charge* 
that  are  hanging  over  them  before  the  local  courts  of  justice. 

From  the  fact  that  passports  had  been  refused  for  Messrs.  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  and  tliat  they  were  threatened  with  arrest  by  the  Paraguayan 
authorities,  Mr.  Washburn  anticipated  trouble  with  reference  to  them. 
But  having  completed  all  his  arrangements  for  leaving  the  country,  he 
sent  on  board  the  Paraguayan  steamer,  which  was  to  convey  him  to  the 
Wasp,  all  his  baggage  and  personal  effects,  and  on  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1808,  with  his  wife  and  servants,  and  being  accompanied  by  Bliss 
and  Masterman,  he  left  the  legation  house,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 


XVI  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

passage  on  the  steamer.  The  scene  which  occurred  on  this  occasion  is 
thus  described  by  Mr.  Bliss,  p.  137  of  his  testimony : 

On  the  10th  of  September,  1868,  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  members  of  his  legation 
started  from  the  legation  buikliug  on  the  way  to  the  Paraguayan  steamer,  which  had 
been  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  taking  him  to  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp,  three 
or  four  miles  down  tlie  river.  At  the  first  corner  of  the  street  Mr.  Masterman  and  my- 
43elf  were  surrounded  by  thirty  or  forty  Paraguayan  police  soldiers,  the  same  who  ha<l 
been  on  guard  for  two  months  on  the  lookout  for  us ;  and  in  the  presence  6f  Mr.  Wash- 
burn, and  of  the  Frencli  and  Italian  consuls,  we  were  driven  away  to  the  police  prison ; 
Mr.  Washburn  making  no  useless  demonstration  at  the  time,  other  than  to  salute  us  in 
<leparting  by  a  wave  of  his  hat.  We  had  just  gone  througli  the  ceremony  of  parting 
inside  the  legation,  as  we  were  perfectly  well  aware  that  we  would  be  seized,  and  Mr. 
Washburn  had  advised  us  to  accuse  him  of  conspiracy,  if  necessary,  to  save  our  live-s. 
The  Paraguayan  government  had  stated  expressly  that  it  would  seize  our  persons  by 
force,  if  necessary,  and  had  demanded  our  surrender  in  i^eremptory  terms  on  five  differ- 
ent occasions  during  the  previous  two  months. 

The  troops  formed  a  hollow  square,  and  accosting  us  in  the  Guarani  language,  with 
shouts  and  jeers  told  us  to  go  to  the  police  headquarters.  We  were  each  of  us  provided 
with  a  satchel,  in  which  we  had  packed  up  such  necessaries  as  we  considered  were  most 
absolutely  necessary  for  our  comfort  during  imprisonment,  and  which  we  supposed  we 
would  be  allowed  to  retain,  including  several  changes  of  linen,  combs,  biscuit,  cigars, 
a  little  money,  one  or  two  books,  and  other  articles  of  the  first  necessity.  On  reaching 
the  police  headquarters,  the  negro  servant,  named  Baltazar  Carreras,  who  was  also 
arrested  at  the  same  time  with  us,  was  first  taken  inside  and  ironed.  Mr.  Masterman 
and  myself  were  remaining  outside  until  that  operation  was  finished.  My  turn  came 
next.  I  was  taken  in,  my  satchel  taken  from  me,  I  was  ordered  to  strip  off  all  my 
clothing,  which  was  most  carefully  searched,  even  the  seams  being  rigorously  exam- 
ined, to  see  if  we  had  concealed  any  cutting  implements  or  other  articles  considered 
contraband.  Everything  in  my  pockets  was  taken  from  me,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  cigars,  which  were  left  me.  I  was  then  returned  the  clothing  and  told  to  put  it  on, 
and  then  to  sit  on  a  stone  in  the  presence  of  a  large  circle  of  soldiers  mounting  guard. 
The  blacksmith  was  called  to  put  fetters  upon  my  ankles,  upon  which  I  turned  to  the 
chief  of  police,  who  sat  by,  and  asked  permission  to  light  a  cigar ;  he  looked  rather  sur- 
prised at  the  audacious  request,  but  allowed  me  to  pick  out  a  cigar,  and  handed  me  a 
light.  I  sat  smoking  but  silent  while  the  irons  (of  thirty  or  forty  pounds'  weight) 
were  riveted  upoj\  my  ankles.  I  was  then  taken  to  a  dark  dungeon  in  the  interior  of 
the  police  department,  and  the  door  closed,  but  left  slightly  ajar.  Mr.  Masterman  was 
treated  in  the  same  manner  a  few  moments  later. 

Mr.  Masterman's  account  of  this  occurrence,  as  i^ublished  in  his  me- 
morial to  Congress,  is  in  the  following  words: 

Shortly  afterward  Mrs.  Washburn,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Meinke  (private  secretary) 
and  servants,  left  the  legation;  and  then  we,  having  waited  until  they  were  out  of 
sight,  walked  rapidly  along  the  piazza  opening  on  the  street ;  as  we  left  it  some  forty 
or  fifty  police  with  drawn  swords  closed  around  us,  separated  us  violently  from  Mr. 
Washburn  and  the  consuls,  and  drove  us  before  them  to  the  policia.  As  we  had  agreed, 
Mr.  Wasburn  made  no  protest  on  the  spot  against  this  outrage;  it  would  have  been 
utterly  useless,  even  if  it  had  been  understood  by  the  men  (I  did  not  see  a  single  officer 
among  them,)  and  would  but  have  invited  rudeness  to  himself;  while  threats  of  ven- 
geance would  have  been  both  alxsurd  and  impolitic,  since  the  Wasp  was  then  lying  off 
Viletta,  twenty  miles  or  more  down  the  river. 

Mr.  Bliss,  myself,  and  a  negro  servant  of  Dr.  Carreras,  were  then  delivered  as  pris- 
oners to  the  chief  of  police ;  he  had  us  stripped  naked  and  our  clothes  most  carefully 
searched ;  part  of  them  were  returned  to  u^ ;  we  were  fettered  and  thrust  into  separate 
cells — mine  had  no  window,  and  the  door  being  closed  I  was  left  in  total  darkness 
until  about  7  \}.  m.,  when  three  men  entered  with  a  lantern  and  tools,  removed  the 
light  irons  I  was  wearing  and  replaced  them  by  a  rough,  heavy  bar  riveted  to  massive 
rings  encircling  my  ankles,  the  whole  so  ponderous  that  I  needed  both  hands  to  sup- 
port them  by  means  of  a  handkerchief  used  as  a  strap. 

Mr.  Washburn  in  his  testimony  also  states : 

At  last  we  got  ready  to  go.  Bliss,  Masterman,  and  myself  talked  it  over  as  to  what 
it  was  best  to  do — whether  it  was  best  to  make  a  protest  that  I  should  refuse  to  go 
without  them,  or  whether  I  should  march  out  of  the  legation  with  the  American 
flag  flying  covering  all  of  us.  But  we  knew  that  anything  we  might  do  of  that  kind 
would  have  no  good  effect ;  that  it  would  only  enrage  Lopez,  and  that  a  very  little 
thing  would  induce  him  to  stop  all  of  us.  Our  united  opinion  was  that  if  I  could  get 
away  and  give  the  alarm  to  our  squadron  as  to  their  situation  it  would  be  the  best 
thing  for  me  to  do.  They  thought  that  probably  before  they  would  be  killed,  some- 
thing would  come  to  their  relief.  I  started  my  family  ahead  of  us  so  that  they  could 
not  see  anything  of  what  might  transpire.     The  French  and  Italian  consuls  went  down 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  XYM 

to  the  steamer  with  us.  We  had  got  to  the  front  door  of  my  house,  and  just  as  we 
stepped  off  the  corridor  into  the  street,  there  were  about  fifty  soldiers,  without  any 
officers  that  I  could  see,  and  not  one  of  whom,  I  suppose,  could  speak  Spanish,  who 
rushed  in  and  caught  Bliss  and  Mastennan,  and  a  negro  servant  whom  Carreras  had 
left  there,  and  took  them  right  off  to  prison.  I  went  down  to  the  little  steamer  and 
went  aboard,  and  soon  afterward  she  got  up  steam  and  went  down  to  where  the  Wasp 
was  lying,  about  twenty  miles  down  the  river. 

The  committee  has  no  hesitation  whatever  in  declaring  that  Bliss  and 
Masterman  formed  a  part  of  the  personal  suite  of  Minister  Washburn, 
and  as  such  were  entitled  to  the  immunities  provided  for  by  the  law  in 
such  cases.  Under  the  usages  of  nations,  the  minister  had  a  perfect 
right  to  take  such  persons  in  his  employ  for  the  purposes  indicated  by 
him  in  his  testimony ;  nor  do  we  conceive  that  the  right  thus  exercised 
is  at  all  in  conflict  with  the  provision  of  the  thirty-third  section  of  the 
act  of  Congress  of  August  18, 1850,  "  regulating  the  diplomatic  and  con- 
sular system  of  the  United  States,"  which  provides  that  "  no  attache 
shall  be  allowed  in  any  case,  nor  any  secretary  of  legation,  otherwise 
than  as  provided  by  this  act."  This  is  a  simple  restriction  upon  the 
minister  to  prevent  him  from  incurring  any  expenses  in  his  legation 
which  are  not  authorized  by  the  home  government,  but  can  hardly  be 
construed  to  prevent  him  from  engaging  on  his  individual  account  such 
domestics  and  other  employ(3S  as  he  may  deem  essential  to  the  comfort 
of  himself  and  family,  or  the  convenient  discharge  of  his  official  duties. 
Bliss  and  Masterman  were  in  Paraguay  prior  to  and  at  the  time  of  their 
employment  by  Mr.  Washburn.  He  regarded  them  as  competent  to  per- 
form the  services  which  he  required  at  their  hands,  and  of  this,  as  it  was 
a  matter  personal  to  himself,  he  was  of  right  the  sole  judge.  There  was 
nothing  in  their  relations  with  the  Paraguayan  government,  or  with, 
any  other  government,  which  made  it  improper  for  Mr.  Washburn  to 
employ  them.  He  did  so  employ  them  in  good  faith,  and  they  became 
not  only  a  part  of  his  personal  suite,  but  inmates  of  his  house,  and  un- 
der these  circumstances  entitled  to  the  same  privileges,  protection,  and 
immunities  as  his  own  wife  or  child.  Their  forcible  arrest  and  deten- 
tion, so  graphically,  and  no  doubt  truly,  described  in  the  testimony  al- 
ready cited,  was  an  invasion  of  the  rights  and  j)rivileges  of  the  American 
legation,  and  an  indignity  to  the  nation  it  represented. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  the 
Paraguayan  government,  in  reference  to  Bliss  and  Masterman  and  their 
status  in  the  legation,  and  the  right  of  the  Paraguayan  government  to 
refuse  passports  when  applied  for^  that  the  Paraguayan  government  at 
one  time  claimed  that  Bliss  was  '*  its  contracted  servant"  without  having 
fulfilled  his  promises,  and  that  without  previous  notice  he  was  employed 
by  Mr.  Washburn ;  and  charging,  at  least  inferentially,  that  Mr.  Wash- 
burn had  in  this  matter  acted  in  bad  faith  toward  the  Paraguayan  gov- 
ernment. In  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Bliss  it  is  shown  that  this  "  contract 
of  service"  with  the  Paraguayan  government  was  abrogated  long  before 
he  accepted  employment  under  Mr.  Washburn ;  and  this  position  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  his  employment  by  Mr.  Washburn  was 
known  to,  and  acquiesced  in,  by  that  government  for  a  long  period  of 
time.  This  knowledge  and  acquiescence  precludes  the  Paraguayan  gov- 
ernment from  insisting  on  so  flimsy  a  pretext  as  a  justification  or  even  a 
palliation  of  its  subsequent  high-handed  and  unwarrantable  conduct. 

At  another  time  it  has  charged,  as  appears  by  the  same  correspondence, 

that  Bliss  was  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to  dethrone  Lopez,  a  charge 

which  is  not  substantiated  by  any  evidence  whatever,  unless  we  accept 

as  testimony  the  statements  which  were  extorted  from  the  victims  of 

II — P  I 


XVIII  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Lopez's  tyranny,  under  a  species  of  torture  which  hardly  had  its  count- 
erpart inthe  bloodiest  annals  of  the  '*  Inquisition.*'  As  a  single  speci- 
men of  this  *'  torture,"  let  us  in  this  connection  allude  to  a  hurried  and 
furtive  interview  between  Masterman  and  Dr.  Carreras,  as  related  by 
the  former  in  his  sworn  memorial  to  Congress : 

In  the  confusion  I  managed  to  speak  miobserved  to  Dr.  Carreras.  He  said,  "  Has 
Mr.  Washburn  gone!"  I  replied,  "  Yes,"  and  added,  "  how  could  you  tell  such  false- 
hoods about  him  ?  "  He  removed  some  dirty  rags  from  his  hands  and  showed  me  that 
the  first  joints  of  his  fingers  had  been  crushed  and  were  still  suppurating.  He  had 
also  a  deep,  unhealthy-looking  wound  across  his  nose.  He  held  out  his  mangled  hands 
and  said,  "That  terrible  Father  Maiz  tortured  me  on  three  successive  days,  and  then 
crushed  my  fingers  as  you  see." 

We  have  alluded  to  this  revolting  scene  for  the  additional  puri)ose  of 
remarking  that  "  testimony  "  thus  procured  can  have  no  weight  in  sus- 
taining charges  made  by  a  government  which,  in  this  age  of  the  world, 
not  only  tolerates  but  resorts  to  such  horrid  i)ractices.  But  it  is  not 
averred  that  Bliss  was  guilty  of  this  or  any  other  criminal  acts  prior  to 
Ms  becoming  a  member  of  Mr.  Washburn's  diplomatic  family.  The 
same  remark  is  equally  applicable  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Masterman,  and 
to  us  it  is  apparent  that  the  object  of  the  Parguayan  government  in 
this  remarkable  correspondence  was  simply  to  furnish  itself  with  one 
pretext;  for  its  gross  attack  upon  the  rights  anddignity  of  the  American 
legation. 

The  residience  of  a  minister  for  the  time  being  is  regarded  as  the 
territory  of  the  sovereign  whom  he  represents,  and  is  not  subject  to  the 
laws  or  customs,  civil  or  criminal,  of  the  country  to  which  he  is  accred- 
ited. The  minister  is  the  direct  and  immediate  representative  of  his 
sovereign,  and  to  subject  his  actions  to  the  control  of  any  other  power 
is  to  deprive  him  of  that  independence  of  character  so  essential  to  the 
success  of  his  mission.  So  highly  is  this  right  regarded  by  the  civil- 
ized world  that  it  is  not  considered  competent  for  the  minister  to  waive 
this  privilege,  or  to  consent  to  any  infringement  of  it.  It  is  a  privilege 
belonging  to  his  sovereign,  in  whom  alone  rests  the  right  to  control  it  5 
and  in  its  strict  observance  all  nations  are  equally  interested. 

In  corroboration  of  these  views  the  committee  beg  leave  to  refer  to 
a  few  well-known  and  universally  received  authorities  upon  tl^is  subject  ? 

This  immunity  extends  not  only  to  the  person  of  the  minister,  but  to  his  family  and 
suite,  secretaries  of  legation  and  other  secretaries,  his  servants,  movable  effects,  and 
the  house  in  which  he  resides.  *  *  *  -phe  wife,  family,  servants,  and  suite  of 
the  minister  participate  in  the  inviolability  attached  to  his  public  character.  ( Wheaton.) 

These  ex-territorial  privileges  are  also  extended  by  positive  international  law,  as 
much  as  the  rights  of  inviolability  to  the  family,  and  especially  to  the  wife  of  the  em- 
bassador. *  »  *  I^ig  suite  or  train  are  also  entitled  to  these  privileges,  a 
-violation  of  which  in  their  persons  affects  the  honor,  though  in  a  less  degree,  of  their 
chief.    (PhilUmore.) 

See  also,  in  confirmation  of  this  position,  1st  Dallas's  Eeports,  p.  120 ; 
1st  Wash.  C.  C.  Eeports,  p.  232. 

The  Paraguayan  government,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  correspondence 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  had,  assumed  the  position  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  sought ''  asylum"  in  the  legation  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and 
deny  his  right,  under  the  circumstances,  to  grant  this  asylum.  This  posi- 
tion is  not  sustained  by  a  single  fact  in  the  case,  as  neither  of  them  entered 
his  house  to  escape  punishment  for  crime,  or  to  claim  immunity  from 
any  obligation  arising  under  the  civil  law.  Masterman  was  employed 
in  his  capacity  as  physician  and  became  a  resident  member  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's family  as  early  as  October,  1867,  with  the  full  knowledge  and 
consent  of  the  Paraguayan  government ;  while  Bliss  was  in  the  employ 
of  Mr,  Washburn  for  the  term  of  nearly  a  year,  devoting  the  whole  of 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  XIX 

his  time  to  such  employment,  with  the  like  knowledge  and  tacit  consent 
of  the  Paraguayan  government,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Washburn  when,  by  edict  or  proclamation,  Asuncion  was  evac- 
uated and  declared  a  military  post.  The  prior  employment  of  both 
these  persons,  on  their  part  and  that  of  Mr.  Washburn,  was  in  good 
faith,  and  without  any  intention  to  evade  any  obligation  to  either  the 
civil  or  criminal  law  of  Paraguay,  for  no  such  charge  was,  prior  to  the 
22d  of  Febniary,  1868,  alleged  against  either  of  them.  With  these  uncon- 
troverted  facts  before  the  committee,  it  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion 
than  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  formed  a  part  of  the  personal  suite  of 
Minister  Washburn,  and  as  such  were  entitled  to  the  protection  which 
the  law  of  nations  afforded.  In  addition  to  the  right  of  protection  inci- 
dent to  the  position  occupied  by  Mr.  Bliss  in  the  legation,  he  is  an 
American  citizen,  and  in  this  capacity  he  was,  in  the  absence  of  any 
civil  or  criminal  charge,  entitled  to  the  protection  of  his  government. 
But  the  Paraguayan  government,  not  satisfied  with  the  outrageous  and 
high  handed  measures  in  forcibly  arresting  Bliss  and  Masterman  within 
the  portals  of  the  legation,  under  the  very  protection  of  the  American 
flag,  seized  them  as  criminals  and  held  them  in  close  confinement. 

The  events  occurring  after  their  seizure  and  imprisonment  are  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Bliss  in  substance  as  follows :  After  being  manacled  he 
was  placed  in  a  cell,  where  he  remained  until  8  o'clock  the  same  evening 
when  he  was  taken,  still  manacled,  to  the  office  of  the  chief  of  police, 
where  he  was  mounted  on  a  horse  sideways  and  strapped  to  the  saddle. 
In  this  position  he  was  compelled  to  ride  that  night  to  Lopez's  head- 
quarters, a  distance  of  about  thirty-six  miles,  in  company  with  Mr.  Mas- 
terman, under  a  military  escort.  His  sufferings  during  this  journey  he 
describes  as  being  more  terrible  than  the  torture  he  was  afterward 
forced  to  undergo.  Upon  reaching  Lopez's  camp  the  next  day  at  noon 
he  was  taken  before  a  tribunal  consisting  of  six  or  eight  persons  and  in- 
terrogated as  to  his  connection  with  the  supposed  conspiracy  against 
Lopez.  He  declared  his  innocence  of  the  various  charges  made  against 
him,  but  was  told  he  was  not  brought  there  to  make  any  defense,  but 
simply  to  confess  the  facts  connected  with  his  complicity  in  the  conspi- 
racy. This  he  refused  to  do,  and  again  asserted  his  entire  innocence  in 
the  matter.  He  was  then  interrogated  concerning  various  parties  who 
had  been  implicated,  and  threatened  with  torture  if  he  still  continued  to 
deny  his  connection  with  them.  Having  been  kept  before  this  tribunal 
for  twelve  hours,  suffering  from  the  fatigues  of  the  journey  and  hunger, 
he  was  finally  induced  to  make  a  general  confession,  in  which  he  imi)li- 
cated  Mr.  Washburn  and  charged  him  with  various  crimes  and  delin- 
quencies. He  was  then  removed  to  prison,  and  on  the  four  succeeding 
days  brought  before  the  tribunal  to  resume  his  pretended  confession. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  was  informed  that  his  statements  about 
Mr.  Washburn  were  all  very  well  so  far  as  they  went,  but  that  he  had 
not  confessed  to  the  full  extent  of  his  own  complicity ',  that  he  had  sup- 
pressed some  very  important  information.    He  says : 

I  hcotl  had  eight  or  ten  days  of  enforced  idleness  in  which  to  "think  about  it,  and  came 
to  the  conchision  that  I  would  say  nothing  more  unless  I  was  obliged  to  by  pressure 
beyond  my  ability  to  endure.  So  then  I  refused  to  confess  anything  further,  and  the 
torture  was  put  in  execution.  I  was  seated  on  the  ground ;  two  muskets  were  placed 
under  my  knees  and  two  muskets  over  my  neck ;  my  wrists  were  tied  together  behind 
my  back  and  pulled  iip  by  the  guard ;  the  muskets  above  and  below  were  connected 
with  thongs  fastened  around  them  so  as  to  be  readily  tightened ;  in  some  instances 
they  were  violently  tightened  by  pounding  with  a  mallet.  They  continued  to  tighten 
them,  bringing  my  body  in  such  a  position  that  my  abdomen  suffered  great  compression 
and  that  I  distinctly  heard  the  cracking  of  the  vertebra  of  the  spme,  leaving  me  in 
that  posture  for  a  long  time.    In  fact  after  I  was  on  board  the  United  States  squadron 


XX  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  could  never  stoop  forward  without  feeling  a  twinge  in  the  back  and  in  tlio  abdomen. 
I  remained  in  that  position  about  fifteen  minutes,  the  officers  standing  over  me  watch- 
ing the  effect  of  their  cruel  work.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I  was  prepared  with  a  new 
batch  of  novelties  of  the  most  startling  character.  The  priests  came  and  stood  over 
me  cross-questioning  me,  and  extracted  from  me  a  general  confession  as  to  the  heads  of 
what  they  had  inquired  about,  before  they  released  me.  After  I  had  confessed  in 
general,  I  was  taken  in  that  condition  before  the  tribunal,  who  set  to  work  to  elucidate 
the  minutiaj  of  my  new  confession.      , 

Two  days  after  making  these  last  astounding  revelations,  I  was  invited,  that  is  to  say 
commanded,  to  put  them  into  narrative  form  along  with  all  my  previous  revelations. 
They  were  considered  so  very  important  that  I  was  desired  to  express  them  in  detail, 
with  such  a  satirical  commentary  upon  them  as  could  not  well  be  given  through  the 
medium  of  judicial  proceedings.  I  was  removed  from  the  circle  of  prisoners  where  I 
had  been  remaining  until  that  time,  to  a  little  straw  hut  situated  a  stone's  throw  from 
the  tribiinal,  where  I  remained  Avith  my  irons  on,  but  had  shelter  from  the  weather, 
which  I  had  not  had  in  any  sufficient  degree  previously.  They  furnished  me  a  rude 
seat  and  a  little  wooden  stand  with  an  inkstand  and  paper,  and  kept  me  there  for  the 
next  two  months,  until  my  transfer  on  board  the  American  squadron. 

Mr.  Masterman,  in  Lis  sworn  memorial,  corroborates  fully  the  testi- 
mony of  Mr.  Bliss,  and  thus  describes  the  torture  he  was  compelled  to 
undergo  before  he  gave  his  pretended  confession : 

At  last  I  was  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  they  applied  the  cepo-urngiiayana,  which  I 
need  not  describe  here.  The  pain  was  very  severe,  but  I  endured  it  in  silence ;  the 
priest  meanwhile,  in  a  loud  voice,  exhorting  me  to  confess  and  save  my  life,  and,  per- 
haps, gain  honor  and  rewards  from  the  "merciful  and  generous  Marshal  Lopez."  After 
a  time,  which  seemed  very  long  to  me,  I  was  unbound,  and  in  a  few  minutes  tied  up 
again  with  the  added  weight  of  a  third  musket ;  my  lips  were  badly  cut  against  my 
teeth,  and  the  blood  nearly  choked  me ;  and  when  the  thongs  were  tightened  I  fainted 
from  the  pain.  I  was  lying  on  the  ground  when  I  recovered  consciousness,  so  exhausted 
that  I  felt  that  I  could  hold  out  no  longer,  preferring  death  as  a  confessed  conspirator 
to  the  repetition  of  such  terrible  suffering. 

Therefore  I  told  them,  as  they  were  about  to  put  me  to  the  question  again,  that  I 
would  confess  all  I  knew,  and  they  at  once  unbound  me.  I  drank  some  water  and  a 
little  broth,  and  then  re-entering  the  hut,  told,  with  a  feeling  of  the  bitterest  humilia- 
tion, the  same  miserable  tale  as  had  been  extorted  from  my  late  comj)anions. 

On  the  3d  of  December  I  was  again  sent  for,  and  after  a  long  exhortation  from  Fa- 
ther Maize  to  always  adhere  to  the  statements  I  had  made  in  my  depositions,  he  informed 
me  that  I  had  been  adjudged  worthy  of  death,  but  if  I  would  promise  to  never  deny 
the  truth  of  those  statements,  and  endeavor  to  bring  Washburn  to  justice,  I  should  be 
exiled  from  the  country.  I  replied,  what  is  written  cannot  be  unwritten,  Avhat  I 
have  said  cannot  be  unsaid ;  which  seemed  to  satisfy  him,  for  my  irons  were  taken  oft'. 

Bliss  and  Masterman  were  thus  held  as  prisoners,  and  thus  treated  by 
Lopez,  until  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Davis  at  Angostura  in  the  early  part 
of  December,  1868. 

Admiral  Godon  was  detached  from  the  command  of  the  South  At- 
lantic squadron  in  September,  1867,  and  succeeded  by  Admiral  Davis. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  were  conveyed  by  a  Paraguayan 
steamer  from  Asuncion  and  placed  on  board  the  UnitedStates  gunboat 
Wasp  and  brought  to  Buenos  Ayres.  On  the  26th  of  September,  1868, 
he  informed  the  State  Department  of  his  retirement  from  Paraguay 
and  the  circumstances  attending  his  departure.  The  facts  connected 
with  the  attempt  of  the  Wasp  to  proceed  to  Asuncion  in  the  spring  of 
1868,  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  "Mr.  Washburn  and  family  from 
their  embarrassing  and  probably  dangerous  position,"  are  fully  de- 
tailed in  the  testimony,  and  reflect  no  credit  upon  the  allies  in  again  in- 
sulting our  national  flag,  especially  in  view  of  their  previous  conduct, 
which  was  then  so  promptly  resented  by  our  minister  at  Bio,  and  his 
course  heartily  approved  by  our  government. 

The  committee  have  not  failed  to  observe  that  this  additional  exhibi- 
tion of  bad  faith  on  the  part  of  the  allies  is,  in  some  measure,  to  be  at 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  XXI 

tribnted  to  the  same  want  of  prompt  and  resolute  action  on  the  part  of 
Admiral  Davis  which  had  characterized  the  course  of  Admiral  Godou 
on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Washburn's  return  to  Paraguay  two  years  pre- 
vious. 

The  committee  have  already  suflBciently  discussed  the  "right  of  inno- 
cent passage/'  through  the  military  lines  of  the  allies,  of  a  vessel  of  war 
to  take  to  or  bring  from  his  post  our  minister  to  Paraguay — a  right 
about  which  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  and  which  was  so  fully 
asserted  and  maintained  by  our  government—and  hence  it  is  to  us  a 
matter  of  surprise  and  regret  to  find  two  distinguished  officers  of  our 
navy  thus  hesitating  in  promptly  asserting  and  exercising  it. 

It  is  not  thus  that  the  honor  of  the  nation  can  be  sustained  ;  it  is  not 
thus  that  our  rights  will  be  respected  by  others ;  it  is  not  thus  that  our 
flag  will  continue  to  be  an  emblem  of  power. 

Our  navy  is  maintained  at  a  great  expense  to  the  government,  and 
the  people  expect  in  return  that  its  officers  shall  on  all  occasions  and  in 
all  places  firmly  maintain  the  rights  of  the  citizen  and  the  dignity  of 
the  nation. 

Mr.  Washburn  arrived  ai  Buenos  Ay  res  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1868,  and  two  days  thereafter  Captain  Kirkland  notified  Admiral  Davis  ' 
(then  at  Kio)  of  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  with  Mr.  Washburn  on  board. 
On  the  24th  of  September,  18G8,  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  to  Hon.  William 
Stewart,  British  minister  to  Buenos  Ayres,  a  copy  of  which  letter  ac- 
companies this  report,  in  which  he  details  fully,  among  other  things, 
the  circumstances  connected  with  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Mastennan. 

The  admiral  (Davis)  testifies  as  follows : 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Question.  When  did  you  receive  the  first  official  notice  of  the  imprisonment  of  Blis 
and  Masterraan  f — Answer.  I  must  have  received  the  first  information  from  a  letter  os 
Mr.  Washburn  to  Mr.  Stewart,  British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres.    I  then  learned,  for 
ther  first  time,  of  their  imprisonment. 

Q.  You  determined  then  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  and  efi'ect  their  release  without 
awaiting  instructiona-from  the  home  department  ? — A.  Yes,  sir  ;  I  awaited,  however, 
for  our  minister  to  arrive. 

Q.  Did  he  bring  instructions  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  but  I  considered  it  his  business.    He,  as 
^minister  to  Paraguay,  had  a  right  to  be  consulted,  and  indeed  to  take  direction,  and 
•  that  was  the  intention  of  the  government,  as  he  was  specially  instructed  to  act  in  co- 
operation with  me  and  I  in  co-operation  with  him. 

Q.  Did  McMahon  inform  you  of  such  instructions  when  he  arrived  in  RioT— A.  No, 
sir ;  I  jjid  not  receive  those  instructions  until  my  return  from  Paraguay. 

Q.  In  what  light  did  you  consider  Bliss  and  Masterman  ;  in  the  light  of  prisoners  or 
otherwise  ? — A.  I  got  my  idea  of  their  status  from  Mr.  Washburn's  correspondence  and 
from  interviews  with  Mr.  Washburn  at  Bueuos  Ayres. 

General  Webb,  in  his  testimony,  fixes  the  date  on  which  the  admiral 
received  the  information  as  to  the  unlawful  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  on  the  5th  of  October,  18G8 ;  and  although  the  admiral  informed 
the  committee  that  he  determined  then  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  and 
effect  their  release,  yet  it  was  not  until  the  21st  of  J^ovember  that  he 
left  Buenos  Ayres  for  that  purpose,  and  arrived  at  Angostura  on  the  3d 
day  of  December — a  period  of  sixty  days  having  thus  elapsed  before 
the  admiral  went  to  their  relief. 

The  facts  connected  with  this  long  delay  appear  fully  in  the  testimony 
of  Admiral  Davis  and  General  Webb,  to  which  we  call  the  attention  of 
the  House,  not  deeming  it  important  to  add  to  this  already  voluminous 
report  by  quoting  it  in  detail. 

A  reference  to  that  testimony  discloses  another  of  those  "differences" 
between  the  representatives  of  the  Naval  and  State  Departments,  not 
by  any  means  creditable  to  the  public  service  or  calculated  to  enhance 
its  efficiency. 


XXII  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

We  do  not  regard  the  reason  assigned  by  the  admiral  as  sufficient  to 
justify  him  in  thus  long  refusing  to  attempt  their  rescue,  especially  as 
he  had  half  a  doeen  of  vessels  at  his  command,  and  when  the  peculiar 
position  in  which  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  placed,  as  well  as  the  honor 
of  the  government,  required  prompt  and  decisive  measures. 

If  such  is  to  be  the  course  of  our  naval  officers  in  times  and  under 
cii'cumstances  requiring  prompt  and  manly  action,  we  respectfully  sub- 
mit to  the  House  and  the  country  that  "  admirals  abroad  "  can  safely  be 
dispensed  with^  and  our  treasury  relieved  from  the  heavy  expenses  inci- 
dent to  maintaining  our  squadrons  in  foreign  waters. 

It  appears  from  the  testimony  that  the  admiral  and  Mr.  McMahon,  on 
their  way  to  Paraguay,  were  in  daily  consultation  as  to  the  proper 
course  to  be  pursued  in  reference  to  the  release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
(being  then  in  possession  of  the  facts  connected  with  their  arrest  and 
detention,)  and  the  result  of  such  joint  deliberation  was  the  following 
letter,  which  the  admiral  sent  to  Lopez  immediately  on  his  arrival  at 
Angostura : 

United  States  Flag-ship  Wasp,^  (4tli  rate,) 

In  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  3,  1868. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  excellency  that  I  have  arrived  in  front  of  An- 
gostura, having  on  board  his  excellency  General  M.  T.  McMahon,  the  minister  of  the 
United  States  to  the  republic  of  Paraguay. 

As  as  an  indispensable  preliminary  step  to  the  presentation,  by  General  McMahon  to 
your  excellency,  of  his  credential  letters,  I  have  to  request  that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman, the  persons  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion,  while  under  the  protection 
and  attached  to  the  legation  of  the  previous  United  States  minister,  be  restored  to  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  flag. 

Knowing  that  before  the  occurrence  of  this  arrest  and  detention  it  was  the  earnest 
desire  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  continue,  under  the  existing  circum- 
stances, its  friendly  relations  with  the  republic  of  Paraguay,  a  desire  sufficiently  man- 
ifested by  the  prompt  appointment  of  General  McMahon,  it  is  my  hope  that  your  ex- 
cellency will  hasten  to  remove  the  only  obstacle  which  star  is  in  the  way  of  these  re- 
lations. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  e.vcellency's  most  obedient 
servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Mear-Admiral  Commanding  the  Naval  Forces 

of  the  United  States  in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  Excellency  Marshal  Don  Fkancisco  Solano  Lopez,  4 

President  of  the  Bepuhlic  of  Paraguay. 

The  manly,  bold,  and  honorable  position  assumed  in  this  letter  reflects 
great  credit  upon  its  author,  and  exhibits  in  him  at  that  time  a  due 
appreciation  of  the  rights  of  the  country  he  represented  and  of  the  out- 
rage which  had  been  perpetrated. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter  Lopez,  instead  of  complying  with  its 
demands,  requested  a  personal  interview  with  the  admiral,  which  was 
granted,  and  which  is  thus  detailed  in  his  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Kavy  of  December  12, 1868. 

The  business  of  this  interview  may  be  briefly  stated  :  President  Lopez  began  by  say- 
ing that  it  was  his  fixed  purpose  to  deliver  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  into  my  keep- 
ing ;  that  he  prefeiTcd  to  arrange  this  matter  with  me  in  person  rather  than  it  should 
pass  through  the  usual  channels  of  official  intercourse  ;  that  he  was  on  this  account 
glad  I  had  come  up  myself,  and  that  where  "both  parties  were  so  perfectly  in  harmony 
as  to  what  was  to  be  asked  for  and  acceded  to,  there  could  be  no  difficulty.  In  this 
preliminary  conversation  the  President  said  repeatedly,  with  regard  to  the  men  "  ae 
debe  entregarlos,^^  and  with  regard  to  the  difficulty,   "  se  ha  de  ai-reglar." 

This  interview  was  sought  by  Lopez,  undoubtedly,  in  the  hope  of 
evading  the  unconditional  demand  of  the  admiral,  and  inducing  him  to 
change  the  terms  of  his  letter  j  and  the  sequel  shows  that  he  was  but 
too  successful. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGITION.  XXIII 

Lopez  was  well  satisfied  with  the  result,  for  Dr.  Stewart  testifies  that 
on  his  return  to  headquarters  *^he  was  smiling  and  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders and  asked  me,  '  What  think  you  of  the  Yankees  now  I  We  are  to 
have  a  successor  to  Washburn.' " 

After  the  interview,  the  admiral  says  he  still  regarded  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman  '*  exactly  in  the  light  in  which  they  were  placed  in  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's correspondence,"  which  he  describes,  in  said  letter  to  Lopez,  as 
^'  persons  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion  while  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  previous  United  States  minister ;"  and  yet  he  informs  the 
Navy  Department  that  he  "  finally  assented  to  the  wishes  of  Lopez  and 
withdrew  the  lett<3r."  Is  it  any  wonder  that  this  remarkable  course  of 
the  admiral  caused  Lopez  to  '*  smile  and  shrug  his  shoulders,"  for  in  this 
brief  interview  he  induced  him  to  recede  from  a  position  in  which  he 
wa.s  clearly  right,  a  position  that  had  been  taken  after  most  thorough 
deliberation,  and  in  which  he  would  have  been  fully  sustained  by  his 
government. 

Lopez  knew  that  he  had  ruthlessly  trampled  upon  the  rights  of  our 
legation,  and  that  an  American  admiral  had  called  upon  him,  in  the 
name  of  the  nation  he  had  insult<id,  for  prompt  redress,  and  hence  this 
letter,  so  true  in  its  statements  and  so  fearless  in  its  manner  of  assert- 
ing them,  was  distasteful  to  Lopez,  for  the  very  reason  that  the  state- 
ments were  true. 

The  admiral  informs  us  that  ^^  the  manners  of  the  President  (Lopez) 
were  conciliatory,  courteous,  and  frank;"  that  "  he  objected  to  the  letter 
because  a  part  of  it  had  the  air  of  menace,"  and  forgetful  of  himself 
and  his  government,  the  admiral  changed  his  position  w  ithout  changing 
his  opinions,  loithdrew  the  letter,  and  the  next  day  sent  the  following : 

UiOTED  Statks  Flag-ship  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

Jn  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  4,  18G8. 
Siu :  I  have  the  honor  to  apprise  your  excellency  of  my  arrival  in  front  of  the  bat- 
teries of  Angostura. 

My  object  in  placing  myself  in  personal  intercourse  -vrith  your  excellency  is  to  re- 
quest that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Maaternian,  tlie  individuals  arrested  and  detained  in  As- 
uncion, on  the  10th  day  of  September  last,  may  bo  delivered  into  my  keeping,  subject 
to  the  order  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
It  does  not  belong  to  me  to  define  or  even  to  consider  the  statm  of  these  individuals. 
But  on  this  subject  your  excellency  will,  I  doubt  not,  repose  confidence  in  the  justice 
and  friendship  of  the'United  States,  which  has  afforded  your  excellency  many  recent 
proofs  of  its  respect  and  sympathy. 

Any  papers  your  excellency  may  bo  pleased  to  send  with  these  individuals  will  be 
transmitted  to  Washington  by  the  earliest  opportunity. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  excellency's  most  obedient 
servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Eeur-Admiral  Commanding  the  Xaval  Forces 

of  the  United  States  in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  Excellency  Marshal  Dox  Francisco  Solano  Lopez, 

President  of  the  liepuhlic  of  Paraguay. 

Now  mark  the  difference  in  these  letters ;  the  one  dated  the  3d  and 
the  other  the  4th  days  of  December.  In  the  former  he  "  requests  that 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  persons  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion, 
while  under  the  protection  and  attached  to  the  legation^  &c.,  he  restored  to 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  flag  ;^'>  in  the  latter  he  states  his  object 
to  be  *'  to  request  that  Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  individuals  arrested  and 
detained  in  Asuncion,  &c.,  may  he  delivered  into  my  Iceeping^  suhject  to  the 
order  of  the  government  of  the  UniUd  StatesP  He  goes  further  and  adds : 
"  It  does  not  belong  to  me  to  define  or  even  to  consider  the  status  of 
these  individuals ;"  and  still  further,  volunteers  to  be  the  bearer  of  '^  any 
papers"  which  Lopez  would  send  with  these  individuals,  to  Washington. 


XXIV  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

The  contents  of  this  letter  sliow  very  clearly  what  transpired  between 
the  admiral  and  Lopez  during  their  interview ;  that  Lopez  *^  revealed  ^ 
to  him  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  been  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  j 
that  they  had  confessed  their  guilt,  and  in  such  confession  had  impli- 
cated Mr.  Washburn ;  that  these  *'  revelations  "  made  a  profound  im- 
pression on  the  mind  of  the  admiral,  and  that  he  gave  them  credence 
we  can  readily  believe,  when  we  recur  to  the  contents  of  this  second 
letter.  Else  how  can  we  account  for  the  remarkable  change  in  the  ad- 
miral's position.  In  the  former  he  asserts  that  Bliss  and  Masterman 
were  arrested  "  while  under  the  protection  and  attached  to  the  legation," 
&c.,  in  the  latter  as  "individuals  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion.^ 
In  the  former  he  "requests  that  they  be  restored  to  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  flag  5"  in  the  latter,  "  that  they  may  be  delivered  into  my 
Jceeping,  subject  to  the  order  of  the  government  of  the  United  States.'' 
In  the  former  he  defines  their  status  very  clearly ;  in  the  latter  he  says : 
"  It  does  not  belong  to  me  to  define  or  even  consider  their  status ^ 

The  admiral  had  received  no  additional  intelligence,  in  reference  to 
the  arrest  and  detention  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  to  cause  this  change 
of  position,  except  what  he  may  have  received  from  Lopez,  and  under 
the  circumstances  he  had  no  right  to  receive  or  act  upon  any  intelli- 
gence from  that  quarter.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  his  duty  to  spurn  any 
that  might  be  thus  offered,  contradicting  the  official  report  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn. 

In  this  matter  Lopez  was  exceedingly  fastidious;  he  was  not  satisfied 
even  with  this  condescension  on  the  part  of  the  admiral,  and  hence  di- 
rected his  chief  military  secretary  to  reply  to  this  second  letter,  as  fol- 
lows : 

The  President  regrets  that  it  is  not  iu  his  power  to  accede  to  the  delivery,  in  the  terms 
of  your  excellency's  note,  of  the  accused.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  to  the  keeping  of  your 
excellency,  -who,  if  not  called  upon  to  define  or  even  to  consider,  should  not  at  least 
conceal  from  yourself  the  fact  of  their  being  criminals,  deeply  committed  in  the  affair 
of  a  horrible  conspiracy,  very  particularly  the  former.  Nevertheless,  his  excellency 
the  President  of  the  republic  would  cheerfully  consent  to  the  delivery  of  the  criminals 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  provided  it  ivere  requested  in  a  maimer  more  in  conformity  tvith  the 
facto/ their  being  accomplices  of  Mr.  Washburn. 

As  this  correspondence  progressed  Lopez  became  emboldened,  and 
added  insult  to  injury,  by  charging  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  crim- 
inals engaged  in  a  horrible  conspiracy  and  accomplices  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn. And  yet  this  gross  insult  to  our  nation,  this  base  and  unfounded 
charge  against  an  American  minister  and  two  members  of  his  diplomatic 
family  arouses  no  resentment,  so  far  as  the  testimony  shows,  in  the  mind 
of  the  admiral.  He  receives  it  without  a  murmur  of  disapproval,  and  on 
the  very  day  on  which  this  insulting  epistle  is  placed  in  his  hands,  he 
informs  Lopez  that  he  has  "  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a 
communication  from  his  excellency,"  &c.,  "  but  that  your  excellency 
objects  to  their  (Bliss  and  Masterman's)  delivery  under  the  terms  of  my 
note,"  and  then  adds : 

I  wish  your  excellency  to  believe  that  it  is  no  part  of  my  official  duty  either  to  offer 
or  to  refuse  any  terms  which  will  affect  the  alleged  criminal  condition  of  the  two  persons 
in  question.  The  papers  accompanying  these  two  persons  will  sufficiently  express  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  the  judgment  of  the  government  of  Paraguay  in 
their  cases. 

This  ought  to  have  satisfied  Lopez ;  thus  far  he  had  gained  his  point; 
he  dictated  his  terms,  and  they  were  accepted  ;  but  he  had  still  another 
request  to  make  of  the  admiral,  which  he  ordered  his  secretary  to  for- 
ward to  him  in  these  words : 

In  this  respect  I  am  happy  to  inform  your  excellency  that  the  prosecuting  officers 
who  have  received  the  orders  of  his  excellency,  with  a  recommendation  to  be  brief, 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  XXT 

expect  to  get  through  in  time  for  the  embarcation  of  the  criminals,  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  by  3  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  instant,  and  at  the  same  time  they  have 
expressed  a  wish,  which  they  hope  will  be  gratified,  that  your  excellency  will  name 
one  or  two  of  your  officers  who  can  witness,  on  the  morning  of  the  same  day,  the  verifi- 
cation of  the  declarations  of  both  of  the  accused  in  the  ca«e. 

Having  already  gone  so  far  to  accommodate  him,  he  could  not  well 
refuse  to  take  another  stei)  in  the  same  direction,  and  hence  the  admiral 
says: 

In  obedience  to  your  excellency's  wishes,  I  shall  appoint  two  superior  officers,  one  of 
them  the  chief  of  my  stafl',  to  witness  the  verification  of  the  declarations  of  the  accused, 
Bliss  and  Masterman. 

In  the  testimony  of  the  admiral,  herewith  submitted,  and  to  which  we 
refer  the  House,  he  gives  the  reasons  for  the  course  he  pursued  in  this 
correspondence ;  but,  in  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  these  reasons 
are  altogether  inconclusive  and  unsatisfactory. 

Pursuant  to  this  concession  on  the  part  of  the  admirah  he  detailed 
Captains  Kamsay  and  Kirkland  to  proceed  to  the  camp  of  Lopez  to  bear 
witness  to  a  most  extraordinary  spectacle,  that  of  two  "persons  attached 
to  and  under  the  protection  of  the  legation  of  our  minister,  Mr.  Wash- 
burn,'^ brought  as  prisoners  before  the  tribunal,  and  in  their  presence 
compelled  to  verify  a  confession  which  the  Paraguayan  officials  Jciieia 
was  extorted  from  them,  which  our  officers  believed  was  extorted,  and 
which  the  admiral  says  he  believed  to  be  untrue. 

This  humiliating  scene  is  thus  described  by  the  officers : 

Captain  Kamsay  says  that  Bliss  was  not  informed  by  himself  or  Cap- 
tain Kirkland  who  they  were  or  what  was  the  object  of  their  visit.  In 
answer  to  the  question,  "Were  you  not  sent  thfere  to  protect  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  as  American  citizens  ?"  he  says : 

No,  sir  ;  the  case,  as  I  understood  it  when  I  left  the  ship,  was  that  President  Lopez 
intended  to  give  up  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  Admiral  Davis  immediately,  but  that 
before  they  left  the  country  he  wanted  all  these  declarations  verified,  and  wanted  that 
verification  in  the  presence  of  a  United  States  officer.  That  was  the  way  I  understood 
it,  and  my  duty  was  only  to  go  there  and  be  witness  to  what  they  said. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  you  give  these  men  to  understand  that  they  would  be  protected  in  telling 
the  truth  ;  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  would  protect  them  if  they  did 
so  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  our  presence  was  sufficient  guarantee  of  that. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 
Q.  In  this  connection  I  wish  you  would  describe  ^Ir.  Bliss's  personal  appearance,  his 
clothing,  «fec.,  and  likewise  the  place  in  the  court-room  these  two  men  occupied  in  re- 
spect to  the  judges  and  the  officers  constituting  the  court  ? — A.  When  Mr.  Bliss  came 
in,  the  appearance  of  his  face  was  as  much  like  it  is  now  as  it  possibly  could  be.  He 
was  perfectly  calm  and  self-possessed,  and  answered  every  question  as  coolly  as  he 
possibly  could  at  any  time.  His  clothes  were  very  shabby,  and  his  pantaloons  were 
split  up  a  little  at  the  bottom  of  the  legs,  as  if  they  had  been  worn  a  great  length  of 
time.  He  wore  a  pair  of  shoes.  I  noticec^hey  were  very  good  shoes  except  that  the 
India  rubber  was  a  little  stretched.  His  clothes  looked  as  though  they  had  been  worn 
a  great  deal  without  any  care.  The  tribunal  was  in  a  small  room.  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  sat  on  one  side  of  the  room ;  on  the  opposite  side  sat  the  officers  I  spoke  of.  At 
the  end  of  the  room  was  a  table,  and  behind  the  table  sat  the  two  judges  and  the  per- 
son who  read,  and  cpjiosite  them,  at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  sat  Commander  Kirk- 
land and  myself. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Had  you  any  conversation  with  Mr.  Bliss  at  that  time  ?— A.  None  whatever. 

Q.  Did  you  mean  by  that  memorandum  that  you  thought  these  confessions  were  ex- 
torted fi-om  him  ?— A.  I  took  it  for  granted  that  they  were.  I  never  saw  a  man  exhibit 
such  fear  as  Masterman  did.    We  returned  to  the  ship  about  nine  o'clock. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  you  make  any  report  to  the  admiral  when  yon  arrived  ?— A.  I  told  him,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  recollect,  everything  that  occurred. 


XXVI  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Did  you  apprise  the  admiral  of  the  impression  made  on  your  mind  as  to  whether 
those  confessions  were  voluntary  or  extorted  ? — A.  I  am  pretty  sure  I  did,  because  this 
memorandum  was  written  immediately  on  getting  on  board  the  shij). 

Q.  What  reply  did  the  admiral  make  to  this? — A.  I  don't  remember.  Of  course, 
when  we  got  back  the  admiral  was  very  anxious  to  know  what  had  occurred  during 
the  day,  and  I  gaA-^o  him  as  clear  a  statement  as  I  could. 

Q.  Were  your  orders  to  bring  Bliss  and  Masterman  back  with  you  to  the  ship  ? — A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  suggestion  to  the  admiral  in  regard  to  bringing  them  aboard 
that  night  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  left  them  in  the  hands  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities  when  you  passed  from 
the  tribunal  to  tho  vessel? — A.  Yes,  sir;  we  left  them  just  as  we  found  them. 

Commander  Kirkland,  alluding  to  the  same  transaction,  says: 

*.*  •  «  #  #  «  *  # 

By  Mr.  Orth  :     . 

Q.  State  particularly  what  occurred  on  that  occasion,  from  beginning  to  end. — ^A. 
I  will  premise  by  stating  that  I  thought  the  whole  thing  was  ridiculous,  and  I  did  not 
pay  any  particular  attention  to  it,  except  to  some  parts  of  it. 

Q.  Why  did  you  regard  it  as  ridiculous  ? — A.  I  knew  that  their  declarations  would 
not  amount  to  anything  in  the  United  States.  I  thought  it  was  a  piece  of  ignorance 
On  the  part  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities. 

Q.  Now  relate  what  occurred  at  this  tribunal;  who  were  present  on  the  part  of  the 
Paraguayan  government? — A.  There  were  two  judges,  or  at  least  I  supposed  they 
were  judges.  One  or  both  of  them  were  priests.  There  were  two  men  whom  I  think 
were  Paraguayan  ofl&cers,  and  one  man  was  reading  these  declarations.  One  or  two  of 
these  men  came  in  from  time  to  time.  I  think  there  were  four  or  five  Paraguayan 
officers  there. 

Q.  Who  was  first  brought  in? — A.  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conyersation  with  Bliss  when  he  first  came  in? — A.  I  do  not 
think  I  did. 

Q.  Did  either  you  or  Captain  Ramsay  make  known  your  character? — A.  I  think  one 
of  the  parties  present  said:  "These  officers  are  here  to  witness  your  declarations." 

Q.  Did  he  state  who  you  were,  that  you  were  United  States  officers  ? — A.  I  do  not 
remember. 

Q.  Were  you  in  uniform? — A.  I  was  in  uniform,  and  so  was  Captain  Ramsay,  with 

our  swords  on. 

*■*##****#■« 

Q.  But  you  did  not  make  known  to  him  (Bliss)  the  object  of  your  visit?— A.  I  do 
not  think  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you  see  anything  about  him  that  led  you  to  believe  that  he  had  been  placed 
in  irons  ? — A.  The  legs  of  his  breeches  were  considerably  worn ;  I  should  think  from 
that  he  had  been  in  irons. 

Q.  What  occurred  after  Bliss  entered  ? — A.  He  came  in,  and  these  declarations  were 
read  over  to  him  by  these  men.  I  did  not  pay  particular  attention  to  them,  as  I 
thought  the  whole  proceeding  a  humbug. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  Mr.  Bliss  and  Masterman  at  that  time  as  under  the  control  of  the 
Paraguayan  authorities  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you  exercise  any  control  over  them? — A.  No,  sir;  I  was  not  sent  there  for 
that  purpose. 

Q.  You  were  sent  there  to  hear  what  yoajBtyle  a  "humbug  proceeding"  being  gone 
through  with  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

The  "declaration"  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  testimony  is  a  so-called 
confession  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to 
dethrone  Lopez,  and  that  Mr.  Washburn,  forgetful  of  the  duties  he  owed 
to  himself  as  a  man,  and  to  the  government  whose  minister  he  was, 
was  engaged  in  the  same  conspiracy.  When  we  reflect  that  this  declara- 
tion had  not  the  least  semblance  of  truth;  that  it  was  extorted  from 
these  trembling  and  friendless  prisoners  under  torture,  and  that  the 
admiral  and  his  two  witnesses  had  every  reason  to  believe  it  had  thus 
been  extorted,  we  seek  in  vain  for  any  excuse  or  palliation  for  their 
connection  with  this  shameful  transaction. 

On  the  same  night  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  delivered  as  prisoners 
to  Admiral  Davis,  and  placed  on  board  the  Wasp. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  XXVII 

On  the  following  day  Mr.  McMahon  presented  bis  credentials  to 
Lopez,  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties. 

Mr.  McMahon  had  received  his  final  instructions  as  minister  resident 
to  Paraguay  from  the  State  Department  on  the  3d  day  of  September, 
1868,  and  before  the  President  could  have  been  fully  advised  of  the  facts 
to  which  we  have  referred,  and  which  were  subsequently  brought  to  his 
knowledge."  It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  no  successor  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burn would  have  been  appointed  had  our  government  then  been  in 
possession  of  these  facts,  and  this  presumption  is  strengthened  by  the 
subsequent  action  of  the  President  in  recalling  Mr.  McMahon,  and  very 
properlydecliningthencehitherto  to  hold  any  diplomatic  intercourse  with 
the  Paraguayan  government. 

This  committee  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this  action  of  the 
President  under  the  circumstances  meets  their  decided  approval. 

There  is  a  conflict  of  testimony  in  reference  to  the  status  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman  after  their  arrival  on  board  the  Wasp,  and  subsequently  on 
board  the  Guerriere. 

Admiral  Davis,  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  states  that 
Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  received  on  board  as  temporary 
visitors^  and  in  confirmation  of  this  position  he  states  in  his  testimony 
that  "Bliss  and  Masterman  could  not  have  been  made  prisoners  in  the 
squadron  under  my  command  by  the  authority  of  any  one  except  myself; 
that  I  never  gave  such  authority  ;  and  that  any  statement,  by  whomso- 
ever made,  which  declares  that  these  men  were  ever  regarded  as  prisoners 
in  the  squadron  under  my  command,  is  incorrect  in  point  of  fact." 

Were  Bliss  and  Masterman  treated  as  prisoners  by  Admiral  Davis  ? 

Dr.  Gale,  surgeon  in  the  navy,  refening  to  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
says : 

Thoy  came  on  board  about  the  10th  of  December,  1868,  in  the  night.  I  saw  them 
next  day,  I  think,  and  found  them  forward  on  the  berth  deck.  I  understood  they  were 
nnder  cliarge  of  the  master-at-arms.  They  were  treated  as  prisoners.  I  considered  that 
they  were  prisoners. 

Lawrence  C.  Carpenter,  sergeant  of  marines  on  board  the  Guerriere, 
testifies : 

I  had  them  in  charge.  We  received  them  from  the  Wasp  at  Montevideo  and  took 
them  to  Rio.  It  was  somewhere  about  Christmas,  1868.  They  were  under  my  charge 
for  one  week.  They  were  put  under  my  charge,  as  I  understood,  as  prisoners.  I  re- 
ceived orders  from  Captain  Fendall  to  take  charge  of  them  ;  not  to  allow  them  to  hold 
communication  with  any  one  belonging  to  the  ship ;  to  allow  them  to  hold  no  communi- 
cation with  the  shore ;  to  write  no  letters,  or  send  them  off  without  first  being  examined 
by  Captain  Woolsey. 

Dr.  Duvall,  surgeon  in  the  United  States  Kavy,  says : 

While  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  on  board  the  Guerriere  Capt^^n  Woolsey  came  out 
and  told  the  executive  oflBcer  to  send  the  men  (Bliss  and  Masterman)  off  the  quarter- 
deck into  the  port  gangway,  a  greater  indignity  than  which  cannot  be  offered  to  any 
man  on  board  a  man-of-war.  The  port  gangway  is  where  all  the  servants,  scullions, 
4&C.,  congregate. 

At  any  rate,  immediately  after  breakfost  the  officers  of  the  ship  received  orders  to 
put  those  two  "  men,"  as  they  were  called,  under  a  sentry,  and  not  allow  them  to  com- 
municate with  anybody  on  shore,  or  write  any  letters.  They  were  prisoners,  evidently. 
Captain  Woolsey  said:  "You  know  very  well  that  these  men  have  been  under  surveil- 
lance while  on  board  the  Guerriere.  They  are  not  so  now,  because  we  are  at  sea,  but 
they  will  be  put  under  sentry's  charge  when  we  reach  Kio."  He  then  told  me  that 
these  two  men,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  were  scamps  and  scoundrels. 

Commander  Kirkland,  who  was  at  the  time  of  Bliss  and  Masterman's 
reception  in  command  of  the  Wasp,  says : 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Question.  What  orders  did  you  give  in  regard  to  their  being  placed  iii  charge  of  the 


XXVIII  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

master-at-arms? — Answei'.  I  told  him  to  put  a  sentry  over  them,  and  not  allow  the  men 
to  interfere  with  them.  They  were  put  under  my  supervision,  and  as  I  could  not  watch 
them,  I  put  another  man  to  do  it. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  them  as  temporary  visitors  to  the  "Wasp  ? — A.  I  did  not  call  them 
anything  at  all.    I  did  hear  that  they  were  guests,  but  they  were  not  my  guests. 

Q.  How  long  was  that  sentinel  placed  over  them  ? — A.  I  think  that  sentinel  remained 

there  as  long  as  they  remained  on  board  the  Wasp. 

##  #  *  #  #*» 

Q.  What  was  your  object  of  putting  the  sentinel  over  them  ? — A.  Not  to  allow  the 

men  to  interfere  with  them. 

#  #  jf  *  #  *##* 

Q.  Then  your  object  in  placing  these  sentinels  over  these  men  was  to  protect  them  ? — 
A.  I  thought  that  the  whole  proceeding  was  a  piece  of  humbug. 

Q.  Suppose  the  sentinel  had  allowed  them  to  go  ashore,  would  you  not  have  punished 
him  ? — A.  I  would,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Then  the  sentinel  would  not  have  regarded  it  as  a  piece  of  humbug  ?— A.  Perhaps 
not. 

Q.  Suppose  that  Lopez  had  surrendered  these  prisoners  into  the  hands  of  the  admiral 
unconditionally,  would  your  treatment  have  been  different  from  what  it  was  ? — A.  Just 

the  same,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  orderly. 

#'#  ##*  *  *  *•  * 

Mr.  Worthington,  our  former  minister  at  the  Argentine  Eepiiblic, 
testifies  as  follows : 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Question.  Did  you  see  Bliss  and  Masterman  after  their  arrival  ? — Answer.  I  did. 
Q.  On  what  vessel  ? — A.  On  the  Guerriere,  in  the  harbor  of  Montevideo. 

Q.  Were  they  under  surveillance  or  restraint  of  any  kind  upon  that  vessel  ? — A. 
Very  clearly  they  were  prisoners. 

Q.  Were  they  so  regarded  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  so  regarded  as  prisoners,  from  what  the 
admiral  said,  and  what  everybody  else  said.    Tbey  were  not  in  chains. 

Q.  Were  they  deprived  of  their  fredom  ? — A.  Very  clearly  they  were  on  that  ship  ifs 
prisoners,  and,  as  I  understood  from  the  admiral,  had  been  received  as  prisoners. 

Q.  Were  they  held  by  him  at  that  time  as  prisoners  ? — A.  I  clearly  understood  that 
from  him. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Was  that  the  reason  you  asked  his  permission  to  see  them  ? — A.  It  was  ;  because 
I  was  aware  of  the  fact  that  they  were  not  free  agents  on  board  of  the  ship,  and  I  felt 
it  my  duty  to  obtain  the  authority  of  the  officers  of  the  ship  before  communicating 
with  them. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  What  information  had  you  that  induced  you  to  think  they  were  held  as  prisoners 
on  board  that  ship  ? — A.  The  general  report  of  the  community,  and  from  my  conversa- 
tion with  Captain  Ramsay  and  other  officers  of  the  ship  after  my  arrival  on  board, 
besides  letters  I  received  from  General  McMahon  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  them 
by  Lopez. 

Q.  They  told  you  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  prisoners  ? — A.  Yes,  sir  ;  and  besides 
that,  I  had  received  letters  to  that  effect  from  General  McMahon  upon  the  return  of 
the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  those  letters  recognize  the  fact  that  they  were  held  as  prisoners  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir ;  General  McMahon  wrote  to  me  #  *  f  stating  the  circumstance  of  his 
arrival,  the  examination  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  before  the  commission,  the  determina- 
tion of  Lopez  to  surrender  them,  and  in  a  subsequent  letter  stated  to  me  that  at  such 
a  time  they  were  surrendered  as  prisoners  to  be  carried  to  the  United  States  to  be  tried 
on  the  charges  that  Lopez  had  preferred  against  them. 

The  committee  submit  that  this  testimony  shows  that,  however  Ad- 
miral Davis  may  have  regarded  Bliss  and  Masterman  while  on  board 
the  Wasp  and  Guerriere,  they  were  in  truth,  and  in  fact,  "  prisoners,^ 
and  deprived  of  their  freedom,  until  their  arrival  at  Rio,  and  under  all 
the  circumstances  developed  in  this  investigation  we  fail  to  see  any  rea- 
sonable excuse  for  the  course  which  was  adopted.  They  were  unlawfully 
arrested  by  Lopez  while  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  American  flag, 
and  it  was  by  virtue  of  this  right  to  protection,  and  for  the  purpose  of 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  XXIX 

enforcing  it,  that  the  admiral  went  to  their  relief,  and  effected  their  de- 
liverance ;  and  hence  the  deprivation  of  their  freedom  or  the  surveil- 
lance under  which  they  were  held  was  unjustifiable,  even  admitting  a 
promise,  either  express  or  implied,  which  Lopez  exacted  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  their  treatment  subsequent  to  their  delivery  to  the  admiral.  On 
their  arrival  in  this  city  they  reported  (according  to  promise  given  to 
the  admiral)  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  informed  them  there  was 
nothing  in  the  possession  of  the  government  to  justify  their  further  de- 
tention. 

During  this  investigation  the  question  has  suggested  itself  to  the 
committee  as  to  whether  any  legislation  is  necessary  to  provide  against 
the  recurrence  of  such  conflicts  between  the  ofiScers  of  the  navy  and 
diplomatic  representatives  as  has  arisen  in  the  case  under  considera- 
tion. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  conflicts  of  this  nature  are  of  very  rare  oc- 
currence, this  being  the  only  one  of  so  serious  a  character  in  all  our  past 
history,  and  in  view  of  the  further  fact  that  these  officials  are  at  all 
times  subject  to  the  control  and  direction  of  the  President,  we  deem  such 
legislation  inexpedient. 

In  conclusion,  the  committee  present  to  the  House  the  following  reso- 
lutions, and  respectfully  recommend  their  adoption  : 

Resolved,  That  Hear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon,  in  neglecting  to  aid  Mr. 
Washburn  in  reaching  the  government  to  which  he  was  accredited, 
failed  to  discharge  his  duty  as  commander  of  the  South  Atlantic  squad- 
ron. 

Resolved,  That  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  members  of  the  personal 
suite  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  were,  therefore,  under  the  law  of  nations, 
entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  the  forcible  arrest  and  detention  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  by  the  government  of  Paraguay  was  a  violation  of  the  law  of 
nations,  and  a  gross  insult  to  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  action  of  the  President  in  withdrawing 
our  minister  (General  McMahon)  from  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and 
in  declining  to  hold  further  diplomatic  intercourse  with  said  government. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  our  naval  officers  on  foreign  sta- 
tions to  render  all  reasonable  assistance  to  the  dijjlomatic  officers  of  the 
United  States  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties ;  and  that  a  refusal  or 
neglect  to  render  such  assistance  when  required,  or  any  discoui-tesy  by 
such  naval  officers  toward  such  diplomatic  officers,  should  be  the  sub- 
ject of  inquiry  and  punishment  by  the  Navy  Department. 


Mr.  Wood,  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Swann,  submitted  the  following  resolu- 
tions for  the  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs : 

Resolved,  That  the  forcible  arrest  and  detention  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  while  under  the  protection  of  the  American  flag,  was  an 
outrage  which  demanded  prompt  reparation. 

2.  That  Mr.  Washburn  in  submitting  to  the  insult  of  President  Lopez, 
in  his  refusal  !o  grant  passports  to  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  in 
separating  himself  from  them  in  the  streets  of  Asuncion,  and  leaving 
them  in  the  hands  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities, 
caused  a  serious  compromise  of  the  American  flag,  and  could  not  be 
justified  upon  any  consideration  of  personal  safety ;  and  that  Minister 
Washburn,  in  justice  to  his  position  and  in  honor  of  his  flag,  ought  not 


XXX  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

to  have  accepted  his  passport  until  ijermitted  to  withdraw  with  every 
member  of  his  legation. 

3.  That  in  the  hostile  or  unfriendly  attitude  assumed  by  Minister 
Washburn  toward  Lopez  and  the  Paraguayan  government  in  his  rela- 
tions and  intercourse  with  the  President  of  that  republic,  and  in  associ- 
ating Bliss  and  Masterman  with  his  legation,  (one  a  British  subject,  sus- 
pected by  Lopez  of  a  conspiracy  with  his  enemies  and  the  enemies  of 
his  country — ^both  adventurers  and  of  doubtful  reputation,)  Minister 
Washburn  committed  a  grave  act  of  imprudence,  which  resulted  in  most^ 
if  not  all,  of  the  complications  attending  his  residence  in  Paraguay. 

4.  That  Admirals  Godon  and  Davis,  in  command  of  the  South  Atlan- 
tic squadron,  have  committed  no  act  to  subject  them  to  the  censure  of 
this  government  or  the  investigation  of  a  court-martial,  said  officers 
having,  to  the  best  of  their  judgment  and  understanding,  complied  with 
the  instructions  of  the  Kavy  Department,  and  received  its  approval. 

5.  That  no  legislation  is  required  on  the  part  of  Congress,  growing 
out  of  the  facts  stated  in  this  record  and  the  correspondence  now  on  file 
in  the  State  and  Ifavy  Departments. 

6.  That  this  committee  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration 
of  the  subject. 


TESTIMONY. 


IStaiement  of  the  Honorable  Charles  A.   Washhurn,  late   United  States 
minister  to  Paraguay. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  30, 1869. 
By  the  Chairman  : 

Question.  State  whether  you  have  read  the  memorial  and  statement  of  Messrs.  Bliss 
OTul  Mjisterraan. — Answer.  Yes. 

(^  Have  the  kindness  to  give  to  the  committee  any  information  you  have  on  thesub- 
j.  ( t  embraced  in  that  memorial. — A.  I  know  very  little  about  it,  because  the  most  of 
tli(5  facts  set  out  in  the  nicmorial  occurred  after  I  left  Paraguay.    I  can  corroborate  that 
part  of  their  HtatMiuiit  relating  to  Avhat  occurred  before  I  left  the  couutrj-.    When  I 
returned  to  Paraguay,  about  two  and  a  half  years  ago,  Mr.  Mastennan  was  a  prisoner 
for  some  trivial  offense  and  had  been  in  prison  for  a  long  time.    Mrs.  Washburn  being 
unwell,  and  there  being  no  physician  there  on  whom  I  could  rely,  I  obtained  his  liberation 
from  custody ;  and  when  he  came  out  of  prison,  where  he  had  been  for  eleven  months  in 
solitary  confin<5ment,  I  took  him  to  live  at  my  house;  that  was  in  October,  1867.    He 
continued  to  live  in  my  house  and  to  attend  as  a  physician  in  my  family.     He  kept 
very  close  to  the  house,  being  afraid  of  being  arrested  a^ain  for  something.    Everybody 
there  was  afraid.    There  were  people  there  who  would  have  given  all  they  had  m  the 
world  for  permission  to  stay  in  my  house,  believiug  that  they  would  be  safe  there; 
whereas  anywhere  else  they  were  liable  to  be  arrested  and  carried  off  to  prison.    On 
the  2l8t  of  February,  1868,  we  heard  that  the  iron-clads  of  the  Brazilian  fleet  had  passed 
HumaitJi,  and  an  order  came  that  the  town  of  Asuncion  was  to  be  vacated.    The  then 
foreign  minister,  Berges,  who  has  since  been  shot  as  one  of  my  fellow-conspirators,  senfr. 
word  to  me  that  night  to  advise  me  that  the  order  would  be  issued  for  the  evacuation 
of  the  town.    He  wished  to  advise  mo  beforehand  so  that  I  might  get  comfortable 
quarters  outside.    I  told  him  that  I  would  not  leave ;  that  the  Paraguayan  government 
could  not  order  me  to  vacate  the  legation  of  the  United  States,  and  that  I  would  stay. 
He  said  he  felt  sorry  at  my  determination.    But  I  said  I  would  stay  and  keep  my 
flag  up.    That  night  a  great  many  persons  came  to  inquire  whether  I  was  going  to 
leave.    I  told  them  that  I  was  not ;  tiiat  I  should  stay  in  the  town.    Many  of  them 
asked  me  if  I  would  allow  them  to  come  and  stay  at  my  house.    I  told  them  I  could 
not  do  that,  becaust^  I  had  not  room  enough  for  everybody ;  but  that  I  would  take  their 
valuables  and  give  them  as  much  care  a«  my  own.    A  good  many  persons  brought  their 
trunks  and  iron  safes  and  articles  of  value  and  left  them  at  my  house.    On  the  23d  or 
24th  the  iron-clads  came  up ;  the  town  was  then  vacated.    There  were  about  25  Eng- 
lish people  who  came  the  next  day  after  the  order  of  evacuation  and  asked  me  if  they 
could  occupy  the  rear  rooms  of  my  premises.    I  told  them  I  had  no  objection,  but 
that  I  thought  they  hatl  better  get  the  consent  of  the  government  or  it  might  be  worse 
for  them.    They  went  down  and  saw  the  vice-president  and  the  foreign  minister,  and. 
represented  that  they  wanted  to  stay  and  that  I  told  them  they  could  nave  some  rooms, 
in  my  house.    The  reply  was  that  there  was  no  objection  in  that  case.    Afterwards  two 
or  tliree  others  came  to  my  house,  including  Dr.  Carreras,  who  formerly  had  been  head, 
of  the  government  of  Montevideo,  and  who  had  come  as  a  fugitive  to  assist  Lopez  two. 
years  before,  but  who  had  not  been  treated  with  any  consideration  and  was  not  allowed, 
to  leave  the  country.    Mr.  Rodriguez,  the  former  secretary  of  the  Uruguay  legation,  came: 
at  the  same  time.    He  had  been. detained  in  the  country  after  the  legation  was  broken 
up.    These  two  men  came  to  my  house.    They  said  they  were  afraid  to  foil  into  the 
hands  of  the  Brazilians,  as  they  were  known  to  be  bitter  enemies  to  Brazil.    I  told  them, 
they  might  stay ;  and  they  lived  with  me  as  my  guests.    They  only  wanted  protection 
from  the  allies.    They  anticipated  danger  in  case  the  town  were  taken,  as  we  supposed, 
would  be  the  case  within  three  or  four  days.    They  remained  several  months  at  my 
house.    The  iron-clads  came  up  on  the  24th.    There  was  a  little  fort  having  but  one 
large  gun  and  three  or  four  tield-pieces  just  below  the  town.    Two  of  the  iron-clads 
came  up  to  this  fort  and  began  to  fire  at  it,  right  in  view  from  my  front  door  and  but 
a  short  distance  off.    They  fired  perhaps  35  or  40  shots  and  the  fort  replied  with  less 
than  half  the  number,  when  the  iron-clads  tm-ned  tail  and  went  away  ;  and  wo  heard 
no  more  of  them  for  a  long  time.    We  thought  that  the  thing  was  pretty  much  played 
out,  but  we  could  not  understand  why  the  alUes  did  not  return  and  do  something.    We 


2  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

fully  realized  that  Lopez  must  fall,  and  that  the  sooner  he  was  overcome  the  hotter  it 
would  he.  We  felt  that  the  people  were  heing  fast  exteiininated,  and  that  if  Koniethiiig 
were  not  soon  done  there  would  he  no  Paraguayan  people  left.  Our  situation  was  very  J 
disagreeahle,  and  we  therefore  desired  that  the  thing  might  end  as  soon  as  possible.  At  1 
the  time  of  the  evacuation  I  told  Mr.  Bliss  that  I  supposed  there  would  he  a  good  deal 
to  ho  done  of  an  oflicial  character,  and  I  wanted  him  to  come  and  live  in  the  legation. 
I  sent  to  the  foreign  minister  a  list  of  the  i^ersons  who  were  in  the  legation,  and  received 
an  answer  to  my  communication.  A  good  deal  of  correspondence  took  jjlace.  The 
names  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  were  both  given  in  aa  belonging  to  the  Ameri- 
can legation.  The  war  continued.  There  was  nothing  done  to  change  the  situation. 
Very  few  people  were  allowed  to  come  into  the  town.  Some  of  those  who  left  prop- 
erty at  my  house  came  and  got  it.  This  condition  of  affairs  was  very  tedious.  We  did 
not  know  what  was  going  on  below,  and  we  could  get  scarcely  any  communication 
whatever.  About  the  5th  of  April  I  thought  I  must  make  an  effort  to  get  through  some 
correspondence,  and  I  wrote  some  dispatches  and  private  letters.  I  wrote  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  telling  him  that  our  situation  was  very  disagreeable  and  dangerous ; 
that  we  did  not  know  what  was  goin;^  on  below,  but  that  we  knew  that  the  situation 
was  very  bad  where  we  were  and  did  not  know  whether  we  could  ever  get  away.  I 
wrote  to  some  of  my  personal  friends  in  stronger  terms  than  I  wanted  to  state  the  facts 
in  an  official  letter,  that  if  we  did  not  get  out  of  Paraguay  pretty  soon  we  would  never 
get  out  alive.  I  afterwards  learned  that  those  dispatches  did  not  get  through.  They 
were  stopped  by  Lopez. 

Shortly  afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  Commander  Kirkland,  of  the  steamer 
Wasp,*;  hat  she  had  arrived  at  Curupaiti,  below  the  Brazilian  squadron,  and  had  come 
up  to  be  at  my  disposal  to  take  me  away  if  I  wanted  to  go.  The  place  where  the  Wasp 
was  lying  was  200  miles  below  Asuncion,,  where  I  was  living.  I  wrote  back  to  Captain 
Kirkland  that  I  could  not  get  aboard  his  steamer  with  my  family  unless  he  came  higher 
up  the  river;  that  to  go  down  by  land  in  Mrs.  Washburn's  state  of  health  was  out  of, 
the  question  entirely,  and  besides  that  the  allies  had  no  right  to  stop  him  from  coming 
up  with  his  gunboat.  I  said  that  four  years  before,  when  the  war  was  beginning,  the. 
Brazi  ian  minister  wa^  detained  at  Paraguay,  and  that  I,  as  the  senior  member  of  the 
diplomatic  body,  had  taken  up  the  case  with  the  Paraguayan  government  and  had, 
insisted  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  country  by  steamer;  that  I  succeeded 
on  that  occasion,  and  that  I  had  a  right  to  expect  from  the  Brazilians  that  as  much 
should  be  done  for  me,  the  American  minister,  as  I  had  demanded  for  the  Braziliaa 
envoy.  Captain  Kirkland  sent  word  back  that  the  allies  still  refused  to  allow  tha 
Wasp  to  come  up;  that  he  had  had  quite  an  angry  controversy  with  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  allies,  and  that  he  could  do  nothing,  having  received  no  orders  from  thq^ 
admiral  commanding  on  the  station  since  he  left  Montevideo,  and  was  going  back. 
There  we  were  left.  The  Wasp  went  back.  Then  we  began  to  learn  that  everybody 
who  was  not  in  the  army  was  being  arrested.  Nearly  all  the  foreigners  and  all  thft. 
better  class  of  Paraguayans  who  had  been  employed  in  certain  civil  services  about  the 
new  capital,  were  being  arrested  and  carried  off.  We  did  not  know  what  it  meant.  Ifei 
was  a  matter  which  we  talked  over  a  good  deal.  We  suspected  that  something  had  been,; 
discovered,  some  plot  or  other,  but  we  did  not  imagine  that  any  men  would  be  such  fools 
as  to  engage  in  a  conspiracy  there,  because  the  system  of  espionage  was  so  thorough  that, 
no  two  men  dared  to  whisper  to  each  otlior  a  word  against  Lopez.  If  they  did  it  would, 
be  a  race  between  them  to  see  who  would  first  report  the  other.  It  was  a  mystery  about 
which  we  Avere  all  in  the  dark.  In  that  state  of  affairs  we  were  surprised  one  day  by  the. 
apx^earance  of  Leite  Pereira,  the  Portuguese  acting  consul  and  his  wife.  He  said  that 
his  exequatur  had  been  revoked,  that  he  feared  he  would  be  arrested,  and  had  fled  to 
my  house  as  a  place  of  refuge.  I  knew  that  if  I  received  him  it  would  greatly  enrage 
Lopez,  and  yet  I  could  not  think  of  sending  him  into  the  streets.  I  told  him  that  I 
would  consult  Avith  the  others,  Carreras,  Rodriguez,  Bliss,  and  others  as  to  what  I  ought 
to  do.  I  did  so,  and  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  I  had  better  allow  him  to  remain. 
He  did  remain,  saying  that  he  would  leave  at  any  time  when  it  was  intimated  to  him. 
that  he  had  better  do  so.  The  only  offense  that  he  had  been  guilty  of,  as  far  as  I  knew, ; 
was  that  he  had  given  all  his  own  money,  and  all  the  money  he  could  borrow,  to  relieve , 
the  necessities  of  the  Brazilian  prisoners  of  war.  He  spent  one  or  two  hundred  thou- 1 
sand  dollars  in  that  wa^f,  and  Lopez  had  the  siispicion  that  he  had  some  understanding, 
with  the  Brazilian  government.  About  a  week  or  a  fortnight  after  that  I  got  a  letter 
from  the  Paraguayan  government  inquiring  whether  the  Portuguese  acting  consul  was 
at  my  house.  I  replied  that  he  was,  tliat  he  came  there  as  my  guest,  with  his  wife  as 
:  a  companion  for  Mrs.  Washburn.  Soon  after  I  received  an  order  to  deliver  him  iip  to 
a  policeman,  who  would  be  sent  to  receive  him.  I  sent  Avord  back  that  I  should  not 
deliver  auyljody  up ;  that  if  I  found  any  person  in  my  legation  who  had  no  right  to  be 
there,  or  who  had  committed  any  specific  crime,  I  could  only  advise  him  to  leave  the 
legation,  but  that  as  to  delivering  him  up  to  a  policeman  I  would  not  do  it.  About 
.a  fortnight  after  that  I  got  an  enormously  long  letter  reciting  a  great  number  of  accu- 
sations and  charges,  and  demanding  that  everybody  not  belonging  to  the  legation  should 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  3 

be  sent  out  of  it.  I  called  the  Englishmen  up  and  told  them  what  sort  of  a  letter  I  had 
received,  and  I  said  that  they  could  go  or  not,  just  as  they  chose,  that  I  should  not 
turn  thorn  out,  but  that  I  apprehended  that  Lopez  would  get  them  one  way  or  another 
and  that  if  he  had  to  get  them  by  force  he  would  make  short  work  of  them.  Leite 
Pcreira,  the  Portuguese  consul,  said  he  would  go.  He  seemed  to  think  that  his  presence 
would  rathcir  hasten  difficidties  on  the  others,  and  he  said  that  ho  would  go  and  meet 
the  accusation  against  him.  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  thought  that  nothing  was  intended 
against  them.  Th<;y  were  known  to  be  enemies  of  Brazil  and  had  sought  the  legation 
as  a  refuge  against  the  allies.  They  requested  me  to  write  a  letter  stating  that  they 
woidd  leave  if  it  were  insistt^d  upon,  but  that  they  preferred  to  remain,  and  that  I  pre- 
fened  to  have  them.  I  did  so,  and  got  a  reply  the  next  da  y  stating  that  they  were  accused  of 
grave  otfenses,  and  that  tbey  nmst  api)ear  before  the  tribunals.  I  told  them  then  that  they 
need  not  go  unless  they  chose  to  do  so;  that  if  they  remained  I  should  give  them  ail 
the  protection  I  could,  unless  they  were  taken  by  force,  or  unless  some  specific  charfre 
was  made  against  them.  Up  to  that  time  no  specific  charge  of  any  ofieuse  had  been 
made  against  any  one.  In  my  corresjwndence  with  th<'  Paraguayan  government  I  stated 
that  I  was  under  no  obligation  to  deliver  anybody  until  some  specific  offense  was  charged 
against  them ;  that  none  of  those  men  had  been  charged  with  any  particular  crime,  and 
that  they  had  a  right  to  be  there.  They  were  satistied,  however,  that  if  they  did  not 
go,  8p(;cific  chaiges  would  bo  made,  or  else  that  they  would  be  taken  by  force.  I  thought 
80  too. 

They  said  also  that  if  I  would  agree  to  remain  in  the  country  till  the  end  of  the 
war  they  would  take  their  chances  and  stay ;  but  I  told  them  I  could  not  do  that. 
b<!cause  I  was  expecting  eveiy  day  to  bo  recalled,  and  that  if  a  new  minister  came  he 
would  probably  live  in  sonio  other  part  of  the  country,  and  they  would  be  left  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  Lopez.  Finally  they  determined  that  the  best  way  for  them  would 
be  to  go  out  and  leave  the  legation.  They  started  off  about  mid-day  of  the  13th  July 
and  were  inunediutely  arrestexl.  The  same  day  that  they  left  I  received  another  note 
from  Beiiitez,  the  same  man  with  whom  I  had  been  carrying  on  the  coiTcspondence. 
His  corr(!spondence  was  very  Jesuitical,  so  much  so  that  I  could  not  but  think  that  he 
WJI8  a  great  scamp ;  but  a8  he  was  afterwards  shot  with  the  rest  for  being  a  cousspir- 
ator.  with  me  I  torgave  him.  This  letter  told  mo  that  Bliss  and  Mastermau  were 
required  to  be  given  up  as  being  equally  guilty  with  the  others.  I  wrote  in  answer 
that  those  men  belonged  to  my  legation  an<l  that  I  would  not  deliver  them  up.  We 
had  a  great  deal  of  correspondence  about  that  matter.  Benitez  pretended  that  they 
did  not  beJoug  to  the  legation  and  I  insisted  that  they  did,  and  that  I  should  stand  by 
them.  I  said  that  if  the  government  was  certain  that  they  did  not  belong  to  the  lega- 
tion they  had  a  riglit  to  take  them  in  the  way  that  the  interaational  law  prescribed, 
but  that  they  nuist  take  the  i-espousibility  of  violating  the  legation.  They  remained 
iintil  I  left,  but  it  was  a  terrible  tinu>.  There  was  a  gloom  that  could  be  felt  in  the 
atmosphere.  The  Paraguayans  whom  I  met  in  the  street  did  not  dare  to  look  at  me, 
and  it  was  the  same  with  some  few  Englishmen  and  others  who  were  at  work  in  the 
arsenal.  If  I  met  them  in  the  street  they  were  afraid  to  speak  to  me.  It  was  a  most 
terrible  state  of  atVairs.  All  of  us  foresaw  pretty  well  that  Lopez  was  intending  to  kill 
us  all  if  things  continued  so  much  longer.  The  correspondence  was  getting  worse  and 
worse  every  day.  We  could  see  that  he  was  closing  his  meshes  around  us,  for  of  those 
he  had  ma(ie  prisoners  he  had  published  what  purported  to  be  their  declarations,  made 
by  them  while  prisoners.  We  knew  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  those  declara- 
tions, not  one  word  so  far  as  they  implicated  any  one  in  my  house  in  a  conspuacy. 
They  purported  to  give  accounts  of  correspondence  which  I  had  been  having  with 
Marshal  Caxias,  the  Brazilian  commander-in-chief,  and  with  other  enemies  of  the 
republic,  and  of  conversations  that  I  had  had  with  the  conspirators  inside  of  Para- 
guay. As  I  knew  that  these  people  when  they  left  my  house  absolutely  did  not  know 
of  any  such  thing,  I  was  con\'inced  they  had  never  made  any  such  declarations,  or  if 
they  had,  that  they  had  made  them  under  torture.  There  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in 
them.  In  the  meanwhile  I  had  received  from  Benitez  a  request  for  a  package  of  pajters 
which  Berges,  the  former  foreign  minister,  (the  same  who  came  to  this  country  as  the 
commissioner  from  Paraguay  in  1859,  and  who  had  been  arrested,  taken  to  headquar- 
ters and  shot,)  had  left  with  me.  The  letter  was  in  substantially  these  words;  "You 
will  please  deliver  to  the  bearer  of  this  a  certain  package  which  was  delivered  to 
you  by  the  ex-Minister  Jos<S  Berges,  the  day  after  his  return  from  the  camp  to  his 
house.  Those  papers  are  of  very  great  importance  to  the  government."  I  replied 
that  I  had  never  had  any  such  papers,  had  never  seen  them,  and  that  I  had  not  seen 
Berges  for  a  week  or  fortnight  after  he  got  back  from  headquarters.  I  had  heard  he 
was  very  sick,  and  called  as  a  matter  of  courtesy  to  see  him.  I  found  him  partly  par- 
alyzed, and  exy>ressed  some  words  of  sjonpathy  and  asked  him  if  I  could  do  anything 
to  serve  him ;  he  said  no,  and  I  went  my  way ;  I  called  again  a  few  days  afterwards 
and  had  a  few  words  with  him  of  the  same"^pmi)ort,  and  that  was  all  I  had  seen  oi 
him:  he  had  never  given  me  a  paper  nor  said  a  word  about  any  conspiracy  or  about 
anything  that  was  not  perfectly  loyal  and  devoted  to  the  government  of  his  excellency 


4  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Marshal  Lopez.  I  stated  this  in  my  letter.  I  saw,  when  I  got  this  demand  for  those 
papers  whieh  had  no  existence,  that  the  clouds  were  gathering  about  me  as  thick  as 
about  anybody  else,  and  that  unless  the  gunboat  came  very  soon  Lopez  would  iind 
some  plausible  pretext  for  arresting  me. 

We  were  expecting  every  day  for  two  months  that  the  legation  would  be  entered,  and 
that  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  be  taken  away  by  force.  In  fact,  th^'  had  theii-  car- 
l)etbags  ready  for  two  months,  to  take  up  at  a  moment's  warning.  I  was  expecting 
that  my  house  would  be  searched ;  I  had  some  papers  which  I  did  not  want  Lopez  to 
see,  because  I  had  been  taking  notes  in  Paraguay,  with  the  idea  of  writing  a  book 
some  time,  and  I  knew  that  if  he  got  hold  of  those  papers  they  would  never  leave  Para- 
gay,  nor  I  either.  I  was  anxious  about  those  i)ai)ers  and  took  great  pains  so  that  he 
could  not  find  them.  I  afterwards  got  them  away.  They  were  the  only  things  in  my 
house  that  I  was  not  perfectly  willing  he  should  examine.  I  ^ot  notice  atjout  the 
1st  of  September  that  the  Wasp  had  arrived  and  was  down  the  river,  opposite  Lopez's 
headquarters.  In  the  meauAvhile  Caminos,  the  new  foreign  minister,  after  the  arrest 
of  both  Berges  and  Benitez  sent  me  a  letter  of  50  closely  written  pages,  in  which  he  gave 
the  declarations  of  all  the  principal  men,  Berges,  the  two  brothers  of  Lopez,  his  chief 
justice,  Dr.  Carreras,  Eodriguez,  and  others,  in  which  they  made  out  a  quantity  of 
charges  perfectly  astounding — declarations  which  it  was  said  they  had  freely  confessed 
before  the  solemn  tribunals  of  the  country  concerning  the  part  I  had  taken  in  the  con- 
spiracy, and  the  part  which  they  had  taken.  In  the  meanwhile  I  had  asked  for  my 
passports  several  times,  but  could  not  get  them.  I  was  convinced  that  Lopez  did  not 
intend  that  I  should  get  out  of  the  country.  When  this  long  letter  came  it  concluded 
by  saying  that  the  Wasp  had  arrived  to  take  me  away;  that  the  government  had  been 
informed  of  my  complicity  with  the  conspirators,  and  with  the  allies,  for  a  long  time ; 
and  that  it  would  have  been  justified  in  withholding  any  communication  or  correspond- 
ence with  me ;  but  that  for  the  great  regard  which  he  had  for  the  great  republic  of  the 
United  States,  he  would  send  me  my  passports,  and  would  provide  me  with  a  steamer 
to  take  me  down  the  river  where  the  Wasp  was  lying  whenever  I  required  it.  The 
new  foreign  minister,  Caminos,  wanted  a  list  of  the  persons  who  were  to  go.  I  had  got  a 
letter  before  that  requiring  a  list  of  all  persons  for  whom  I  wanted  passports,  and  I 
sent  it.  He  sent  me  the  passports  next  day,  omitting  the  names  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man.  All  the  others  whose  names  I  had  given  him  were  included  in  the  passports. 
But  they  did  not  get  the  steamer  ready  for  me  for  four  or  five  days  more.  I  could  see 
that  Lopez  was  still  hesitating  whether  to  let  me  go  or  not.  I  got  a  letter  from  Caminos, 
the  new  foreign  minister,  requesting  me  to  stay  till  the  Paraguayans  who  had  left  their 
property  in  my  hands  had  time  to  take  it  away. 

I  told  him  I  should  not  wait  a  moment  for  that  purpose,  that  I  should  leave  the 
property  there  in  charge  of  some  resjjonsible  person,  and  that  the  owners  could  get 
it  just  as  well  after  I  had  gone  as  while  I  was  there.  A  number  of  the  foreigners  who  had 
sent  property  to  my  house  sent  for  it  and  got  it  and  took  it  away.  We  had  about  two 
notes  a  day  passing  between  us,  I  all  the  time  insisting  that  I  was  ready  and  wanting 
to  go,  and  they  making  excuses  for  my  detention  by  this,  that,  and  the  other  pre- 
text. At  last,  on  the  lOtli  of  September,  I  was  told  that  the  little  steamer  would  be 
ready  that  morning,  and  that  I  could  go  on  board.  Four  days  before  that  I  had  sent 
nearly  all  my  baggage  on  board,  all  except  some  light  trunks ;  it  was  on  board  the 
steamer  for  that  length  of  time.  The  fact  that  I  found  it  had  not  been  opened,  con- 
vinced me  that  Lopez  himself  did  not  believe  a  word  of  that  conspiracy,  because  many 
of  those  deponents  had  testified  to  my  having  received  enormous  sums  of  money,  which, 
if  it  were  true,  must  have  been  with  that  baggage ;  but  as  he  did  not,  so  far  as  I  could 
discover,  open  it  or  take  any  means  to  ascertain  whether  any  money  was  there,  I  was 
satisfied  he  did  not  believe  a  word  of  those  stories.  At  last  we  got  ready  to  go.  Bliss, 
Masterman,  and  myself  talked  it  over  as  to  what  it  was  best  to  do — whether  it  was 
best  to  make  a  protest  that  I  should  refuse  to  go  without  them,  or  whether  I  should 
march  out  of  the  legation  with  the  American  flag  flying  covering  all  of  us.  But 
we  knew  that  anything  that  we  might  do  of  that  kind  would  have  no  good  effect :  that 
it  would  only  enrage  Lopez,  and  that  a  very  little  thing  would  induce  him  to  stop  all 
of  us.  Our  united  opinion  was  that  if  I  could  get  away  and  give  the  alarm  to  our 
squadron  as  to  their  situation,  it  would  be  the  best  thing  for  me  to  do.  They  thought 
that  probably  before  they  would  be  killed,  something  would  come  to  their  relief.  I 
started  my  family  ahead  of  us  so  that  they  could  not  see  anything  of  what  might  tran- 
spire. The  French  and  Italian  consuls  went  down  to  the  steamer  with  us.  We  had 
got  to  the  front  door  of  my  house,  and  just  as  we  stepped  off'  the  corridor  into  the  street, 
there  were  about  50  soldiers,  without  any  officers  that  I  could  see,  and  not  one  of  whom, 
I  suppose,  could  speak  Spanish,  who  rushed  in  and  caught  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and 
a  negro  servant  whom  Carreras  had  left  there,  and  took  them  right  off'  to  prison.  I 
went  down  to  the  little  steamer  and  went  aboard,  and  soon  afterwards  she  got  up 
steam  and  went  down  to  where  the  Wasp  was  lying,  about  20  miles  down  the  river. 
When  on  board  the  Wasp,  Captain  Kirklaud  told  me  of  the  difficulties  he  had  h  ad  in 
getting  there.    He  had  been  sent  up  the  first  time  by  Admiral  Davis,  with  orders  to 


i 


PAKAGUATAN    INVESTIGATIOX.  5 

proceed  to  the  seat  of  war  and  commiinicate  with  lue  and  take  me  away,  if  I  wisL'd  to 
<4o.  The  seat  of  war  was  200  miles  from  where  I  v.ass,  and  his  vessel  might  as  wt-ll  liavc 
been  on  the  coast  of  Africa  as  at  Cnnipaiti,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned.  He  could  not  go 
further  up  the  river  and  so  lie  rctiuned.  "When  he  started  the  second  time  he  was 
informed  that  the  Brazilian  government  had  promised  to  withdraw  all  obstructions  to 
the  Wasp  going  up.  General  Webb  had  made  a  fierce  warfare  upon  the  Brazilian  gov- 
ernment, and  had  threatened  to  ask  for  his  passports  and  to  break  up  his  legation  unless 
the  Wasp  were  allowed  to  go  to  my  relief.  Captain  Kirkland  had  nothing  to  go  upon 
(  xcept  his  information  that  the  obstnictions  would  be  withdrawn,  and  he  was  instructed 
by  Admiral  Davis  to  go  up  the  river  again,  and  to  carry  out  his  former  instructions 
Avhich  he  had  had,  and  which,  as  he  said  to  me,  were  no  instructions  at  all ;  the  whole 
responsibility  bemg  on  himself.  Caxias  attempted  to  stop  him  again,  but  Kirkland 
Milt  word  that  he  wjis  going  throni;li.  He  was  not  stopped  but  came  up  to  Lopez's 
111  adquarters.  He  then  told  me  ol"  tin  intiiview  which  he  had  with  Lopez.  He  told 
Lopez  what  he  had  come  for.  Lopez  said  that  his  relations  with  me  were  very  bad: 
that  I  was  in  collusion  with  tlie  conspirators  and*  with  the  Brazilians.  Kirkland 
laujilicd  at  him,  and  said  that  Caxiaa  hated  me  worse  than  anybody  else,  that  he 
hail  (liMir  t  \  eiything  to  injure  mo,  and  had  tried  to  stop  him  from  coming  up  to  take 
iiM  a\\  a.\  ;  that  the  Brazilians  and  allies  generally  looked  upon  mo  with  more  aversion 
than  upon  anybo<ly  else;  and  that  the  idea  that  I  was  acting  with  them  was  perfectly 
al»surd.  Lopez  said  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  my  collusion  with  the  allies,  as  he  had 
tlic  ])roofH  ol  it.  They  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation.  Kirkland  said  to  Lopez,  as 
l)ia\  a<h>  to  iniiiiiidatc  Lopez,  as  ]\c  told  iiir.  ••  ^dii  Ii;-1  lietter  not  touch  that  man;  he 
has  ,i;oi  .-(.uic  liicnds:  lie  has  -ot  a  hn.thri  who  i-  :i  great  friend  of  General  Grant's. 
(.(•iieial  Grant  is  going  to  l)e  tlie  next  i'resi(h'iit,  and  K.  B.  Washbume  will  be  Secretary 
ot"  State.  If  anything  hai>i)ens  to  Mr.  Washbura,  the  United  States  government  will 
hunt  you  all  throui^h  Europe,  and  have  your  head  certainly.  Besides  that,  there  are 
six  monitors  already  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  coming  down  to  fight  Brazil  ioi  having 
8toi)ped  the  Wasp  before,  and  if  you  touch  him  those  monitors  instead  ot  tiiihting 
Brazil  will  turu  against  you  and  knock  Asuncion  about  your  ears  before  you  kin)w  it." 
Lopez  finally  said  he  would  let  me  go,  and  Captain  Kirkland  gave  me  the  idea  at  that 
time  that  he  had  bullied  Lopez,  and  had  frightened  him.  Several  days  passed.  I  think 
he  was  still  hesitating  whether  ho  would  keep  me  or  not.  At  any  rate  I  did  not  get 
away  and  get  on  board  the  Wasp  for  several  days.  After  I  was  on  board,  Captain 
Kirkland  went  again  to  see  Lopez  and  had  a  good  deal  of  talk  with  him.  I  do  not 
know  all  that  transpired,  but  Kirkland,  when  he  came  back,  seemed  still  to  be  of  the 
same  opinion  about  Lopez.  Ho  said  he  was  the  biggest  fool  he  had  ever  seen  in  the 
^vo^!d  ;  that  he  saw  right  through  him,  and  that  when  he  talked  to  him  in  t  hat  kind  of 
a  v.a\ .  he  eould  see  that  he  wanted  to  order  his  arrest  and  to  shoot  him.  He  said  that 
he  went  to  visit  him  prepared,  if  any  demonstration  was  made  to  an'cst  him,  to  defend 
hini.sell'  That  was  his  feeling.  At  least  that  is  what  he  stated  to  me  20  times  on  the 
voyage  down  the  river,  as  to  what  took  place  between  him  and  Lopez.  But  afterwards 
wl'ieu  he  got  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  found  that  General  Webb  and  Achniral  Davis  had 
quarreled,  and  that  the  current  was  very  strong  against  me,  he  modified  his  views  very 
much  in  a  letter  to  Admiral  Davis,  and  said  that  he  did  not  understand  there  was  any 
threat  from  Lopez  to  keep  me,  and  that  he  was  treated  with  great  courtesy.  Well,  he 
was  treated  with  courtesy.  And  I  was  told  quite  a  niunber  of  bales  of  Paraguayan 
yerba  were  brought  aboard  and  were  afterwards  advertised  for  sale  in  Montevideo  as 
iParaguayan  yerba,  brought  by  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Masterman  and  Bliss  were  the  only  persons  of  your  legation  that  were  arrested?— 
A.  Yes;  they  were  arrested  as  we  left  the  house.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Lopez  from  on 
board  the  Wasp,  telling  him  that  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  declarations  which 
purported  to  have  been  made  by  CaiTeras  and  his  two  brothers  and  the  others,  and  that 
he  knew  there  was  not,  and  I  told  him  that  if  they  made  those  statements  they  wt-re 
made  under  torture,  and  that  the  only  way  he  had  to  prevent  them  from  deuymg  the 
statements  afterwards  was  to  kill  them,  and  not  only  kill  them  but  kill  the  persons 
before  whom  the  statements  were  made.  I  protested,  too,  against  the  seizing  ot  Bliss 
and  Masterman,  as  being  as  much  a  violation  of  my  rights  as  minister  as  though  the 
soldiers  had  entered  my  house  and  took  them  aAvay  by  force,  and  I  confirmed  the  state- 
ment of  Captain  Kirkland  to  him,  that  if  he  had  detained  me  and  kept  me  a  prisoner, 
the  United  States  would  have  hunted  him  through  the  world.  I  read  the  letter  to  Cap- 
tain Kirkland,  and  he  made  no  objection  to  it.  The  strange  conduct  ol  the  navy  has 
been  a  mystery  to  me.  The  newspapers  have  represented  that  they  louJid  that  bliss 
and  Masterman  were  well  treated  by  Lopez,  that  they  were  in  good  health,  and  that 
liOpez  Avas  a  very  much  abused  man  and  much  maligned  by  me.  But  as  he  has  since 
then  killed  nearly  all  the  foreigners  that  were  in  the  country,  and  killed  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  very  likely  his  mother  and  his  brothers-in-law,  and  as  the  tew  wJio 
have  escaped  have  confirmed  everything  I  said  and  a  bundled  times  more,  1  do  not 
know  what  our  naval  friends  will  say  now 


6  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Bliss  and  Mastennan  were  thrown  into  prison  immediately,  I  suppose? — A.  Yes; 
they  were  taken,  so  they  say,  to  jnison  that  day.  They  were  stripped  immediately  and 
searched,  and  then  were  taken  on  muleback  out  of  the  city,  laden  with  heavy  fetters. 

By  the  Cpiairman: 

Q.  State  how  they  left  the  legation. — ^A.  We  started  together;  they  were  with  me, 
right  by  my  side. 

Q.  For  what  purpose  did  they  start  ? — A.  They  were  going  to  leave  the  country  with 
me,  unless  they  were  arrested.  If  they  were  taken  at  all  I  wanted  them  to  be  taken 
by  force,  and  not  to  deliver  themselves  up.  They  state  in  their  memorial  how  they 
were  treated. 

Q.  How  did  they  leave  you  ? — A.  I  occupied  a  large  house  with  a  long  piazza  in  front ; 
we  went  out  together ;  I  was  a  little  in  front ;  the  two  consuls,  French  and  Italian, 
weie  one  on  each  side  of  me,  and  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  were  directly  in  my  rear. 
Just  as  they  stepped  off  the  piazza  this  crowd  of  Indian  soldiers  rushed  in  and  seized 
tlieui  by  force  and  hustled  them'off ;  there  were  i^robably  about  50  soldiers. 

Q.  Did  you  ask  passports  for  those  men  ? — ^A.  I  did,  and  was  refused  them. 

By  Mr.  Judd  : 

Q.  Who  is  Bliss  ? — A.  He  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Asher  Bliss,  of  South  Valley,  Catta- 
raugus county,  New  York. 

C^.  How  long  had  he  been  in  Paraguay  ? — ^A.  He  had  been  fhere  three  or  four  years. 

Q.  In  any  public  capacity  ?  —A.  He  had  begun  getting  up  a  history  of  Paraguay  in 
Spanish.  He  is  a  very  fine  Spanish  scholar,  and  had  got  a  good  deal  of  material  for 
his  history,  and  had  received  some  pay  from  the  government  for  getting  it  up. 

By  Mr.  Wood  : 

Q.  What,  in  your  judgment,  was  the  cause  of  the  arrest  of  those  two  men? — A.  That 
is  a  mystery.  Bliss  thinks  that  Lopez  believed  there  was  a  conspiracy,  but  I  do  not 
think  he  believed  so.  There  never  was  anything  of  the  kind.  He  got  insane  and  sav- 
age, and  seemed  determined  to  destroy  everybody.  He  told  me  two  years  before,  ^^'hen 
I*  saw  him  at  his  headquarters,  that  if  he  must  go  under,  at  least  he  was  not  going  to 
leave  anybody  or  anything  behind  him ;  and  he  is  carrying  out  that  threat  now.  He 
was  determined  to  kill  off  everybody  in  the  country. 

Q.  Was  there  no  motive  for  that  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  what  it  was. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Did  Bliss  mix  up  with  the  politics  of  the  country  ? — ^A.  No,  sir. 
By  Mr.  Wood  : 

Q.  Had  he  offended  Lopez  in  any  way? — A.  No;  nobody  had  given  cause  of  offense 
to  LoiDez  that  I  Icuow  of.  Lopez  was  offended  with  me  because  I  staid  in  the  capital 
after  he  had  ordered  it  to  be  evacuated.  The  Italian  and  French  and  Portuguese  con- 
suls came  to  my  house  late  at  night,  when  the  order  of  evacuation  was  issued,  and 
asked  me  what  I  was  going  to  do.  I  told  them  I  should  stand  my  ground ;  that  I  would 
not  go  out  of  the  town ;  and  that  the  United  States  legation  was,  for  the  time.  United 
States  territory.  The  Portuguese  consul  was  for  doing  the  same  thing ;  and  the  French- 
man said  no,  he  did  not  think  it  would  be  safe ;  the  iron-clads  Avould  be  there,  and 
would  bombard  the  town  and  laiock  it  all  to  pieces.  I  told  him  I  was  not  afraid  of  my  ■ 
house  being  bombarded,  and  that  I  would  stay  any  way. 

By  Mr.  Sw^inn  : 
Q.  What  was  the  Frenchman's  rank?    Was  he  consul? — ^A.  No;  he  was  acting  con- 
sul.   He  was  only  sent  by  the  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres  to  relieve  the  former  consul. 
The  Italian  was  a  regular  consul. 

ByMr.  Orth: 

Q.  What  other  foreign  ministers  were  there  at  the  time? — A.  There  were  no  other* 
but  myself  The  Portuguese  consul  wished  to  remain,  but  the  next  morning  he  had> 
an  imi^erative  order  fi-om  the  government  that  he  must  get  out  of  the  town  that  day 
or  that  it  would  be  worse  for  him.   The  other  two  consuls  decided  to  go  of  their  own  accord. 

By  Mr.  Wood  : 

Q.  How  long  has  Lopez  governed  Paraguay? — A.  Ho  was  elected  in  October,  186"<i.^ 
His  father  died  in  August,  1862, 1  think.  He  elected  hunself  He  was  the  minister  of 
war  under  his  father,  and  had  command  of  the  army,  and  he  just  took  i)ossession  v/hen 
the  old  man  died.  The  government  at  Asuncion  has  to  each  district  a  chief  and  a  judge, 
and  they  constituted  the  government  of  that  district,  and  sent  to  the  congress  in  Asun- 
cion the  men  that  Lopez  wished ;  but  even  then  he  was  afraid  there  was  a  conspiracy, 
and  there  were  a  great  many  people  arrested.  It  was  reported  that  his  brother,  who 
has  since  been  shot,  was  engaged  in  the  conspiracy,  and  that  Padre  Maiz,  who  has  been 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  7 

a  sort  of  head  inquisitor  lately,  was  getting  np  a  conspiracy  against  Lopez.  At  any 
rate  tliere  were  very  stroug  precautious  taken,  and  there  was  a  great  military  demon- 
stration made.  The  congi-ess  was  held  in  the  Cahildo,  or  government  house*.  It  was 
suiTouudcd  by  soldiers.  One  of  the  richest  men  in  the  country  ventured  to  remark  in 
the  congress  that  Francisco  Solano  Lopez  was  not  the  proper  person  to  be  elected ;  that 
the  constitution  of  tlto  country  declared  that  the  government  should  not  be  the  heri- 
tage of  any  one  family,  and  that  therefore  the  son  oi  the  deceased  president  should  not 
succeed  him.  That  objection  was  negatived,  and  everybody  voted  for  Francisco  Solano 
Lopez,  and  he  was  elected.  This  gentleman  was  immediately  put  in  prison,  and  was 
never  heard  of  afterwards. 

By  SIi-.  SWANN : 

Q.  Were  those  conspirators  tried  by  civil  or  military  tribunal  ? — A.  By  military  tri 
bunal.    There  is  no  law  there,  and  nothing  whatever  but  the  will  of  Lopez.j 
By  Mr.  Judd  : 

Q.  Mr.  Bliss  was  out  there  as  a  literary  man?— A.  Yes;  he  was  a  great  scholar. 

(^.  And  was  not  mixing  up  with  their  political  aflfairs? — A.  No,  sir;  nobody  wasmix- 
i.ig  up  with  tlu'ir  political  afl'airs.  Nobody  there  dared  say  a  word  but  "Viva  el  grand 
Lopez  /"  His  little  paper  is  filled  up  with  nothing  but  flourishing  adulations  of  the  great 
Marshal  Lopez.  All  the  time  before  the  evacuation  they  were  holding  public  meetings — 
every  week  or  two— to  make  presents  to  Loi)€z.  Even  the  women  and  children  had  to 
give  awaj'  everything  they  could  scrapji,  to  show  their  appreciation  and  gratitude  to 
him;  there  was  no  resisting  it.  Nobody  dared  to  hold  back  or  to  refuse  to  contribute. 
They  gave  him  a  great  big  album  with  gold  covers  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick — those 
peoide  who  could  not  get  enougJi  to  eat  themselves.  That  was  going  on  all  the  time. 
I  lived  there  so  long  that  I  got  the  contidenceof  quite  a  number  of  people,  Paraguayans. 
They  thought  I  was  a  safe  person  to  talk  to.  They  even  told  me  that  there  was  the  most 
univei"sal  hypocrisy  there ;  that  there  was  not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  who  would  not 
bo  delighted  to  know  that  Lopez  was  40  feet  under  ground.  They  had  to  go  to  those 
meetings,  and  to  make  speeches,  and  to  offer  their  lives,  fortunes,  and  everj'thing  else ; 
even  the  women  oflered  to  take  up  arms  under  his  imported  mistress,  who  generally 
took  the  lead  among  the  women—  I  mean  Mrs.  Lynch. 
By  Mr.  Wood  : 

Q.  I  believe  Lopez  has  been  put  doAvn  f— A.  He  has  fled  to  the  mountains.    The  lega 
tion  that  succeeded  me  has  gone  with  him. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Is  Lopez  a  young  man  ? — A.  He  is  45  years  of  age. 
ByMr.  Oirni: 

Q.  Where  is  the  necessity  of  having  any  American  minister  at  Paraguay  ?— A.  I  do  not 
know  that  there  is  any  more  reason  for  having  a  minister  there  than  there  is  at  three 
or  four  other  South  American  governments.    If  the  government  there  was  diflerent, 
there  is  a  field  for  a  great  and  profitable  commerce. 
By  the  Cilukman: 

Q.  Do  you  know  anji;liing  about  the  treatment  of  Mastermau  and  Bliss?— A.  Nothing 
but  their  own  statements.  I  do  not  know  what  explanation  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment gave  to  my  successor.  General  McMahon,  but  it  seemed  to  satisfy  liini.  And  Bliss 
and  Mastermau,  as  they  say,  were  received  as  criminals  and  treated  as  criminals  while 
they  were  on  board  the  Wasp  and  on  board  the  Guerriero.  I  had  advised  Genera! 
McMahou  verbally  and  by  letter  of  the  situation  of  afiau's  in  Paraguay,  but  he  acted  on 
the  statement  of  Lopez,  in  preference  to  mine. 

By  Mr.  W^OOD : 

Q.  What  course  has  the  English  government  taken  with  reference  to  Mr.  Masterman, 
who  is  an  Englishman  ?— A.  It  has  not  done  anything.  I  saw  the  English  minister  m 
Buenos  Ajtcs,  and  he  said  that,  as  Masterman  was  connected  with  the  United  States 
legation,  it  would  devolve  on  the  United  States  government  to  rescue  him,  rather  than 
on  the  English  government.  •      »     *    n 

Q.  You  recoguized  Bliss  and  Masterman  as  being  attached  to  your  legation  ?— ^  Cer- 
tainly I  did.  Masterman  had  been  in  my  house  eight  or  ten  months,  or  longer.  He  had 
lived  in  my  family,  and  nothing  had  occurred  to  change  our  relations  except  that  the 
legation  moved  away,  and  he  was  bound  to  move  with  it. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Do  you  know  whether  our  naval  oflfigers  who  held  Mr.  Bliss  as  a  prisoner  had  any 
infoi-mation  in  reference  to  his  participation  in  Paraguayan  affairs  except  what  they  got 
fi'om  Lopez  ?— A.  I  had  told  them  that  there  was  no  conspiracy,  and  there  was  none.  I 
wrote  a  private  letter  to  General  McMahon,  and  said  that,  in  my  opinion,  he  ought  not 
to  go  near  Loi)ez. 


8  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Wood: 
Q.  Was  there  any  other  charge  against  them  except  that  of  conspiracy? — A.  None 
whatever. 

By  Mr.  Judd  : 

Q.  Was  it  made  known  to  Achrjral  Davis,  or  to  Captain  Kirkland,  or  to  your  suc- 
cessor, that  those  gonthnuen  had  heen  connected  witli  your  legation,  and  were  forcibly 
taken  from  it  before  they  were  received  as  luisonersf — A.  Certainly.  All  my  corre- 
spondence on  the  subject  was  published  in  the  papers  in  Buenos  Ayres,  in  three  languages, 
and  I  detailed  the  whole  affair  to  them  verbally  also.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  received 
on  board  the  Wasp,  as  they  state,  at  midnight.  Captain  Kirkland  came  out  on  deck " 
with  the  master-at-arms,  and  said :  ''Take  those  men  forward,  and  put  a  guard  over 
them,  and  see  that  they  don't  loaf  about."  Masterman  made  some  objection  to  being 
treated  in  that  way,  but  Kirkland  replied  very  sharply  and  sent  them  forward.  There 
they  were  covered  with  vermin  and  had  nothing  to  sleep  upon  that  night  excejjt  on  the 
deck  of  the  vessel.  Neither  the  admiral  nor  Captain  Kirkland  took  any  pains  to  make 
them  more  comfortable. 

Q.  I  wish  to  have  the  fact  distinctly  stated  whether,  before  those  naval  gentlemen 
treated  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  that  way,  they  wxre  advised  by  you  of  the  relations  of 
those  men  to  your  legation  ? — A.  Certainly  they  were. 
By  Mr.  A^mbler  : 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  gave  Captain  Kirkland  a  full  history  of  the  trans- 
action.— A.  Certainly.  And  in  the  letter  which  I  sent  back  to  Lopez,  and  wiiich  Cap- 
tain Kirkland  read,  I  protested  against  his  having  taken  those  two  members  of  my  lega- 
tion. 

By  Mr.  Willard: 

Q,  Did  you  communicate  to  Captain  Kirkland  the  fact  that  you  told  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman that  they  might  make  any  confession  they  chose. — A.  I  told  them  that  if  they 
could  save  their  lives  they  might  make  any  confession  they  pleased. 

Q.  Did  you  communicate  that  fact  to  Captain  Kirkland? — ^A.  I  do  not  know  that  I 
did,  but  I  told  him  that  the  letters  received  from  Bliss,  one  to  him  and  one  to  me,  after 
I  was  on  board  the  Wasp,  had  been  forced  from  him,  probably  by  torture,  and  I*  think  I 
told  him  that  I  had  given  both  him  and  Masterman  full  liberty  to  say  anything  about 
or  against  me  that  could  save  their  lives.  I  said  to  Bliss  and  Masterman,  "  You  may  say 
anything  about  me  that  you  think  will  help  your  case.  You  may  say  you  saw  me  steal 
sheep  or  commit  burglary,  if  you  think  you  can  thereby  isrolong  your  lives.  Nobody 
would  believe  a  word  of  it,  in  Paraguay  or  out  of  Paraguay,  and  it  can  do  me  no  harm." 

By  Mr.  Sheldon: 
Q.  Did  you  have  any  talk  with  Captain  Kirkland,  in  which  you  suggested  that  those 
declarations  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  been  forced  from  them  by  torture,  and  were 
entirely  untrue  ? — A.  Only  in  regard  to  those  letters  received  on  board  the  Wasp.  The 
later  declarations  had  not  then  been  made ;  at  least  we  knew  notliing  of  them.  It  was 
shown  in  my  correspondence,  which  is  very  long,  and  which  was  read  by  everybody 
there,  that  all  these  pretended  dei)ositions  were  false,  and  had  been  made,  if  at  all, 
under  torture.  In  my  letter  to  the  English  minister  I  stated  that  there  was  no  conspi- 
racy, and  that  these  men  belonged  to  my  legation. 

By  Mr.  Ambler: 
Q.  This  publication  in  the  newspapers  to  which  you  refer  was  in  Buenos  Ayres? — A. 
Yes,  sir. 
•Q.  Was  it  before  the  Wasp  returned  to  bring  away  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — ^A.  Yes,  sir. 
Q.  Have  you  copies  of  that  publication  ? — A.  Yes. 

By  the  Chairman: 

Q.  What  is  the  article  "yerba"  that  you  speak  of. — A.  It  is  Paraguayan  tea.  Bliss 
.and  Masterman  stated  that  while  they  were  undergoing  examination  before  the  inqui- 
sition, of  which  Captain  Kirkland  and  Captain  Ramsey  seemed  to  be  members,  they 
noticed  that  presents  were  made  to  those  officers  at  that  time. 

Q.  You  know  nothing  yourself  of  what  you  call  the  inquisition? — A.  No;  of  course  I 
was  not  present.  I  will  get  the  several  papers  and  documents  to  which  I  have  referred 
.and  present  them  to  the  committee. 

Washington,  Ds  C,  Apnl  1, 1869. 

The  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn  appeared  before  the  committee  and  continued  his 
statement  as  follows :  «  • 

I  was  speaking  the  other  day  of  Captain  Kirkland  and  of  his  conduct.  I  stated  that 
his  representations  to  me  on  board  the  Wasp  were  very  contradictory  to  the  statements 
which  he  made  afterwards.    When  I  first  heard  from  him  on  his  going  up  the  river,  he 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  9 

pent  mc  a  letter  complaining  very  much  of  the  treatment  he  had  received  from  Presi- 
<lent  Lopez.    He  said  he  had  arrived  there  and  been  treated  with  great  discourtesy  by 
Lopez.     He  said  ho  coukl  not  kiarn  where  Lopez  was  or  where  I  was,  and  that  he  was 
waiting  with  great  anxiety.    I  sent  him  a  reply  that  I  was  at  Asuncion,  and  was  pre- 
]iared  to  embark  immediately.    He  had  asked  me  where  I  wished  to  embark,  and  I  told 
him  I  wished  to  embark  at  Asuncion,  but  it  was  some  time  afterwards  before  I  was  able 
to  get  away,  as  I  stated  the  other  day.     Then  when  I  got  on  board  he  represented  to 
me  what  his  interviews  with  Lopez  had  been  and  what  Lopez  had  said  to  him.    He 
represented  that  ho  had  bullied  Lopez,  that  he  had  threatened  him  with  the  whole 
power  of  the  United  States  if  he  ventured  to  lay  hands  upon  me,  and  that  he  stated 
things  w^hicli  he  did  not  believe  and  which  I  did  not  believe,  many  of  them  false,  pur- 
])OHely  to  bully  Lopez.    Ho  told  him,  for  instance,  that  there  were  six  iron-clads  on  the 
< oast  and  that  my  brother  Ellihu  was  to  be  Secretary  of  State,  which  neither  he  nor  I 
Ix'lieved  at  the  time.    But  he  supposed  that  such  talk  would  intimidate  Lopez  and 
induce  him  not  to  proceed  to  extremes.    On  these  representations  of  Captain  Kirk- 
land's,  I  wrote  to  Admiral  Davis,  commending  his  conduct  in  the  highest  terms,  and 
stating  that  I  believed  that  by  his  manner  of  detiant  attitude  and  by  the  fact  that  he 
t  alked  Spanish  well,  he  had  been  able  to  frighten  Lopez  to  give  me  up ,  whereas  a  dif- 
Icrent  kind  of  a  man  might  have  been  frightened  away  himself  and  left  me  there.    I 
approved  Captain  Kirkland's  course  then,  and  I  believe  I  did  so  justly.    He  repeated 
this  conversation  which  he  had  had  with  Lopez  more  than  twenty  times  to  nwi  going 
down  the  river.    He  said  that  Lopez  was  the  biggest  fool  he  ever  saw  in  his  life,  that 
ho  could  see  right  through  him,  that  he  knew  how  to  take  him  and  that  he  took  him 
on  his  weak  side.    I  believe  that  he  did  me  a  good  service  and  I  was  willing  to  testify 
to  it,  as  I  did  in  very  strong  terms.    When  he  came  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
he  learned  that  there  was  a  bitter  (piarrcl  in  Kio  between  General  Webb  and  Admiral 
Davis.    General  Webb  had  complained  of  the  tardiness  of  the  Admiral  in  going  to  the 
rescue  of  Bliss  and  Mastemian.    General  Webb  had  also  quarreled  with  the  Brazilian 
government  on  my  account.    If  the  Wasp  htul  not  got  there  for  two  weeks  longer  I 
presume  1  would  not  have  left  Paraguay  alive.    I  owe  everything  to  General  Webb 
for  the  energ>'  and  promptness  with  which  he  acted,  but  the  sentiment  of  the  squad- 
ron appears  to  have  been  such  that  Captain  Kirkland  wrote  in  very  dilierent  terms  to 
Admiral  Davis  for  some  reason  or  other.    I  do  not  imagiue  that  he  was  influenced  by 
the  presents  which  ho  had  received  from  Lopez.    I  do  not  supjiose  so.    I  spoke  of 
them  the  other  day ;  some  of  them  consisted  of  bales  of  Paraguayan  tea,  which  is  a 
valuable  article.    But  I  do  not  think  he  Avas  influenced  by  them ;  else,  why  should  he 
have  spoken  in  such  bitter  terms  of  Lopez  while  we  were  going  down  the  river  ?    But 
he  wrote  to  Admiral  Davis  (which  letter  was  published  in  the  papers  through  the 
country)  representing  that  Lopez  had  treated  him  with  great  courtesy  and  had  ex- 
pressed his  wish  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  the  United  States,  and 
he  gave  the  inference  that  Bliss  and  Mastennan  were  in  no  danger.    And  yet,  at  the 
very  time  that  Kirkland  was  there  in  the  company  of  Lopez,  these  two  men  Avere  under 
torture.    Masterman  was  nearly  killed  with  torture  at  the  same  time  that  Kirkland 
was  in  the  company  of  Lopez  and  Lopez  was  professing  great  friendship  for  the  United 
States.    Ho  WTote  in  a  i)rivate  letter  to  Admiral  Davis,  which  is  also  i)ublislied  in  this 
correspondence,  that  I  had  misrepresented  the  state  of  aflairs  there  somewhat,  that  he 
did  not  understand  Lopez  tus  threatening  to  keep  me  at  all,  and  that  the  construction 
w  hich  I  had  put  on  his  words  was  ditterent  from  his  idea.    This  letter  Admiral  Davis 
has  sent  on  to  justify  his  course  in  not  being  more  jirompt,  as  he  had  the  evidence  of 
Cajitain  Kirkland  that  these  men  were  in  no  danger  and  that  there  was  no  necessity 
for  prompt  action.    When  Bliss  and  Masterman  came  down  on  the  Wasp  they  were 
transferred  to  the  flag-ship  Guerriere.    For  the  first  eighteen  hours  that  they  were  on 
board,  as  they  told  me,  they  were  at  liberty  and  were  allowed  to  talk  with  the  officers. 
They  had  heard  that  a  steamer  w^as  to  leave  the  next  day  for  the  United  States.    Mr. 
Bliss  wrote  a  letter  to  his  parents  and  sent  it  on,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  was  well 
treated  on  board  the  Guerriere ;  and  I  see  from  the  New  York  papers  a  statement  which 
appears  to  be  made  out  in  the  interest  of  Admiral  Davis,  that  I  had  written  letters 
highly  complimentary  to  Admiral  Davis  and  to  Captain  Kirkland.    I  had  done  so  es- 
pecially in  reference  to  Captain  Kirkland.    The  New  York  Tribune  also  states  that 
Air.  Bliss  in  a  letter  to  his  parents  says,  "  I  am  under  no  restraint  on  board  this  mag- 
nificent vessel,  were  I  am  treated  with  every  attention  by  the  officers."    That  was  true 
for  ten  or  twelve  hours  after  he  came  on  board,  but  the  next  morning  an  official  letter 
Avas  read  directing  that  ho  and  Masterman  should  be  held  under  surveillance  by  a  non- 
commissioned officer,  and  that  they  were  to  hold  no  comnmuication  with  the  shore.    I 
saw  Mr.  Masterman  in  Ncav  York  the  day  he  sailed  for  England,  and  I  spoke  to  him  in 
reference  to  this  publication  of  Bliss's  letter,  where  he  spoke  of  being  under  no  re- 
straint.   He  thought  it  over  and  he  Avrote  me  a  letter  which  I  wish  to  have  inserted 
in  this  testimony.    It  is  as  folloAVS : 

"  Neav  York,  March  11,  1869 

"  Dear  Sir  :   My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  paragraph  in  to-day's  Tribune,  in 
which  a  portion  of  a  letter  is  quoted  from  ^Ir.  Bliss,  in  Avhich  he  says:  'I  am  under  no 


10  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

restraint  on  this  magnificent  vessel,  where  I  am  treated  with  every  attention  hy  the 
officers.'  Now  this  apparently  clashes  with  my  statement,  that  we  were  treated  as 
prisoners  on  board  that  vessel — the  explanation,  however,  is  simple  enough.  We  went 
on  board  the  Gnerriere  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  December,  1868,  and  for  that  day 
were  left  at  perfect  liberty,  and  several  officers  spoke  to  us  in  a  friendly  way,  but  the 
next  morning  the  captain  of  marines  read  an  order  to  us  in  these  terms,  as  far  as  I  can 
recall  them.  'Messrs.  Bliss  and  Mastemian  will  remain  under  the  surveillance  of  a 
non-commissioned  ofiicer,  &c.,  and  will  not  be  permitted  to  communicate  with  the  shore 
in  any  way ;  should  they  attempt  to  do  so,  he  will  immediately  arrest  them.'  The  con- 
sequence was,  not  an  officer  (except  Dr.  Duval)  would  speak  to  us,  and  we  were 
regarded  as  prisoners  by  all  on  board,  and  I  certainly  considered  myself  one.  The  let- 
ter in  question,  of  Mr.  Bliss,  was  written  on  the  18th  or  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th,  when  we  were  at  perfect  liberty  on  board  the  flag-ship. 
"  I  am  ever,  dear  sir,  very  faithfully  yours, 

"G.  F.  IVIASTERMAN. 
"Hon.  C.  A.  Washburn." 

(Extract  from  the  New  York  Tribune.) 

"  In  accordance  with  the  desire  expressed  in  this  letter,  two  officers  were  sent  on  shore 
to  witness  the  verification  of  the  declarations  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  on 
the  10th  those  two  gentlemen  were  received  on  board  the  Wasp.  A  sealed  package 
addressed  to  Secretary  Seward  was  received  at  the  same  time.  It  will  be  remembered 
( Admkal  Davis  makes  no  allusion  to  the  fact)  that  the  declarations  made  by  Bliss  and 
Masterman  in  the  presence  of  our  naval  officers  implicated  themselves  and  Mr.  Wash- 
burn in  the  alleged  conspiracy  against  Lopez.  After  their  release  they  retracted  all 
the  statements  of  these  declarations,  declaring  that  they  had  been  extorted  by  physical 
torture  and  threats  of  death.  It  does  not  appear  from  this  correspondence  that  the 
two  gentlemen  were  '  received  as  prisoners,'  as  they  themselves  state,  and  it  may  bo 
as  weU  to  remind  our  readers  that  in  a  private  letter  written  by  Porter  C.  Bliss  to  his 
parents,  and  dated  on  board  the  United  States  flag-ship  Gnerriere  off  Montevideo, 
December  19,  published  in  the  Tribune  February  1,  Mr.  Bliss  says :  '  I  am  under  no 
restraint  on  board  this  magnificent  vessel,  where  I  am  treated  with  every  attention  by 
the  officers.' " 

Now,  in  reference  to  the  position  which  these  men  held  in  my  legation  at  Asuncion  : 
Here  is  a  letter  which  I  wrote  to  Benitez  on  that  matter,  in  which  I  argue  the  case,  and 
which  I  think  may  also  go  in  with  my  testimony.  It  sets  forth  all  the  facts  as  to 
whether  they  were  members  of  the  legation  or  not. 

(The  letter  is  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibit  A.) 

Here  is  a  letter  which  I  wrote  to  President  Lopez  after  I  got  on  board  the  Wasp, 
wherein  I  denounced  him  as  a  common  enemy  for  having  taken  by  forcible  means  two 
members  of  my  legation,  also  for  having  entered  the  houses  of  foreigners  and  stolen 
their  money,  on  the  pretext  that  his  treasury  had  been  robbed. 

(The  letter  is  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibit  B.) 

I  read  that  letter  to  Captain  Kirkland  liefore  I  sent  it,  and  he  made  no  objection  to  it. 
How  he  could  have  written  as  he  did  afterwards,  I  do  not  pretend  to  explain.  Before 
I  had  sent  this  letter  I  received  letters  from  Mr.  Bliss,  Avritten  after  he  had  fallen  into 
Lopez's  hands,  and  written  by  dictation.  He  was  obliged  to  write  them  over  two  or 
three  times,  with  a  man  prodding  him.  He  states  that,  having  got  out  of  my  power, 
and  being  at  full  liberty  again,  he  can  tell  the  truth  about  me.  I  had  two  other  letters  of 
his  which  he  had  written  to  send  by  me  to  his  friends  before  I  left  Asuncion.  One  of  tJiem 
was  addressed  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Goodfellow,  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  other  to  a  gentle- 
man in  Rio,  both  friends  of  his,  in  which  letters  he  expressed  his  highest  appreciation 
of  my  services  and  of  my  eflbrts  to  save  him.  His  other  letter  will  show,  of  course,  that 
it  was  written  under  compulsion. 

(The  letters  referred  to  are  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibits  C,  D,  and  E.) 

Then  here  is  the  letter  which  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Stuart,  the  English  minister  in  ]3uenos 
Ayres,  in  which  is  given  a  more  succinct  and  better  account  of  the  state  of  aflairs  in 
Paraguay  than  I  was  able  to  give  in  my  testimony  the  other  day,  which  I  also  desire  to 
be  made  part  of  my  testimony.  It  Avas  published  in  part  with  the  other  documents  of 
the  State  Department,  but  only  a  portion  of  it  was  published.  That  part  of  it  in  which 
I  reflect  severely  on  Lopez  is  left  out. 

(The  letter  is  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibit  F.) 

I  also  submit  a  letter  received  by  me  since  then  from  Mr.  R.  von  Fischer-Treunfeld, 
Lopez's  constructor  of  telegraphs.  He  was  at  liberty  Avhen  I  left,  and  was  soon  after- 
wards arrested,  taken  to  headquarters,  and  put  in  the  stocks.  By  a  wonderful  chance 
he  escaped,  although  Lopez  had  sent  orders  to  have  him  killed.  In  fact,  he  had  been 
ordered  twice  to  be  shot,  but  he  escaped  and  wrote  me  this  letter,  giving  me  a  full  ac- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION  11 

count  of  events  wliicli  had  happened  under  his  own  observation,  in  which  ho  testifies 
of  me  in  the  kindest  temis,  and  says  he  has  understood  that  I  have  got  into  trouble 
with  my  own  government,  but  that  wlien  the  facts  come  out,  everybody  will  speak  in 
justification  ot  mo.  He  says  that  I  did  all  that  was  possible  for  any  human  being  to' 
do  to  save  the  people.  This  letter  I  should  like  to  have  go  in  my  testimony.  It  is  a 
very  interesting  letter,  and  has  been  published  in  the  Tribune  and  Times,  of  New  York. 

(The  letter  is  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibit  G.) 

Then  I  wish  to  say  sonulhing  more  in  reference  to  the  predecessor  of  Admiral  Davis. 
The  resolution  under  which  tlw  committee  is  acting  calls,  I  believe,  for  an  investigation 
irom  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  war.  1  shall  state  in  reference  to  Admiral 
Godon,  of  the  New  York  navy  yard,  facts  which,  if  I  prove  them,  ought  to  drive  him 
out  of  the  navy,  and  I  wish  that  he  may  bo  present  when  I  give  my  testimony. 

Here  is  a  private  letter  which  I  wrote  after  I  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres,  to  my  suc- 
cessor, General  McMahon,  in  which  I  recite  the  situation  of  afi'airs  in  Paraguay,  the 
cii-cumstauces  that  had  occurred  to  me,  giving  a  list  of  matters  which  I  would  like  to 
have  looked  into,  stating  where  I  had  left  property  belonging  to  certain  individuals 
deposited  with  me,  and  telling  him  what  my  ideas  were  as  to  what  he  should  do,  &c. 
It  ap])ears  that  ho  has  taken  an  entirely  difterent  course,  and  made  friends  with  Lopez, 
and,  1  suppose,  has  apologized  for  my  bad  conduct.  Ho  is  now  there  with  Lopez,  and 
whether  he  ever  gets  away  alive  is  very  doubtful  to  me. 

By  the  Ciiairman  : 

Q.  Where  do  you  suppose  Lopez  to  be  ? — A.  He  in  back  in  the  mountains.  Lopez, 
unless  he  can  make  General  McMahon  useful,  will  kill  him.  If  Lopez  is  determined  to 
cany  out  his  threat  never  to  leave  Paraguay  alive,  McMahon  will  never  leave  it  alive 
either ;  that  is  my  opinion.  The  report  which  he  nuide,  as  the  newspapers  have  stated, 
was  that  Lopez  ha<l  been  greatly  slandered  and  maligned  ])y  me,  but  since  then  Lopez 
has  killed  nearly  every  foreigner  in  the  country,  and  he  will  kill  McMahon  yet  if  he 
finds  it  necessary  to  his  plans  to  do  so. 

Q.  Have  the  foreign  governments  taken  any  action  in  reference  to  Lopez's  conduct? — 
A.  Not  at  all ;  not  any. 

(The  letter  to  General  McMahon  is  annexed  to  this  testimony,  marked  Exhibit  H.) 

I  was  14  months  getting  from  New  York  to  Paraguay,  owing  to  the  strange  and  per- 
verse conduct  of  Admiral  Godon,  and  I  am  prepared  to  show  that  ho  acted  not  only 
strangely  but  maliciously,  and  that  he  misrepresented  aflairs  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  made  many  absolute  misstatements.  I  charge  Admiral  Godon  with  having 
caused  nie  unnecessary  delay  in  getting  to  my  post,  with  not  having  obeyed  his  orders, 
and  with  having  misrepresented  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  given  fals«i  reasons  for  his 
refusal  to  send  me  to  Paraguay.  I  arrived  in  Rio  about  the  1st  of  October,  1865.  I 
then  told  Admiral  Godon  tliat*  without  the  aid  of  a  gunboat  I  could  not  reach  my  post. 
He  said  h(^  should  follow  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  that  if  he  found  it  was 
so  he  would  send  me  up.  He  said  he  would  follow  in  10  or  12  days  after  I  left,  but  in- 
stead of  that  he  was  six  weeks  before  he  reached  Montevideo,  and  then  ho  would  not 
send  me  to  Asuncion,  but  would  not  say  that  he  would  not  do  so.  I  wrote  him  two  or 
three  times  from  Buenos  Ayres,  telling  him  that  I  was  in  a  very  unpleasant  situation, 
and  that  I  could  not  get  thiough.  I  twice  went  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Montevideo  to 
urge  him  to  send  a  gunboat  to  Para^iay.  He  hesitated  for  a  long  time,  and  finally, 
when  he  reached  Buenos  Ayres,  said  he  would  not  send  me  ujp  at  all.  I  left  my 
family  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  tried  to  get  through  to  Paraguay  without  a  gunboat.  I 
was  humbugged  and  dehuled  by  the  allied  commander-in-chief,  President  Mitr6, 
who  first  promised  to  allow  me  to  go  through,  but  aft  erwards  declined  to  do  so, 
although  I  had,  on  the  strengtb  of  his  promise,  gone  back  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  brought 
my  wile  and  servants  with  me.  He  then  refused  to  let  me  go  through,  and  I  was  there 
at  Corrientes  for  five  months  under  most  disaOTceable  circumstances.  Admiral  Godon 
did  nothing,  and  refused  to  do  anji;hiug,  although  he  knew  my  situation.  I  had  to 
write  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  Washington,  telling  him  how  I  was  situated,  and  he 
sent  out  orders  that  that  thing  was  to  stop— that  I  must  go  through— and  orders  were 
sent  to  Admiral  Godon  that  if  I  could  not  get  through  other^dse,  I  should  apjily  for  a 
gunboat,  and  he  must  send  me  through.  I  applied  for  a  gunboat,  and  Admiral  Godon 
told  me  that  I  had  not  obeyed  fully  my  instructions  from  the  Secretaiy  of  State.  As  I 
did  not  understand  him  to  be  the  interpreter  of  my  instructions,  I  thought  it  was  very 
impertinent  for  him  to  say  so.  I  did  everything  I  could  do  to  get  through.  I  had  vis- 
ited and  written  to  President  Mitr6  so  often  that  he  finally  told  me  he  would  have  no 
more  correspondence  with  me  on  the  subject.  Admiral  Godon  had  received  his  instruc- 
tions to  send  me  forward,  and  did  not  obey  them.  Finally,  General  Webb,  who  had 
been  home  on  leave  of  absence,  returned  and  began  to  move  in  the  matter,  and  General 
Asboth,  who  went  out  as  the  new  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  also  began  to  move  in  the 
matter.  Admiral  Godon  finally,  without  any  more  instructions,  did  send  the  gunboat, 
and  I  got  through  safely,  very  much  to  his  disgust.    I  was  exposed  to  every  inconven- 


12  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

ience,  and  to  a  very  unhealthy  situation,  by  his  perverse  conduct.  There  "was  great 
scandal  on  the  subject.  I  was  ashamed  to  walk  the  streets  of  Buenos  Ayres,  for  I  could 
not  open  a  paper  in  the  morninj>-  without  seeing  something  in  it  about  the  American 
minister  to  Paraguay,  and  about  his  being  detained  there,  and  what  he  was  doing  so 
long  in  that  place.  I  wanted  to  get  out  of  it.  I  told  Admiral  Godon  that  if  I  could 
retire  without  disgracing  the  coimtry,  I  would  do  so  and  return  home.  I  told  him 
that  the  allies  had  no  right  to  stop  me  going  to  my  post,  but  he  could  not  see  it.  He 
said  it  would  take  coal  to  send  the  gunboat  with  me.  The  merchants  of  Bnciios  Ayres 
offered  to  furnish  the  coal  gratuitously  if  he  would  send  up  the  steamer,  but  he  said 
that  would  make  no  difference.  The  feeling  was  very  strong  against  him.  He  had  no 
friends  there.  Finally,  however,  I  got  through.  He  not  only  got  to  be  very  bitter  and 
abusive  of  me,  but  even  the  men  under  his  command  who  did  not  join  with  him  were 
also  abused.  Captain  Wells  and  Captain  Crosby  were  almost  persecuted  out  of  the 
navy  because  of  their  friendship  to  me,  and  of  their  friendly  intercourse  with  me.  Per- 
sonally I  have  more  feeling  in  regard  to  this  man  than  in  regard  to  Admiral  Davis. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  What  motive  could  have  influenced  Admiral  Godon  ? — ^A.  He  wanted  it  impressed 
on  everybody  that  he  was  the  representative  of  the  great  republic,  and  that  nobody 
else  was  of  any  importance  whatever.  He  said  so  verbally  in  regard  to  United  States 
ministers  a  good  many  times.  He  ahvays  spoke  with  the  utmost  contempt  of  all  min- 
isters of  the  United  States ;  said  that  he  was  not  responsible  to  them  and  did  not  care 
anything  for  them ;  that  they  were  political  humbugs,  and  worn-out  politicians,  &c., 
who  were  sent  out  th<ire  to  get  rid  of  them.  That  he  was  admiral.  His  conduct  was 
most  ridiculous  and  scandalous. 

Q.  Had  he  seen  your  instructions  ? — ^A.  Yes.  I  sent  him  a  copy  of  them.  They  appear 
in  the  diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  State  Department. 


Exhihiis  annexed  to  statement  of  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn, 

Exhibit  A. 
Mr.  WasMurn  to  JSenor  Benitez. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Asuncion,  August  13,  1868. 

Sir:  Excusing  myself  for  the  delay  in  answering  that  part  of  your  note  of  the  31st 
ultimo,  relating  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman,  which  I  have  deferred  in 
order  to  answer  the  part  of  it  which  seemed  to  me  of  more  pressing  importance,  and 
also  to  answer  your  subsequent  very  long  note  of  the  6th  instant,  I  will  now  proceed  to 
give  my  reasons  why  I  have  not  dismissed  those  two  persons  from  my  legation,  and  why 
I  ought  not  to  do  so. 

At  the  conclusion  of  your  note  of  the  3l8t  ultimo,  you  say  that  you  have  not  the 
remotest  doubt  that  full  and  inflexible  justice  would  be  done  by  the  American  govern- 
ment, and  then  ask  if  it  can  be  in  full  possession  of  the  case,  as  is  the  national  court 
of  justice ;  if  it  would  send  the  record  of  its  trial  for  a  new  substantiation,  if  it  could  do 
so,  and  would  its  administration  of  justice  be  sufficiently  timely? 

To  these  questions  I  will  remark  that  there  would  undoubtedly  be  considerable  incon- 
venience in  sending  these  persons  for  trial  to  the  United  States ;  but  that  does  not 
affect  the  law  in  the  case  in  the  least.  Whenever  an  embassy  is  received  from  one 
government  by  another,  the  latter  accepts  it  under  the  conditions  imjjosed  by  the  law 
of  nations.  This  law  is  of  such  importance  that  its  rigid  observance  is  indispensable 
for  the  peace  of  the  world.  It  is  only  under  the  protection  of  this  law  that  nations 
can  negotiate  with  each  other,  as  to  carry  on  their  negotiations  it  is  necessary,  espe- 
cially in  time  of  war,  that  there  should  be  some  persons  who  should  enjoy  entire  security 
and  immunities  from  the  local  laws.  This  code,  universally  recognized  as  binding  on 
all  nations,  has  been  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  them  all ;  but  it  also  has  its  disad- 
vantages. Under  it  the  nations  that  receive  foreign  embassies  are  required  to  concede 
to  them  certain  privileges,  which  are  not  conceded  to  any  other  persons.  They  resign 
the  sovereignty  over  the  premises  occupied  by  the  embassador,  and  by  the  fiction  of 
extra-territoriality  his  legation  is  considered  as  the  territory  of  his  own  government. 
Except  under  very  extraordinary  circumstances  his  house  cannot  be  entered  by  the 
police,  and  no  member  of  his  legation  can  be  cited  before  the  local  tribunals,  and  if 
they  commit  any  offense  against  the  laws  of  the  country  all  writers  on  international 
law  declare  that  the  minister  shall  either  punish  them  himself  or  send  them  to  his  own 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  13 

country  to  be  tried.  These  privileges  and  immunities  doubtless  frequently  cause 
serious  inconveniences  to  the  local  administration.  But  is  it  not  better  to  submit  to 
such  inconveniences  rather  than  have  the  law  abrogated  ?  I  have  known  such  instances 
of  inconvenience  in  my  own  country ;  one  of  which  I  will  mention.  In  the  year  1856, 
an  important  witness  of  a  homicide  in  the  city  of  Washington,  that  excited  great  public 
attention,  was  an  attachd  of  the  Swedish  legation.  His  testimony  was  very  much 
desired  by  the  tribunals,  but  ho  was  never  cited  formally  iis  a  witness,  and  to  the  request 
tliat  he  would  appear  and  testify  voluntarily  he  replied  that  he  would  not  do  so,  and 
my  government  had  no  power  to  compel  him. 

Your  honor  asks,  in  your  note  of  the  23d  July,  if  it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  if  the 
immunities  of  a  minister  should  reach  to  the  extent  claimed  by  me,  there  would 
be  no  nation  in  the  world  which  would  be  willing  to  accept  an  embassy?  To  this  I  will 
reply  that  all  nations  do,  and  are  glad  to,  receive  embassies  on  these  very  terms.  What- 
have  I  claimed?  Simply  this — that  George  F.  Mastermau,  wljo  came  to  my  house  at 
my  solicitation  as  medical  attendant  of  my  family  nearly  11  months  ago,  and  has  lived 
in' my  house  ever  since,  and  had  his  name  given  in  as  a  member  of  the  legation  more 
than  four  months  ago,  to  which  no  objection  was  made  for  three  months  afterwards,  is 
to  all  intents  and  puiposos  a  member  of  this  legation,  and  entitled  to  all  its  privileges. 
I  likewise  claim  that  Porter  C.  Bliss,  who  also  came  to  my  house  at  my  solicitation, 
to  sen'o  as  translator,  and  to  assist  me  in  any  other  way  that  I  might  require,  and  whoso 
name  was  given  in  at  the  time  as  a  member  of  my  legation,  and  no  objection  being  then 
nuido  to  his  remaining  in  it,  but  only  to  the  capacity  in  which  I  had  classified  him,  is 
also  a  member  of  this  embassy. 

You,  on  various  occasions,  speak  of  them  as  refugees  who  have  sought  asylum  in  my 
house.  They  did  not  stick  asylum  here.  I  sought  them  and  engaged  them  to  come 
here  because  I  needed  their  services.  At  the  time  they  came  there  was  no  charge  or 
accusation  against  either  of  them.  How,  then,  can  they  be  considered  refugees?  They 
were  not  relugees,  and  this  is  not  a  question  of  the  right  of  asylum,  but  of  the  rights 
of  legation. 

You,  however,  allege  that  they  have  never  been  recognized  liy  your  government,  but 
that  having  refused  to  recognize  them,  I  therefore  have  no  right  to  claim  them  as  exempt 
from  the  local  jurisdiction.  But  this  refusal  was  not  made  till  after  they  had  been 
claimed  as  criminals,  and  months  after  they  had  been  tacitly  acknowledged  as  belong- 
ing to  the  embassy.     Such  refusal  wa-s  quite  too  late  to  aftect  the  case. 

The  doctrine  advanced  by  you,  that  a  foreign  minister  cannot  claim  legation  privi- 
leges for  his  servants,  secretaries,  and  other  members  of  his  household  till  the  govern- 
ment to  which  he  is  accredited  specially  recognizes  them  by  name,  is  something  entirely 
new  to  me;  something  that  I  do  not  find  in  any  -writer  on  international  law.  If  a  min- 
ister gives  in  a  list  of  his  suite,  and  no  answer  is  made,  no  objeetion  is  taken  by  the 
government,  then  it  tacitly  acknowledges  that  all  included  in  that  list  are  members  of 
the  legation,  and  it  cannot  afterwards  plead  its  own  failure  to  acknowledge  the  minis- 
ter's letter  as  a  justification  of  its  refusal  so  to  recognize  them. 

That  this  is  correct  reasoning  you  must  admit,  it  you  will  apply  it  to  my  own  case. 
Though  I  have  given  two  lists  of  the  members  of  my  legation,  you  have  never  recognized 
a  single  person  now  iu  it,  unless  it  be  Mr.  Bliss,  and  Baltazar,  the  colorod  servant  left 
with  me  by  Dr.  Carreras.  But  you  have  never  recognized  either  my  wife  or  child,  or 
my  private  secretaiy,  who  has  been  in  my  service  for  more  than  a  year  and  a  half,  or 
the  servant  girl  that  we  brought  with  us  into  the  country.  According  to  your  reason- 
ing and  logic,  however,  you  nave  only  to  say  that  any  one  or  all  of  them  is  accused, 
and  that  the  government  refuses  to  recognize  them  as  belonging  to  my  legation,  and  I 
have  no  remedy  but  to  send  them  away.  Such  is  the  inevitable  conclusion  to  be  drawn 
from  the  premises  and  logic  of  your  honor. 

To  the  question  whether  or  not  the  punishment  that  my  government  would  admin- 
ister would  be  timely,  I  reply  I  do  not  see  why  not.  You  cannot  8ui)po8e  that  these 
two  individuals,  closely  shut  up  as  they  are  in  this  legation,  and  having  no  communi- 
cation with  any  person  outside  of  it,  can  bo  dangerous.  If  not,  why  will  not  their 
punishment,  if  proved  guilty,  bo  as  timely  some  months  hence  as  now  ?  If  they  can 
give  any  evidence  w^hich  is  necessary  to  ascertain  the  truth  in  regard  to  other  accused 
parties,  they  have  both  expressed  their  willingness  to  do  it ;  and  should  the  govern- 
ment choose  to  send  a  notary  to  my  house  to  examine  them,  I  will  give  him  every 
facility  for  doing  so.  I  will  also  say  that  Mr.  Bliss  has  declared  in  relation  to  the  paper 
which  you  iu  your  note  of  the  23d  of  July  say  that  he  "in  a  secret  committee  of  mutual 
obligations"  has  signed  to  commit  an  infamous  crime,  that  if  any  such  paper  signed  by 
him  shall  be  produced  at  this  legation  he  will  instantly  leave  it.  To  this  I  will  add 
that  while  I  shall  still  insist  on  my  rights  of  legation,  I  will  undertake  that  he  keep 
his  promise  to  me. 

In  my  former  notes  to  you  I  have  called  your  attention  to  this  maxim  of  law,  that 
"  every  man  is  to  be  considered  innocent  till  he  is  proved  guilty."  Yet  you,  disregard- 
ing this  principle,  continue  to  speak  of  these  two  members  of  my  legation  as  criminals 
and  refugees,  without  ever  having  given  me  any  proof  of  their  guilt.    You  have  also 


14  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

complainecl  that  I  should  not  receive  your  official  statement  of  their  criminality  in 
preference  to  tlieir  own  protestations  of  innocence. 

I  have  not  allowed  myself  to  question  the  sincerity  of  your  belief  in  their  criminality, 
but  as  you  do  not  pretend  to  speak  from  your  own  Icnowledge,  I  may  yet  doubt  the 
truthfulness  of  your  informants.  Certainly  you  will  not  allege  that  the  witnesses 
against  them  are  persons  who  have  enjoyed  higher  honors,  or  had  previously  been  more 
respected  than  Berges  and  Carreras,  whose  declarations  I  know  to  contain  almost  as 
many  falsehoods  as  sentences.  If  declarations  so  false  have  been  made  by  them,  with 
the  object  of  connecting  mo  with  an  infamous  plot,  is  it  not  iiossible  that  equally  false 
declarations  have  been  made  for  the  pui-pose  of  implicating  others  ?  I,  acting  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  my  own  country,  must  presume  them  innocent  till  I  have  a  proof  to 
the  contraiy.  From  your  own  personal  knowledge  of  these  gentlemen,  you  must  be 
aware  that  they  are,  from  education  and  habit,  the  very  last  people  that  conspirators 
and  complotters  would  take  into  their  counsels.  Mr.  Bliss,  you  are  aware,  is  a  man  of 
extraordinary  literary  acquirements,  and  his  whole  taste  and  ambition  is  in  literary  pur- 
suits ;  and  Mr.  Masterman  is  a  man  whose  tastes  and  desires  lead  him  to  pass  his  whole 
time  in  scientific  investigations.  Neither  one  of  them  has  any  of  the  detestable  gaucho 
characteristics  that  would  lead  them  to  take  j)art  in  a  revolution,  and  as  I  have  known 
them  both  long  and  intimately,  I  am  bound  to  take  their  solemn  asseverations,  not  only 
of  innocence,  but  of  entire  ignorance  of  any  plot  or  conspiracy,  in  xjreference  to  the 
declaration  of  any  or  many  confessed  conspirators  or  traitors. 

But  with  me  this  is  not  a  question  of  guilt  or  innocence.  It  is  a  question  of  the  rights 
of  legation.  Months  ago  I  gave  in  their  names  as  belonging  to  my  diplomatic  suite, 
and  the  government,  by  not  objecting  to  them  as  members  of  -my  legation,  tacitly 
acknowledged  them  as  such ;  it  acknowledged  them  as  much  as  it  has  acknowledged 
any  one  in  my  house,  and  has  now  just  as  much  right  to  claim  any  one  else  of  my  fam- 
ily or  household  as  to  claim  either  of  them. 

I  will  add  another  consideration.  Both  of  these  men  are  so  indispensably  necessary 
to  me  that  even  if  they  did  not  belong  to  my  legation,  and  the  safety  of  the  state  were 
not  endangered  by  their  remaining  here,  I  should  ask  it  as  a  courtesy  that  they  might 
be  allowed  to  stay  for  the  present.  Without  the  aid  of  Mr.  Bliss  I  could  hardly  have 
carried  on  the  lieavy  correspondence  I  have  had  during  the  last  month  ;  and  were  Mr. 
Masterman  to  leave  me,  it  would  be,  under  the  circumstances — when  the  aid  of  no  other 
physician  can  be  obtained — at  the  risk  of  exposing  the  lives  of  my  wife  and  child  and 
other  members  of  my  family ;  and  I  am  sure  that  the  government  has  no  wish  to  expose 
me  to  any  such  calamity. 

The  position  taken  by  you  that  until  a  government  exxiressly  recognizes  the  members 
of  a  legation  they  cannot  claim  its  privileges,  but  are  liable  to  be  arrested  like  any  other 
persons  by  the  police,  would  or  might  at  least  render  his  right  of  extra-territoriality 
virtually  a  nullity.  The  government  might  thus  compel  him'to  dismiss  all  his  servants, 
it  might  prohibit  his  own  subjects  to  enter  his  service,  and  thus  leave  him  without  any 
servant  or  assistant  in  any  capacity,  except  such  as  it  might  suit  its  own  x)urposes  that 
he  should  have.  I  have  never  asked  either  you  or  your  predecessor  to  recognize  the 
members  of  my  legation  by  name,  or,  in  other  words,  I  have  not  asked  the  j)rivilege  of 
employing  them.  I  am  to  be  the  judge  of  the  persons  necessary  to  the  discharge  of  my 
official  duties  and  the  health  and  comfort  of  my  family,  and  not  the  government  of 
Paraguay.  Should  a  minister  on  entering  a  country  take  with  him  in  his  suite  known 
criminals,  or  persons  obnoxious  or  dangerous  from  their  political  opinions,  a  govern- 
ment might  undoubtedly  object  to  concede  to  them  legation  immunities,  and  could  insist 
that  they  should  leave  the  country.  But  it  would  have  no  right  to  molest  them,  and 
would  be  bound  to  protect  them  in  every  way  until  they  had  ample  time  for  their 
departure.  In  no  case  has  a  government  a  right  to  inflict  any  other  penalty  on  a  per- 
son attached  to  a  foreign  legation  than  to  send  him  to  his  own  country  to  be  punished. 
If,  however,  the  grouml  assumed  by  you  is  correct — that  no  person  can  claim  legation 
privileges  until  he  has  been  expressly  recognized  by  the  government,  but  may  be  cited 
before  the  local  tribunals — then  if  I  comply  with  your  request  of  to-day,  I  may  be 
called  upon  to  send  away  the  other  members  of  my  household  to-moiTow,  as  you  have 
never  recognized  them  as  belonging  to  my  legation.  If  all  are  not  in  the  same  category, 
and  some  are  and  some  are  not  entitled  to  legation  privileges,  will  you  please  advise 
me  which  of  the  names  in  the  list  appended  to  this  letter  are  recognized  as  belonging 
to  my  legation. 

In  your  note  of  the  31st  ultimo  you  observe  that  it  is  the  more  strange  that  I  should 
still  decline  to  sent  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  from  my  house,  since  I  shall  tlien  liave 
superabundant  means  to  give  them  j)rotection.  What  those  superabundant  means  are 
you  do  not  advise  me,  nor  do  I  understand  what  means  will  be  left  me  to  protect  thorn 
when  once  in  the  hands  of  the  local  tribunals.  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  give  me 
further  information  on  this  point  ? 

In  my  note  of  July  14  you  will  recollect  that  from  the  tone  and  tenor  of  your  pre- 
ceding notes,  and  from  the  fact  that  you  had  finally  called  for  two  pei'sons  whom  I  had 
always  considered  members  of  my  legation,  I  said  it  appeared  that  I  had  lost  the  respect 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  15 

and  confidence  of  this  government,  and  that,  therefore,  as  it  did  not  seem  that  I  could 
l)(;  longer  useful  either  to  my  own  government  or  that  of  Paraguay,  or  to  any  individ- 
uals iu  the  country,  I  requested  passports  for  myself  and  for  the  members  of  my  leo^a- 
1  ion.  To  tliis  you  replied  on  the  16th,  assuring  me  in  the  strongest  terms  that  I  still 
r(?tained  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  your  government,  expressing  the  hope  that  such 
assurances  would  lead  me  to  reconsider  my  i>revious  resolution.  Such  expressions  I 
accepted  as  satisfactory,  particularly  when  in  the  same  note  you  again  requested  the 
dismissal  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  from  my  house,  hut  said  you  would  waive  all 
iurther  discussion  on  that  matter,  leaving  it  to  my  own  sense  of  justice.  I  then 
believed  that  the  demand  would  not  be  fm'ther  pressed ;  but  while  preparing  my  note 
ol"  the  '20th  ultimo,  giving  my  reasons  for  the  course  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  pursue,' I  was 
suq)rised  and  j^ained  on  receiving  your  note  of  the  19th,  which  was  closely  followed  by 
1  liose  of  the  21st  and  23d,  to  observe  a  tone  and  tenor  of  an  entirely  different  char- 
acter. 

This  sudden  change  I  have  attributed  to  the  strange  and  false  declarations  of  Berges 
concerning  me,  and,  if  I  am  right  in  this  surmise,  I  cannot  wonder  that,  false  as  the 
declarations  are,  the  government  should  have  changed  from  confidence  and  regard  to 
distrust  and  suspicion.  But  if  the  government  has  accepted  my  words  in  preference  to 
those  of  a  convicted  traitor,  I  cherish  the  hope  that  it  will  resume  the  position  taken 
iu  your  note  of  July  16,  and  leave  mo  to  pursue  the  only  course  that  in  niy  opinion  wiU 
be  approved  by  my  government,  by  public  opinion,  and  by  the  family  of  nations. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  give  assurance  of  distinguished  cousideration. 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

His  Honor  Gumesindo  Benitez, 

Acting  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


Exhibit  B. 

Mr.  Wanhhurn  to  President  Lopes. 

United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  off  Angostura, 

Paraguay  River,  Septemhcr  12,  1868. 

Sir  :  Wlien  Captain  Kirkland  was  about  leaving  this  vessel  yesterday  to  bid  farewell 
to  your  excellency,  I  gave  him  a  memorandum  of  certain  things  to  which  I  requested 
him  to  call  your  attention.  Captain  Kirkland  informs  me  that  on  reaching  your  head- 
quarters he  found  he  "liad  omitted  to  take  this  memorandum  with  him,  and  therefore 
was  unable  to  comply  fnlly  with  my  request,  having  only  given  the  paper  a  hasty 
perusal.  I,  therefore,  take  the  liberty,  at  the  moment  of  my  departure,  of  deviating 
from  diplomatic  customs  and  sending  a  personal  note  directed  to  your  excellency.  In 
this  memorandum  I  suggested  that  he  might  show  you  a  letter  from  General  Webb,  our 
minister  in  Rio,  from  which  it  would  appear  that  ho  had  almost  come  to  a  rupture  with 
that  government,  by  reason  of  its  refusal  to  permit  this  vessel  to  pass  above  the  squad- 
ron. This  he  had  done  on  his  own  responsibility,  without  waiting  for  orders  from 
the  United  States  government,  which,  on  hearing  of  the  outrage,  has  doubtless  taken 
the  most  encrj^etic  measures  to  enforce  its  rights  and  extricate  its  minister  from  a  most 
frijjhtful  position.  Thi^  letter  you  saw  proves  how  much  truth  there  was  in  the  decla- 
ration of  your  ex-minister  for  foreign  affairs,  Jos<S  Berj^es,  that  I  was  iu  collusion  with 
General  Webb,  and  in  the  interest  and  pay  of  the  Brazilians. 

I  have  in  my  ])ossession  several  letters  for  Dr.  Carreras,  which  I  yesterday  requested 
Captain  Kirkland  to  deliver,  but  which  he  refused  to  do  unless  I  would  open  them,  lest 
he  too  should  be  accused  of  conveying  treasonable  correspondence.  I  herewith  send 
the  letters,  however,  as  I  do  not  believe  that  any  treasonable  correspondence  has  ever 
jiassed  through  my  hands  for  or  to  anybody.  In  fact,  I  do  not  believe  there  has  ever 
been  any  conspiracy. 

The  declarations  of  Berges,  your  two  brothers,  Venancio  and  Beniguo,  and  Sr.  Urde- 
pilleta,  as  given  in  the  notes  of  your  two  last  ministers  of  foreign  relations,  iu  so  far 
as  they  implicate  mo  as  having  any  knowledge  of  a  conspiracy,  are  entirely  false,  and 
you  know  it;  and  you  know  that  not  one  of  them  would  confirm  or  affirm  the  declara- 
tion imputed  to  him  if  he  were  out  of  your  power,  but  would  deny  it  "in  toto,"  and 
declare  that  he  had  never  made  it,  or  that  he  had  done  so  under  torture.  Declarations 
of  that  kind,  your  excellency  ought  to  know,  wiU  have  no  weight  outside  of  Paraguay. 
Not  one  word  of  them  will  be  believed,  and  that  all  may  not  be  denied  by  them,  you 
must  not  only  kill  off  all  the  persons  who  have  made  them,  but  all  by  whom  they  were 
extorted. 

Before  finally  leaving  Paraguay,  it  is  my  duty  to  make  my  solemn  protest  against  the 
arrest  of  those  two  members  of  mv  legation.  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  and  George  F. 
Masterman.    Their  arrest  in  the  street,  as  they  were  going  with  me  from  the  legation 


16  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

to  pass  on  board  the  steamer,  was  as  gross  a  violation  of  the  law  of  nations  as  would 
have  been  their  seizure  by  force  in  my  house.  It  was  an  act  not  only  against  my  gov- 
ernment, but  against  all  civilized  powers,  and  places  Paraguay  outside  the  pale  of  the 
family  of  nations,  and  for  this  act  you  wiU  be  regarded  as  a  common  enemy,  one  deny- 
ing allegiance  to  the  law  of  nations. 

You  will  also  be  regarded  as  a  common  enemy  for  having  seized  and  made  prisoners, 
and  loaded  with  fetters,  nearly  all  the  foreigners  in  Paraguay,  and  afterwards  euter(!d 
their  houses  and  taken  away  their  money  on  the  miserable  pretext,  that  finding  less  in 
your  treasury  than  you  expected,  those  who  had  any  money  in  the  country  must  there- 
fore have  robbed  it  from  the  government. 

Your  threat  to  Captain  Kirkland,  on  his  first  arrival,  that  you  would  keep  me  a  pris- 
oner in  the  country,  will  be  duly  represented  to  my  government,  and  I  only  wish  to 
confirm  his  reply  to  you,  that  had  you  done  so  my  government  would  have  hunted  you 
not  only  through  all  South  America,  but  throughout  all  Europe. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

CHAELES  A.  WASHBURN. 

His  Excellency  Marshal  Lopez, 

Fresident  of  Paraguay. 


Exhibit  C. 
Mr.  Bliss  to  Mr.  Goodfelloiv. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Asuncion,  September  7,  1868. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Appreciating  the  friendly  interest  you  have  always  shown  in  me,  and 
the  kindness  with  which  you  have  aided  my  family  to  obtain  news  from  me  during  my 
long  detention  in  Paraguay,  I  think  it  proper  to  send  you  the  present  letter  by  Mr. 
Washburn,  who  will  doubtless  make  known  to  you  in  detail  the  unprecedented  events 
which  have  recently  transpired  here,  affecting  the  rights  of  all  neutral  nations,  and  more 
especially  involving  an  unexampled  violation  of  the  immunities  of  the  American  lega- 
tion, and  of  the  treatment  due  to  an  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States. 

You  will  learn,  sir,  with  surprise,  that  in  common  with  hundreds  of  foreigners  and 
natives,  comprising  almost  all  the  adult  males  of  the  country  who  were  not  bearing 
arms,  I  am  accused  of  belonging  to  a  conspiracy  against  the  government  of  Marshal 
Lopez,  with  the  additional  aggravation  respecting  me  that  I  am  also  charged  with 
belonging  to  a  secret  committee,  who  have  piit  their  hands  to  a  compact  to  assassinate 
the  marshal.  You  can  readily  judge  of  the  probabilities  of  both  accusations,  and  will 
easily  believe  me  when  I  say  that  there  is  not  even  the  slightest  foundation  for 
them,  and  that,  so  far  from  knowing  of  any  conspiracy,  I  have  grave  doubts  whether 
any  has  existed,  notwithstanding  all  the  acts  of  this  government,  and  the  so-called 
confessions  of  criminals,  to  be  found  in  the  published  correspondence  between  Mr. 
Washburn  and  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  This  doubt  is,  I  believe,  common  to  all 
the  persons  belonging  to  the  American  legation. 

You  will  also  see  the  herculean  efforts  which  have  been  made  by  this  government  to 
fasten  upon  Mr.  Washburn  a  complicity  with  the  real  or  pretended  revolutionary  plot. 
You  will  see  the  false  testimony  which  has  been  put  into  the  mouths  of  prominent  per- 
sons. Much  of  these  statements  is  self-contradictory,  and  all  of  them  conflict  with 
each  other  upon  the  most  essential  points ;  and  lastly,  they  all  have  this  in  common, 
that  they  furnish  no  definite  information  concerning  the  organization,  objects,  means, 
and  occasion  of  action,  nor  even  who  were  to  take  the  decisive  steps ;  besides,  among 
so  many  revolutionary  papers  alluded  to,  apparently  not  one  of  that  character  has  been 
seized  by  this  government. 

But  I  have  no  need  to  discuss  the  matter  further ;  the  truth  is  evident  and  will  be 
recognized  by  every  one  in  Buenos  Ayres.  I  hope  some  decided  action  will  proceed 
from  the  ministers  of  neutral  nations  in  Buenos  Ayres,  though  I  can  scarcely  hope 
that  any  such  action  can  benefit  me,  as  I  am  already  declared  guilty  by  the  govern- 
ment, although  not  having  the  slightest  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  testimony,  necessarily 
false  or  forged,  which  has  been  or  will  be  produced  against  me. 

All  persons  in  this  legation  have  passed  the  last  two  months,  since  the  extradition  of 
myself  and  Mr.  Masterman  was  demanded,  in  a  state  of  continual  agitation,  alternat- 
ing between  hope  and  despondency,  and  following  the  course  of  the  correspondence, 
which,  on  the  part  of  this  government,  has  steadily  gone  from  bad  to  worse. 

I  desire  to  bear  the  strongest  testimony  to  the  fgct  that,  as  to  all  the  statements 
implicating  Mr.  Washburn  in  the  conspiracy,  there  is  not  one  of  whose  truth  I  have  any 
knowledge,  and  most  of  them  I  know  to  be  false.  I  also  wish  to  bear  witness  to  the 
unswerving  constancy  with  which  he  has  insisted  upon  the  rights  of  legation,  and 
done  for  me  all  that  could  be  appropriate  under  the  circimistances.    Whatever  may 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATIOX.  17 

happen  to  me,  I  can  meet  my  fate  with  a  stout  heart  and  perfect  confidence  in  the 
Great  Architect  of  the  universe,  knowing  that  my  Kedeemer  liveth.  I  have  written 
at  largo  to  my  family. 

Accept  my  gratitude  for  favors  received  from  you  and  Mrs.  Goodfellow,  to  whom  I 
send  my  love,  and  regards  to  all  inquiring  friends. 
Yours  moat  truly, 

„      „.  ^  PORTER  C.  BLISS. 

Rev.  W  iLLiAM  Goodfellow. 


Exhibit  D. 

2Ii'.  LUss  to  Mr.  Davis. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Asuncion,  September  10,  1868. 

Dear  Sir  :  You  will  learn  from  Mr.  Washhum  of  the  queer  doings  that  have  been 
going  on  here  for  two  months  past,  or,  at  all  events,  will  learn  enough  about  it  from 
the  newspapers.  I  never  thought  to  be  accused  of  "  high  treason  "  by  any  government 
under  the  sun  ;  for,  being  a  musical  genius,  as  you  are  aware,  I  am  clearly  not  fit  for 
"treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils."  Whatever  comes  of  the  affair,  I  desire  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  persistent  efforts  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  save  myself  and  Mr.  Master- 
man,  my  fcUow-rasc.'il,  (as  the  oflieial  correspondence  of  the  ministry  here  politely 
designate  us.)  Mr.  Wasliburn  had  like  to  have  shared  the  fate  of  the  hero  of  his  own 
novel,  if  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp  had  not  very  opportunely  come  to  his  rescue. 
As  it  is,  he  escapes  "  by  the  skin  of  his  teetiy  after  all  possible  obstacles  have  been 
|)ut  in  tlie  way  of  his  departure.  The  Wasp  is  now  lying  l»ut  a  league  below  here,  but 
18  not  allowed  to  come  up.  I  suppose  Mr.  Washburn  will  leave  to-daV,  and  I  shall 
immediately  bo  nabbed  by  the  20  or  30  "  guardians  "  who  have  kindly  "  looked  after  me" 
for  the  last  two  months. 

I  hope  for  relief  from  our  government  in  three  or  four  months  j  that  is,  if  it  don't 
come  too  late  for  any  practical  j)urpose,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

Please  give  my  best  regards  to  General  Webb  and  his  family.  I  hope  Mr.  Washburn 
will  arrange  all  little  matters  between  us ;  x>lease  give  him  any  letters  or  keepsakes  of 
any  little  value  for  my  family  that  I  left  in  a  trunk  with  you.  I  accompany  some  lines 
for  Mrs.  Davis. 

Yours,  faithfully, 

PORTER  C.  BLISS. 

Geo.  N.  Davis,  Esq. 


Exhibit  E. 
Mr.  Bliss  to  Mr.  TFashhui'u. 

September  11, 1868. 

Sir  :  Finding  myself  at  length  relieved  from  the  restraint  which  your  excellency  has 
so  long  exercised  over  my  will,  I  cannot  do  less  than  express  freely  and  spontaneously 
the  important  part  which  your  excellency  has  taken  in  the  revolution  in  which  you 
have  involved  many  persons,  and  among  them  myself.  I  have  declared  (feeling  deeply, 
because  I  would  like  to  avoid  such  a  scandal  to  your  excellency,  but  following  out  the 
truth)  that  your  excellency  has  been  the  sojil  of  the  revolution ;  and  if  this  deed  now 
appears  to  the  light  of  heaven,  confessed  to  by  all  its  accomplices,  to  whom  does  it  owe  its 
existence  save  to  your  excellency,  Avho  has  continued  its  direction  up  to  a  very  recent 
period?  I  consider  myself,  therefore,  completely  absolved  fiom  the  promise  which 
your  excellency  extorted  from  me  yesterday  in  your  office  not  to  reveal  your  proceed- 
ings, old  or  new.  Even  yoiu-  brilliant  speculations  with  the  company  of  Hopkins,  for 
which  your  excellency  ought  to  pocket  a  hundi-ed  and  odd  thousands  of  patacones,  have 
been  imt  in  evidence,  as  also  the  gilded  pill  you  made  Polidoro  and  Octaviano  swallow, 
as  also  the  Slarquis  of  Caxias,  at  the  time  of  youi*  excellency's  celebrated  visit  of  media- 
tion in  March,  last  year. 

The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  determined  to  request  from  your 
excellency  the  delivery  to  the  bearer  of  my  historical  manuscripts  which  involve  a 
compromise  with  this  government,  and  which  are,  without  reason,  in  deposit  with  your 
excellency,  you  having  taken  possession  of  them  durmg  my  illness  last  year,  and 
because  I  have  forgotten  to  demand  them  of  you.  They  consist,  as  your  excellency 
well  knows,  of  a  voluminous  history  of  Paraguay  till  the  year  1810,  and  some  2,000 
pages,  or  more,  of  notes  in  Spanish  on  more  recent  epochs,  with  the  chronology  up  to 
oiu-  days. 

2pi 


18  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

Also,  I  beg  that  your  excellency  will  have  the  goodness  to  send  mo  the  three  letters 
written  by  express  order  of  your  excellency,  for  your  justification  regarding  the  aflairs 
of  the  revolution,  of  which  one  is  addressed  to  the  New  York  World,  another  to  Eev. 
Wni.  T.  Goodfellow,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  last  to  my  father,  Henry  Bliss,  of  New 
York. 

The  truth  having  been  fully  displayed,  these  letters  cannot  serve  your  excellency  for 
any  object,  and,  since  they  are  false,  it  suits  me  no  longer  to  keep  the  mystery  of 
hypocrisy,  and  for  your  own  honor  your  excellency  ought  to  comply  strictly  with  these 
my  demands. 

I  do  not  exact  from  you  the  English  manuscripts  which  your  excellency  made  me 
write  in  a  spirit  inimical  to  Paraguay,  since  these  are  the  property  of  your  excellency ; 
but  I  advise  you,  as  a  friend,  not  to  attempt  to  fight  against  the  evidence  given  by  infi- 
nite witnesses. 

I  take  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  salute  your  excellency  with  distinguished  esteem 
and  appreciation. 

PORTER  C.  BLISS. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  Celuiles  A.  Washburn, 

United  States  Minister  Eesidenf. 


I 


Exhibit  F. 
Mr.  Wasliburn  to  the  British  minister. 

Buenos  Ayres,  Scptemher  24, 1863. 

Sir  :  When  I  left  Paraguay  on  the  12th  instant,  I  regret  to  inform  your  excellency  that 
nearly  all  the  foreigners  in  that  country,  including  several  of  your  countrymen,  were 
in  prison,  and  as  I  am  the  only  i^erson  beyond  the  reach  of  President  Lopez's  power  who 
has  any  personal  knowledge  of  their  situation,  it  seems  to  be  my  duty  to  give  any  infor- 
mation 1  possess  to  the  representatives  of  the  diiferent  foreign  governments,  that 
knowing  the  condition  of  their  unfortunate  countrymen,  they  may  take  such  action  as 
may  seem  most  proper  in  order  to  extricate  them  from  their  terrible  situation.  Unless 
speedy  action  is  taken,  there  may  be  none  left  to  tell  the  tale  of  their  annihilation  1 

To  give  an  idea,  therefore,  of  the  situation  there,  and  of  the  dangers  and  horrors  to 
which  all  foreigners  in  that  country  are  subjected  or  exposed,  I  propose  to  give  a  brief 
narrative  of  the  events  that  have  transpired  since  the  21st  of  February  last.  On  the 
evening  of  that  day,  on  returning  from  a  duck-shooting,  "paseo,"  I  learned  that  several 
Brazilian  iron-clads  had  passed  Humaita,  and  were  on  the  way  to  the  capital.  On 
reaching  my  house,  I  was  informed  that  tlie  minister  for  foreij^n  affairs,  Jose  Berges, 
had  sent  an  urgent  request  for  me  to  visit  him  at  his  office.  I  immediately  complied, 
when  the  minister  told  me  that  the  Brazilian  squadron  having  passed  Humaita,  and 
being  already  half  way  to  Asuncion,  the  government  had  ordered  an  evacuation  of 
the  city,  and  had  declared  it  a  military  point.  He  also  said,  the  capital  was  to  be 
removed  to  Luque,  a  little  village  some  ten  miles  from  Asuncion,  and  that  he  had  invited 
me  to  visit  him,  in  order  that  I  might  have  such  accommodations  provided  for  me,  at  or 
near  Luque,  as  I  might  select.  I  replied  that,  whoever  else  might  obey  the  order  of 
evacuation,  I,  certainly,  should  not.  My  legation  was,  for  the  time,  the  territory  of  the 
United  States,  and  I  should  remain  in  it,  giving  such  protection  as  my  hous(i  and  flag 
could  afford,  to  all  who  chose  to  resort  to  it.  I  told  Senor  Berges  also,  that  the  govern- 
ment had  no  right  to  compel  the  foreigners  to  abandon  thcix  houses  and  property ;  that 
if  they  chose  to  remain  and  defer.;!  it,  taking  the  risk  of  exposure  to  a  boml)ardment  of 
the  town,  they  had  a  right  to  do  so.  He  dissented  entirely  from  this  view,  and  on 
returning  to  my  house,  I  found  it  full  of  people,  who  were  anxiously  waiting  to  learn 
if  I  would  remain  in  the  capital  or  not.  I  told  them  that  I  should  stay,  and  many  more 
than  my  house  could  accommodate  asked  permission  to  remain  within  the  legation.  I 
told  them  that  I  could  not  give  them  all  shelter,  but  if  they  chose  to  deposit  their 
valuables  in  my  house,  I  would  receive  them,  but  always  subject  to  their  own  risk ;  I 
should  give  no  receipts  for  anything. 

The  same  evening  and  the  next  day  people  came  rushing  in  in  large  numbers  bringing 
their  trunks  and  boxes,  and  several  iron  safes,  all  of  which  were  deposited  m  the  different 
rooms  of  the  legation.  The  next  day  people  were  hurrying  terror-stricken  from  the 
towns ;  not  from  fear  of  the  Brazilians,  but  of  a  worse  enemy,  and  towards  evening 
several  English  came  to  my  house  and  asked  me  to  ijermit  them  with  their  families  to 
occupy  certain  vacant  rooms  in  the  rear  of  my  legation.  As  they  were  all  in  the  gov- 
ernment employ,  I  suggested  that  it  would  be  more  pntdent  for  them  t^  get  permission 
to  do  so  from  the  authorities.  They  accordingly  asked  and  obtained  the  permissioi), 
and  on  the  following  morning  they  came  with  their  families,  21  persons  in  all,  and  took 
shelter  in  the  legation.    The  following  morning  Dr.  Antonio  de  las  Carreras,  who  was 


PARAGUAYAN   INVEkSTIGATIOX.  19 

the  former  head  of  the  Oriental  government,  and  a  most  bitter  enemy  of  the  Brazilians 
fearing  lest  if  ho  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  allies  he  would  be  treated  as  was  Leandro 
Gomez  after  the  fall  of  Paysaudu,  came  to  my  house  and  asked  for  shelter.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Francisco  Rodriguez  LaiTCta,  who  went  to  Paraguay  as  secretary  of 
legation  with  Dr.  Vasquez  Sagastume,  the  Oriental  minister  resident  in  1804,  and  I 
gave  them  a  cordial  Avelcome,  and  they  remained  with  me  till  July  i:}.  At  the  time 
we  all  thought  that  the  war  was  virtually  over,  and  that  within  a  few  days  Asuncion 
would  be  in  the  liauds  of  the  Brazilians.  Such  was  the  universal  wish  of  everybody 
J'iiiaguayans  and  foreigners  alike.  On  the  24th  the  iron-clads  approached  Asuncion! 
wliicli  was  defended  by  a  little  fort  having  but  one  gun  of  sufficient  caliber  to  do  any " 
harm  to  monitors  or  iron-clads,  and  this  one  so  badly  mounted,  as  I  was  iufomied  after- 
wards, that  it  could  not  be  depressed  so  as  to  be  of  any  service.  As  the  Brazilians 
approached  this  fort  they  began  firing  at  it,  but  without  injuring  it.  The  fort  replied 
with  some  half  a  dozen  shots  to  some  thirty-fivo  or  forty  from  the  iron-clads,  when  the 
latter,  for  some  reason  inex])licablo  to  me,  turned  back  and  went  away.  No  harm  was 
<!<)!i(*  to  tlie  fort,  and  very  little  to  the  town.  One  shot  struck  the  new  palace  of  the 
l>iLsideut,  but  the  damage  done  to  it  was  very  trifling.  We  then  supposed  tliat  the 
iron-clads  would  soon  return  reinforced,  but  week  passed  after  week,  and  month  after 
mouth,  and  we  could  learn  nothing  of  what  was  going  on  at  the  seat  of  the  war.  Sup- 
jiosiiig  that  Loi)ez  was  shut  up  within  his  intrenchments  around  Humaita,  and  that  it 
Avoiihl  l)e  im))ossible  for  him  to  escape  with  any  considerable  portion  of  his  army,  wo 
Miought  the  duration  of  the  war  was  onlv  a  question  of  time,  a  few  days,  more  or  less. 
Thus  things  remained  with  us  till,  on  the  Ist  of  April,  vfc  learned  for  the  first  time 

I  hat  Lopez  had  abandoned  Paso  Pucu,  an<l  had  reached  and  jjassed  the  Tebicuari 
with  the  larger  part  of  his  anny.  Thus  the  end  of  the  war  seemed  to  be  indefi- 
nitely postponed.  Our  situation  in  Asuncion  was  extremely  disagreeable,  as  it  was 
impossible  to  obtain  many  things  else wliere  regarded  as  necessaries  of  life. 

The  town  was  conjpletely  deserted,  save  only  that  more  or  less  people  were  permitted 
to  come  in  occasionally  to  carry  away  things  that,  in  their  first  fright  and  hurry,  they 
were  unable  to  do.  Some  incidents  occurred  which  showed  that  the  government,  or 
lather  Lopez,  for  Lopez  is  the  government,  did  not  approve  of  ray  keei)ing  so  many 
li.oplo  in  my  legation,  and  therefore  all  who  had  not  been  recognized  as  belonging  to 

II  thou,!j;htit  juiident  not  to  venture  into  t)\e  streets.  But  considering  the  circum- 
>  t  aiiccs,  we  passed  the  time  more  pleasantly  than  could  have  been  expected.    Carreras 

1 1  Rodriguez  were  most  agreeable  and  intelligent  gentlemen,  and  Mr.  Bliss  was  an 
1  yclopedia  of  knowledge  on  almost  every  subject.  Our  Paraguay  servant  was  able 
lo  obtain  for  us  all  the  beef,  mandioca,  maize,  chickens,  and  eggs  required,  and  some- 
limes  a  duck  or  a  turkey  ;  tlie  cana  of  the  country  could  also  be  obtained  at  double  the 
l»iice  of  Martell's  best  brandy.  But  the  gloom  seemed  to  be  darkening  eveiy  day  over 
I  he  country ;  scarcely  ever  did  a  person  come  to  my  house  to  carry  away  anything  de- 
posited there,  but  he  had  to  tell  of  other  foreigners  arrested  and  taken  in  fetters  to  the 
president's  headquarters  at  San  Fernando.  ^Tiat  it  all  meant  no  one  could  divine — 
there  was  a  terril)le  mystery  about  it.  At  length,  however,  about  the  1st  of  May,  I 
received  notice  that  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp  had  come  n^)  as  far  as  Curupaiti 
to  take  me  away,  and  was  there  detained  by  the  allied  squadron.  I  knew  that  Lopez 
did  not  wish  me  to  leave  Paraguay,  that  he,  like  everybody  else,  was  very  anxious  for 
me  to  remain.  The  foreigners  of  all  nations  were  especially  desirous  that  I  should 
wait  to  the  end  of  the  war,  and  many  of  the  better  class  of  Paraguayans,  those  having 
most  to  lose,  were  exceedingly  importunate  that  I  should  stay  to  give  them  the  protec- 
tion of  my  fla^  at  the  last  extremity.  Of  these  the  mother  of  the  President  was  one  of 
the  most  solicitous.  I  told  them  all  that  I  would  not  abandon  them ;  that  I  would 
endure  privations  and  loss  to  give  them  any  protection  in  my  power,  and  that  if  a  suc- 
cessor did  not  come  to  take  my  place,  or  imperative  orders  from  my  government  to 
return  home,  I  would  stand  by  them  to  the  last.  I  knew  also,  or  at  least  had  no  doubt 
that  if  I  had  proposed  to  go  away  and  had  asked  Lopez  for  means  of  conveyance  to 
pass  through  the  allied  lines  to  embark  on  the  Wasp,  he  would  not  have  granted  my 
request.  I  therefore  wrote  to  the  commander  of  the  Wasp  that  if  he  did  not  come 
above  the  squadron  my  family  could  not  get  aboard  of  his  steamer,  and  I  therefore 
urged  him  very  strongly  to  force  the  blockade.  My  great  object  was  to  get  my  wife 
and  child  out  of  the  country,  and  if  the  Wasp  was  once  above  the  military  lines  I  could 
go  or  not  Avith  or  without  the  permission  or  favor  of  his  excellency  Marshal  Loi>ez,  if 
on  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  it  shovdd  api)ear  to  be  my  duty  to  do  so.  I  was  disposed, 
however,  to  remain,  as  I  knew  that  if  I  left  I  should  carry  with  me  the  last  hope  of 
hundreds  or  thousands.  They  all  seemed  to  think  that  in  any  contingency  my  house 
and  person  would  be  inviolate,  I  did  not  fully  share  this  opinion,  but  I  nevertheless 
thought  if  I  could  get  my  family  away  so  much  would  be  gained,  and  then  it  would  be 
my  duty  to  remain.  With  this  view  I  went  down  to  San  Fernando,  to  see  President 
Lopez  and  confer  with  him  in  regard  to  the  passage  of  the  Wasp  above  the  Brazilian 
squadron.  I  found  him  reserved,  and  though  evidently  he  desired  that  the  Wasp 
should  come  through,  and  before  leaving  to  return  to  Asuncion  he  promised  to  forward 


20  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

my  letter  to  Capt.  Kirkland  by  fla^  of  truce,  and  gave  me  letters  to  inclose  to  bis  com- 
manders at  Humaita,  aud  Curupaiti,  to  allow  tlic  Wasp  to  pass  •witbont  molestation. 
In  my  conversations  witli  Lopez,  bo  expressed  great  dissatisfaction  tbat  I  bad  admitted 
so  many  persons  into  my  bouse.  My  communication  to  Captain  Kirkland  being  dis- 
X)atcbed,  I  returned  to  Asuncion.  Tlie  Wasp,  bowever,  did  not  at  tbat  time  go  above 
tbe  squadron,  and  we  were  tben  all  left  in  uncertainty  wbetber  or  not  anj^tbing  would 
come  to  our  rescue  ere  it  was  too  late.  Tbe  arrests  of  foreigners  continued,  but  for 
wbat  object  or  for  wbat  oft'ense  no  one  could  imagine.  Tbe  few  people  I  saw  Avere 
more  frigbtened  and  sby  tban  ever.  Notbing,  bowever,  of  importance  occurred  till,  on 
tbe  16tb  of  June,  we  were  surprised  by  tbe  appearance  of  tbe  acting  Portuguese  con- 
sul, Jos6  Maria  Leite  Pereira,  and  bis  wife,  wbo  came  to  ask  tbe  i>rotection  of  my  bouse 
and  flag.  Of  tbe  events  tbat  followed  tliis  I  refer  you  for  information  to  tbe  corre- 
spondence already  publisbed.  First,  tbe  government  desired  to  know  if  tbe  said  Leite 
Pereira  was  in  my  bouse.  I  replied  in  tbe  affirmative,  but  denied  tbe  rigbt  of  tbe  gov- 
ernment to  question  me  as  to  tbe  persons  in  my  legation,  and  tbat,  if  it  knew  or  sus- 
pected any  obnoxious  person  to  be  witliin  it,  a  specific  allegation  of  bis  offense  must  be 
made  before  I  sbould  be  under  obligations  to  send  bim  away.  Some  two  weeks  passed 
after  tbe  first  call  for  bim  was  made  before  it  was  repeated,  and,  in  tbe  meanwbile,  Ave 
all  began  to  cberisb  tbe  bope  tbat  be  would  not  be  molested.  His  wbole  offense,  so  far 
as  I  knew  tben,  or  knoAV  now,  was  tbe  crime,  wbicb  among  civilized  men  Avould  be 
considered  venial,  if  not  meritorious,  of  spending  all  bis  own  money,  and  all  be  could 
borrow,  to  relieve  tbe  prisoners  wbo  fell  into  tbe  bands  of  Lopez,  relying  on  tbem  or 
tbeir  respective  governments  to  repay  bim  after  tbe  war.  On  tbe  morning  of  bis  com- 
ing to  my  bouse,  bowever,  be  bad  received  notice  tbat  bis  consular  cbaracter  would  no 
longer  be  respected,  and  as  lie  bad  previously  been  cautioned  tbat  Lopez  was  badly 
affected  towards  bim,  be  considered  tbe  witbdraAval  of  bis  exequatur  as  but  a  prelude 
to  imprisonment,  irons,  and  starvation ;  be,  tberefore,  fled  Avitb  bis  wife  to  tbe  United 
States  legation,  boping  to  find  sbelter  and  protection.  It  was  accorded  bim  witbout 
besitation,  tbougb  regarded  by  me  as  an  nuAvise  and  imprudent  step  on  bis  part.  On 
tbe  lltb  of  July,  bowever,  tbe  dream  of  security  Avas  dispelled  by  tbe  receipt  of  tbe  letter 
from  tbe  acting  minister  of  foreign  relations,  Gumesindo  Benitez,  in  Avbicb  tbe  govern- 
ment demanded  tbe  dismissal  on  tbe  folloAving  day  not  only  of  Leite  Pereira,  but  of 
everybody  else  in  my  bouse  tbat  did  not  belong  to  tbe  legation.  Pereira  and  tbe  En- 
glisb  left  accordingly,  tbougb  "  I  told  tbem  all  tbat  I  did  not  send  tbem  away,  and  tbat 
if  tbey  cbose  to  remain  tbey  migbt  do  so,  and  I  would  never  deliver  up  one  of  tbem 
until  some  specific  crime  was  alleged  against  tbem."  Tbey  all  tbougbt,  bowever,  it 
was  best  for  tbem  to  go,  and  tbe  Englisb  requested  me  to  go  and  see  Colonel  Fernan- 
dez, tbe  military  commander  at  Asuncion,  tbe  men  offering  to  resume  work  in  tbe 
arsenal,  and  requesting  to  be  advised  of  tbe  points  to  Avbicb  tbe  women  and  cbildren 
would  be  sent.  Tbe  bouse  Avas  surrounded  by  as  many  as  forty  policemen,  and  tbe 
Englisb  were  afraid  of  being  taken  immediately  to  prison.  Fernandez,  bowcA^er, 
pledged  me  bis  Avord  of  bonor  tbat  tbey  sbould  not  be  molested  by  tbe  police,  but 
sbouid  be  well  treated,  and  said  tbe  men  Vould  be  again  taken  into  tbe  service,  on  con- 
dition of  making  new  contracts.  Tbe  men  bad  made  tbe  ofler  only  because  tbey 
tbougbt  it  better  to  go  to  Avork  tban  go  to  prison.  Tbey  accordingly  left  tbe  legation, 
in  tbe  afternoon,  and  were  directed  to  tbe  railway  station,  wbere  tbey  were  most  mis- 
erably provided  for,  notwitbstanding  tbat  Fernandez  bad  pledged  bis  AVord  of  bonor 
tbat  tbey  sbould  be  well  treated.  Tbey  remained  in  tbat  situation  for  about  a  Aveck, 
wben  tbey  disappeared,  and  I  knoAV  not  Avbat  lias  become  of  tbem.  I  baA^e  beard  tbat 
tbe  women  and  cbildren  Avere  sent  to  a  villag  e  about  four  leagues  from  Asuncion, 
called  San  Lorenzo,  and  tbat  tbe  men  bad,  like  most  of  tbe  otber  foreigners  in  Para- 
guay, been  taken  in  irons  to  tbe  army  bead  quarters.  Leite  Pereira  left  about  five  p. 
m.  of  tbe  same  day,  and  was  arrested  as  soon  as  got  into  tbe  street.  Of  bis  subsequent 
fate  I  knoAv  notbing.  On  tbe  same  day  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Benitez,  adA'ising  bim  tbat 
tbe  Portuguese  consul  and  tbe  Englisb  bad  left  A'oluntarily,  but  tbat  as  no  cbarge  bad 
been  made  against  Carreras  or  Rodriguez,  and  tbey  preferred  to  stay  in  tbe  legation, 
and  as  sucli  Avas  also  my  wisb,  1  presumed  no  objection  Avould  be  made  to  it.  By  sun- 
rise, bowever,  tbe  next  morning  I  received  anotber  letter  still  more  urgent,  demanding 
tbat  tbey  sbould  leave  my  bouse  by  one  o'clock  of  tbat  day.  Still  no  specific  cbarge 
was  made  against  tbem,  and  I  told  tbem  tbat  tbey  migbt  go  or  stay  as  tbey  tbougbt 
best,  but  tbat  tbey  Avould  bave  tbe  protection  of  my  bouse  and  flag  until  tbey  Avere 
taken  by  force,  or  till  some  direct  crime  Avas  laid  to  their  cbarge.  Tbey  botb  said  tbat 
if  I  would  promise  to  remain  till  tbe  end  of  tbe  war,  tbey  would  not  deliver  tbemselA'cs 
up,  as  it  Avas  impossible  for  any  8i)ecific  cbarge  to  be  brongbt  against  tbem,  and  tbey 
did  not  believe  tbat  Lopez  would  venture  to  take  tbem  out  of  tbe  legation  by  force. 
But  I  could  not  promise  to  remain  to  tbe  end  of  tbe  Avar,  and  tbey,  tberefore,  said  it 
was  better  tbat  tbey  sbould  go  at  once  tban  to  enrage  Lopez  by  remaining,  AA-ben  at 
last  tbey  would  probably  fall  into  bis  merciless  cbitcbes.  Tbey  accordingly  left  at  12 
m.  of  tbe  13tb  of  July,  but  not  till  I  bad  sboAvn  tbem  my  letter  of  tbe  same  date  to 
Benitez,  in  wbicb  I  gave  my  reasons  for  believing  tbat  tbe  government  could  bave  ^ 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  *  21 

nothing  serious  against  them,  and  that,  in  regard  to  Rodriguez,  even  if  it  had,  they 
Lad  no  right  to  touch  him,  as  he  was  entitled  to  diplomatic  immunities. 

This  letter  I  sent  the  same  aiternoon  to  Beuitcz,  and  as  all  were  then  gone  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  legation,  I  thought  that  I  should  ho  left  to  a  dismal  peace.  Before 
night,  however,  came  another  letter  demanding  that  I  should  likewise  send  away  two 
members  of  my  legation,  P.  C.  Bliss  and  G.  F.  Masterman,  whose  names  as  such  had 
long  before  been  given  in  to  the  ministry  for  foreign  aflfairs. 

At  this  point  I  made  a  stand,  as  you  will  see  by  the  published  correspondence,  and 
by  fencing  and  fighting  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  saying  some  llatteriiig  things  about 
L'oi>ez,  I  kept  them  with  me  till  my  final  departure.  I  admit  that  1  i»urposcly  j^ro- 
louged  the  correspondence  in  the  hope  of  saving  these  two  men.  -  They  were  anested, 
however,  as  they  staited  to  accompany  me  to  the  steamer,  at  the  moment  of  leaving 
the  legation,  taken  by  force  from  my  side,  and  their  subsequent  fate  may  be  guessed 
at  from  what  I  shall  luTcaftcr  relate. 

May  none  ever  know  the  uncertainty  of  the  last  two  months  and  a-half  of  my  life 
in  Paraguay.  To  see  men  with  whom  one  has  had  the  most  friendly  relations  for 
months,  with  whom  one  has  discussed  questions  of  history  and  politics  every  day, 
varying  the  monotony  of  the  days  with  billiards  and  of  the  evenings  with  whist,  and  yet 
to  feel  that  these  very  men  with  whom  one  was  talking  over  the  situation  might  be  in 
inms  in  one  hour  and  shot  within  twenty-four;  certainly,  you  will  allow  this  was 
enough  to  render  even  the  sleep  of  a  bravo  man  fitful  and  uneasy,  and  of  a  man  like 
me,  without  such  pretensions,  nttorly  inadequate  to  "knit  up  the  raveled  sleeve  of 
<  are."  And  up  to  this  time,  we  had  not  the  least  idea  of  what  it  was  all  about.  No 
tich  word  ds  treason  or  conspiracy  had,  to  my  knowledge,  ever  been  heard  in  my 
liouse.  What  could  Lopez  want?  Was  it  his  plan  to  kill  oil'  all  foreigners,  that  no  one 
may  be  left  to  tell  the  story  of  his  enormities  f  Did  he  seek  to  blot  out  the  record  of 
his  crimes  ?  If  so,  the  minister  was  no  safer  than  the  other  members  of  the  legation.  But 
as  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  not  taken  for  several  weeks  after  the  departure  o^  Car- 
icras  and  Rodriguez,  we  gradually  got  into  a  more  normal  state.  The  conduct  of  per- 
sons accused  in  the  time  of  the  French  revolution,  whose  levity  in  the  prospect  of 
death  seems  incredible,  appeared  to  us,  as  we  often  i-emarked,  no  longer  strange;  but 
1o  tin;  credit  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  though  not  to  myself,  as  I  did  not  consider  my 
danger  as  great  as  theirs,  I  will  say,  we  scolfed  at  the  dangera  before  us,  and  talked, 
Joked  and  laughed  as  freely  as  though  we  had  nothing  to  fear.  At  this  point  I  may 
remark  that,  from- the  time  that  Leito  Pereira  came  to  my  house,  it  was  always  sur- 
rounded by  at  least  a  dozen  policemen,  and  that  frequently  on  looking  out  in  front  I 
have  counted  more  than  that  number  on  one  side.  Probably  fifty  men,  who  might 
otherwise  have  been  in  the  anny,  were  kept  night  and  day  to  watch  me  and  the 
members  of  my  legation.  In  the  meanwhile  we  could  hear  scarcely  anything  of  what 
was  going  on.  With  the  cxceiJtion  of  the  consuls,  who  occasionally  came  in  from 
Luque,  no  one  ever  came  to  my  house,  and  my  Paraguayan  servants,  if  they  leaiued 
anything,  feared  to  tell  it.  I  did  learn,  however,  that  about  the  time  that  the  great 
sweep  was  made  from  my  house,  the  brother  of  the  President,  Venancio  Lopez,  was 
carried  oft"  in  irons  to  the  army  headquarters.  His  other  brother,  Benigno,  had  been 
called  below  long  before,  and  when  I  visited  his  excellency  at  San  Fernando,  in  the  early 
part  ol  May,  Don  Benigno  and  the  minister  of  foreign  aft'airs,  Berges,  were  both  close 
prisoners,  as  Avas  the  Presidents  brother-in-law,  Saturniuo  Bedoya.  The  old  vice-pres- 
ident, Sanchez,  who  had  previously  been  a  prisoner,  was  then  allowed  to  leave  his 
liouse,  but  neither  he  nor  any  Paraguayans  dared  approach  me  or  be  seen  with  me. 

For  a  time  we  feared  it  Avas  the  intention  of  Lopez  to  cut  the  throats  of  all  the  for- 
eigners, as  we  knew  but  little  of  any  arrests  at  that  time  of  Paraguayans.  If  they 
were  anested  they  were  taken  oft'  so  quietly  that  we  might  or  might  not  hear  anything 
of  it  for  weeks  or  months.  But  while  the  English  who  had  been  in  the  legation  were 
detained  in  the  railway  station,  the  train  came  in  one  night  at  midnight  full  of  pris- 
oners. The  English  could  see  nothing,  as  no  light  was  allowed  in  the  station,  but  the 
clanking  of  the  chains  and  the  sighs  and  groans  of  the  prisoners  as  they  were  fcfrced 
from  the  cars  and  diiven  forward  towards  the  bank  of  the  river,  were  distinctly  audi- 
ble. They  were  all  embarked  in  a  steamer  for  San  Fernando  before  daylight.  A  few 
days  alter  I  learned  that  this  crowd  of  prisouera  was  almost  entirely  composed  of  Par- 
aguaya)i8 ;  that  nearly  every  man  in  the  new  capital,  the  judges,  clerks,  accountants, 
and  all  save  the  chief  of  police,  Sanabria,  a  man  eminently  distinguished  for  his  bru- 
tality, Benitez  and  the  vice-president,  were  the  only  ones  left  there,  besides  policemen 
and  soldiers ;  that  there  was  a  gloom  over  the  place,  so  deep  and  funereal-like,  that  the 
women  and  children  scarcely  ventured  out  of  their  houses,  and  if  they  did,  it  was  with. 
fear,  as  if  they  had  just  felt  the  shock  of  an  earthquake,  and  were  in  dread  of  another. 
For  more  than  fifty  years  the  country  has  been  a  Dionysius  gallery.  It  was  always 
the  poUey  of  Francia,  and  of  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez,  that  everything  said  should  reach 
the  ear  of  ''  El  Supremo."  But  in  the  worst  davs  of  Francia  the  government  was  mild 
and  paternal  compared  with  what  it  has  been  under  this  younger  Lopez.  People  have 
been  thrown  into  prison  not  only  for  saying  things  perfectly  iimocent.  and  tor  not 


22  PAKAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

reporting  what  they  havo  heard,  Imt  also  for  tho  crime  of  not  reporting  what  they 
have  not  hoard.  It  is  made  the  duty  of  everybody  to  bo  a  spy  on  everybody  else,  and 
woe  to  him  whoso  ears  are  not  o])cn  to  every  word  spoken  in  his  presence. 

The  arrest  of  all  the  civil  magistrates  indicated  that  it  was  not  tho  foreigners  alone 
that  had  made  themselves  obnoxious  to  Lopez.  But  what  it  was  all  for,  no  one  in  my 
house,  as  I  yet  firmly  believe,  had  the  least  idea.  The  published  correspondence,  how- 
ever, will  show  that  about  the  18th  or  20th  of  July,  the  government  suspected,  or  effected 
to  suspect  a  conspiracy ;  alleging  that  ex-Minister  Berges  was  a  traitor,  and  was  in 
collusion  v.'itli  the  enemy,  and  that  under  my  othcial  S(!al  I  had  transmitted  the  corre- 
spondence to  and  fro  between  the  conspirators.  I  must  refer  you  to  tho  published  cor- 
respondence, to  show  how  they  undertook  to  connect  me  with  the  conspiracy ;  or  at 
least,  as  knowing  that  a  revolution  Avas  in  contemplation.  At  first  it  would  seem  that 
they  were  so  coulident  of  implicating  me,  that  they  began  to  publish  the  correspondence, 
but  after  receiving  my  letter  of  the  11th  of  August,  in  which  I  showed  so  many  contra- 
dictions in  the  declarations  that  had  been  made  by  the  accused — prol)ably  under  tor- 
ture— that  they  suspended  further  publications.  But  it  Avas  not  in  the  nature  of  Lopez 
to  show  any  magnaninuty,  or  even  justice,  by  acknowledging  he  had  been  led  into 
error  by  false  depositions.  Men  who  know  him  would  as  soon  accuse  him  of  ordinary 
courage,  as  of  magnanimity,  and  he  never  Avas  accused  of  that,  except  in  his  own 
''  Semanario,"  of  Avhich  he  is  virtually  the  editor.  During  all  this  Avar,  Lopez  has  never 
exyjosed  himself  to  any  personal  danger ;  he  has  never  on  a  single  occasion  risked  him- 
self* in  any  battle,  and  Avhile  he  was  at  Paso  Pucu  he  had  an  immense  caA^e  or  rather 
house,  Avith  walls  of  earth  OA^er  20  feet  thick,  from  which  he  ncA^er  A^entured  for  Aveeks 
together ;  and  at  the  same  time  that  his  organ  Avas  filled  ''  ad  nauseam  "  Avith  accounts 
of  "the  gi-eat  Lopez  leading,  with  dauntless  valor,  his  legions  to  victory,  he  Avas  sitting 
quaking  and  quivering  in  his  cave  afraid  to  A^enture  out  lest  a  ball  might  reach  him. 
On  one  occasion,  some  tAVO  years  ago,  when  he  Avas  out  AAdth  his  bishop  and  his  stafl",  a 
shell  struck  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  more  frojn  his  excellency.  Instantly  the 
brave  Lopez  turned  and  ran  like  a  scared  sheep,  with  his  staff,  including  the  bishop, 
after  him,  the  latter  losing  his  hat  as  he  fled  affrighted  after  his  chief.  This  is  the  only 
instance  knoAvn  of  his  ever  having  been  in  personal  danger ;  he  has  not  even  the  A'ulgar 
merit  of  personal  courage,  nor  has  he  any  other.  His  firmness,  carried  to  obstinacy,  is 
the  result  of  personal  fear.  Many  persons,  his  own  people  who  have  escaped  from  his 
power,  and  Avhose  families  have  been  tortured  and  otherwise  persecuted  to  death,  have 
sent  messages  to  him  threatening  to  kill  him  at  sight  should  they  ever  meet  him ;  ho 
therefore  dares  not  treat  with  the  enemy,  for  so  many  have  SAVorn  to  pursue  him,  the 
worhl  will  not  afford  him  a  refuge  if  he  once  has  no  army  betAveen  him  and  his  enemies ;  * 
he  knows  the  country  to  be  lost  and  ruined ;  he  has  no  navy,  and,  in  my  opinion,  not 
more  than  one-fift;h  of  the  land  forces  of  the  enemy.  Why  the  latter  do  not  attack  him 
and  put  an  end  to  the  war  I  do  not  know;  but  they  do  not  do  so,  and  the  Avar  may  not 
end  for  a  long  time.  Lopez  has  recently  said  he  expected  to  be  compelled  soon  to  fall 
back  from  the  river,  and  then  he  Avould  retire  into  the  mountains,  driving  everybody, 
foreigners  and  Paraguayans  alike,  before  him.  In  that  case,  at  the  rate  the  allies  haA'e 
been  going  on  for  the  last  two  years,  it  Avill  not  be  long  before  he  Avill  be  unable  to  present 
as  strong  a  front  to  his  enemies  as  he  did  Avhon  they  landed  above  the  Tebicuari — viz., 
one  man  to  Avatch  the  telegraph. 

It  Avas  not,  hoAvever,  till  August  that  I  heard,  besides  the  conspiracy  against  the  goA^- 
ernmeut,  that  there  had  been  a  great  robbery  of  the  public  treasury.  Of  the  particu- 
lars of  this  robbery  I  could  never  learn  anything — neither  did  I  OA^er  haA'e  any  knowledge 
of  the  details  of  the  plan  of  the  conspiracy.  It  Avas  said  in  one  of  Benitez's  letters  fhat 
Ml'.  Bliss,  a  member  of  my  legation,  had  signed  a  pai)er,  Avitli  others,  in  Avhich  they  had 
engaged  to  assassinate  President  Loi)ez.  I  kncAV  that  Avas  false,  or,  at  least,  had  no 
doubt  that  it  was  so,  and  defied  them  to  produce  any  such  paper ;  but  they  never  showed 
it.  They  never  gave  me  any  clue  as  to  the  manner  of  the  conspiracy  or  hoAV  the  roA'o- 
lutio^i  Avas  to  be  effected,  and  I  do  not  belicA^e  to  this  day  that  anything  of  the  kind  Avas 
ever  attempted.  The  declarations  of  the  prisoners  prove  nothing  exceirt  the  merciless 
cruelties  of  Lopez,  for  it  is  kuoAvn  that  he  freely  employs  the  torture.  He  loads  his 
prisoners  with  heavy  fetters,  sometimes  two,  three  or  four  jjair,  and  besides  flogs  them, 
if  they  do  not  give  the  testimony  he  requires,  till  they  die. 

The  only  explanation  I  can  give  in  regard  to  the  robbery  of  the  treasury  is  this : 
since  Lopez  came  into  power  he  has  never  had  a  comi)etent  bookkeeper  in  his  employ, 
and  A'ery  probably  has  never  known  till  recently  hoAV  much  money  had  been  h'it  by 
his  predecessor.  He  has  been  spending  largely  ever  since,  and  probably  no  accurate 
account  has  ever  been  kept  of  the  amount  paid  out  according  to  his  order.  After  the 
city  Avas  evacuated,  however,  in  February,  he  probably  had  occasion  to  count  his  money, 
ar.  1  found  a  large  hole  in  the  bottom  of  his  treasury.  This  discoA'^ery  Avas  not  probably 
made  till  some  months  after  the  removal  to  Luque,  as  about  the' month  of  June  Ave 
found  that  all  those  foreigners  Avho  had  made  any  money  during  the  past  years,  and 
AA'^ere  most  likely  to  haA'e  any  in  their  houses,  were  arrested  and  sent  below  Among 
them  Avero  English,  French,  Italians,  Spaniards,  Germans,  and  Portuguese.    The  plan 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  23 

of  Lopez  appears  to  bo  to  get  this  money  into  liis  hands,  and  then,  by  torture  or  threats 
to  extort  confessions  of  being  either  conspirators  or  plunderers  of  the  treasury.  On 
these  confessions  they  will  probably  be  executed  on  the  precautionary  principle  of  foot- 
pads an<l  other  murderers  that  "dead  men  tell  no  tales."  How  Lopez  expects  to  escape 
witli  tlie  money  thus  obtained,  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  he  thinks  that  some  neutral 
gunboat  will  take  hira  and  his  plunder  away  at  the  last  moment.  But  I  here  give 
notice  that  the  money  thus  taken  does  not  belong  to  Lojiez.  It  is  the  property  of  citi 
zens  of  those  powers  that  are  able  to  pursue  it  and  return  it  to  its  rightful  owners. 

Your  excellency,  as  all  the  world,  probably  wonders  how  it  is,  if  Lopez  be  the  char 
acter  I  have  described  him,  that  he  is  served  so  faithfully  and  bravely.  It  is  entirely 
through  fear,  for  save  and  except  a  few  of  the  most  willing  instruments  of  his  cruelties, 
like  liis  favorite  mistress,  his  bishop,  Luis  Caminos,  Sanabria,  and  a  few  others,  who 
liave  evinced  most  alacrity  in  doing  his  bloody  work,  there  is  not  a  man,  woman,  or 
child,  (I  do  not  except  either  his  mother,  sister,  or  brothers,)  who  would  not  thank  God 
if  he  would  take  him  to  another  world,  where  his  deserts  could  be  more  adequately 
rewarded. 

Why,  then,  do  the  Paragiiayans  fight  so  bravely  T  It  is  not  because  of  their  superior 
courage  nor  of  their  devotion  to  Lopez.  That  they  are  a  bravo  and  enduring  people, 
cannot  be  denied.  But  the  reason  why  they  fight  so  desperately  is  this,  that  according 
to  Lopez's  system  of  discipline,  there  is  always  more  danger  in  giving  way  than  in  going 
on.  He  has  no  confidence  in  his  troops,  and  always  seems  to  act  under  the  belief  that 
tlicy  would  desert  if  tliey  could  get  a  chance.  He  therefore,  in  going  into  battle, 
advances  his  firat  lines  with  orders  to  fight  to  the  death.  A  little  in  the  rear  is  a  smaller 
body  with  orders  to  shoot  down  the  first  man  who  gives  way  or  attempts  to  desert. 
Beliijwl  these  are  still  others  with  orders  to  bring  down  any  one  in  front  who  does  not 
iigjjt  to  tlie  death,  and  behind  those  again  are  others  with  like  instructions,  until  at  last 
the  tlireads  are  all  gathered  in  the  liands  of  Lopez.  If  in  spite  of  all  these  i)recautions  a 
l)oint  is  carried  by  the  enemy,  his  unliappy  olhcers  who  survive  are  shot  and  the  men 
<lecknate(L  Under  this  system  he  ha.s  lost  at*  least  100,000  men,  probably  more  than 
the  Brazilians,  and  yet  this  system,  though  it  has  not  left  6,000  able-bodied  men  in  the 
country,  has  kept  iroin  three  to  six  times  as  many  of  the  allied  forces  at  bay. 

The  country,  however,  is  entirely  denuded  of  its  male  population.  All  the  ploughing, 
planting,  and  sowing,  is  done  by  women  ;  women  must  yoke  the  oxen,  do  the  butcher- 
ing, and  all  the  other  work  usually  done  by  men.  There  are  many  women  also  with 
the  army,  to  do  the  labor  of  men,  and  thus  relieve  the  troops,  but  none,  I  believe,  are 
forced  to  bear  anus. 

The  next  news  that  wo  shall  probably  hear  from  Lopez  is,  that  he  has  retired  with 
his  whole  Army  to  the  mountains,  and  that  he  has  dnveu  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
before  him.  Had  not  the  Wasp  arrived  till  a  month  later,  I  have  no  doubt  that  I  should 
have  bw?n  force<l  to  do  the  same.  To  the  last  moment  Lopez  hesitated  whether 
to  keep  me  a  prisoner  or  not ;  ho  wants  no  one  to  survive  him  capable  of  telling  the 
'world  of  his  enoraiities,  and  of  all  tho.se  whose  declarations  have  been  given  in  the 
coiTe^j>ondenee  lately  published,  not  one  will  be  allowed  to  escape,  nor  will  any  of 
those  pei-sons  before  whom  they  were  made.  For  once  beyond  the  reach  of  Lopez,  they 
would  declare  that  they  had  never  made  them,  or  had  made  them  under  torture. 

Since  arriving  in  this  city  I  have  seen  a  letter  that  was  brought  by  the  Wasp,  evi- 
tlentJy  written  at  the  tlictation  of  Lopez,  in  which  some  details  are  given  of  the  nature 
of  the  plot  or  conspiracy.  This  is  the  first  information  I  had  of  the  kind  of  plot  that 
had  been  discovered,  and  the  absunlity  of  the  whole  thing  convinces  me  more  strongly 
than  ever  that  there  never  has  been  any  plot  or  conspiracy  at  all. 

How  long  is  this  war  to  last  f  For  ntore  than  a  year  and  a  half  I  have  believed  that 
Lopez  would  not  hold  out  for  two  months  longer;  but  I  had  no  idea  how  slowly  some 
peo]>Je  could  move,  if  they  resolutely  set  themselves  not  to  fight. 

Witli  the  hope  that  the  Avar  would  end  shortly,  I  remained  a  year  longer  than 
I  intended,  very  much  against  my  interest,  and  suffering  great  discomfort.  I  believed 
tliat  at  the  final  catastrophe  I  could  be  of  great  service,  especially  to  the  foreigners, 
jind  had  Asuncion  been  taken  in  February,  Avhen  the  iron-clads  went  up  there,  as  we 
then  expected  it  would  be,  I  should  doubtless  have  been  able  to  save  the  lives  of  many, 
who  now  will  newr  see  tliinr  native  land  again.  But  when  all  of  them  had  been  killed 
4  r  made  prisoners,  and  nobody,  native  or  foreigner,  dared  come  near  my  house,  and  I 
Avas  utterly  powerless  to  do  any  service  for  anybody,  I  thought  it  time  to  obey  the  orders 
of  my  government  and  return  to  the  United  States. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  ,    ,^  ^  «„^..^  . 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  William  Stuart, 

Her  Britannic  Majeatifa  Minister  Plenipotentiary ,  Buenos  Axjres. 


24  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION 


Exhibit  G. 
paraguay— detailed  account  of  the  atrocities  of  lopez— trevious  kepokts 

CONFIllMED. 

Asuncion,  January  12,  1869. 

Dear  Sir  :  Wliat  shall  I  write  to  you  ?  Paper,  ink,  and  letters,  are  only  means  for  short 
and  incomplete  conmiunications,  and  my  heart  is  so  full,  I  have  so  much  to  tell  you, 
there  are  so  extremely  many  intrigues  to  uncover,  such  an  incredible  complex  of  Jesxiit- 
ism,  baseness,  lowness,  falsehood,  assassination,  all  sort  of  crimes,  and  badly  used  gov- 
ermnental  skill  to  bring  to  the  daylight,  that  I  fear  it  is  hardly  possible  to  give  to  tho 
world  the  proof  of  the  baseness  and  the  clever  play  of  which  we  foreigners  in  Paraguay 
have  been  subject  these  last  ten  months.  It  is  impossible  to  do  us  justice  for  two  rea- 
sons— because  there  are  far  too  many  acts  of  barbarism  to  be  able  to  mention  them ;  and 
secondly,  they  are  so  nicely  and  skilllully  envcloi>ed  and  put  under  tho  shape  of  justice 
and  hunianity,  that  we  can  hardly  expect  the  world  to  be  ready  to  believe  the  truth. 
It  would  be  necessaiy  to  discover  the  motive  of  all  this  clever  Jesuitical  play  and 
assassinations,  which  the  Paraguayan  government  used  during  the  last  year ;  motives 
which  I  cannot  explain,  and  of  which  I  only  have  the  full  persuasion  that  all  is  false- 
hood and  baseness. 

I  perfectly  understand,  and  I  find  it  quite  natural  and  logical,  that  until  this  moment 
there  are  politicians  who  admire  and  defend  the  actions  of  the  Paraguayan  government, 
and  condemn  these  poor  sufferers  vfho  had  to  lose  their  lives,  fortunes  and  honor  during 
the  last  ten  months;  but  this  mistake  is  only  to  be  excused,  as  the  world  knows  nothing 
at  all  about  Paraguayan  affairs,  and  what  they  believe  to  know  is  only  a  very  clever 
falsehood,  which  this  government  understood  and  spread  over  the  world. 

I  8ui)pose  you  know  by  this  time  that  Asuncion  is  in  the  hands  of  the  allied  army 
since  tlie  1st  of  January,  and  as  I  write  from  that  place  you  will  see  I  have  the  fortune 
to  he  with  them.  I  asked  several  people  about  you,  and  I  have  learned  nothing  except 
some  vague  information  of  your  having  gone  to  Wasliington,  and  what  I  most  deei)ly 
lament,  and  about  what  I  feel  very,  very  sorry,  is  that  I  have  been  informed  by  several 
people  that  you  got  into  difficulties  with  the  United  States  government  about  the  clever 
but  miserable  tricks  the  Paraguayan  government  played  you.  But,  my  dear  sir,  I  have 
confidence  time  will  clear  all  these  errors,  and  if  I  was  in  your  place  I  would  feel  quite 
easy,  and  even  tell  my  adversaries  that  they  are  perfectly  right  to  condemn  you,  because 
they  could  not  do  otherwise  with  the  wrong  information  they  only  could  have,  and  with 
the  apparently  nicely-fitted  accusations  of  the  correspondence  between  you  and  Benitez. 
I  say  that  your  adversaries  have  quite  wrong  information,  or,  perhaps,  better  said,  no 
information  at  all,  because  I  find  here,  at  the  very  head,  people  of  the  allied  army,  that 
are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  extent  of  cruelties,  and  falsehood  to  which  this  place  is  sub- 
jected. I  wish  to  God,  thei^efore,  and  I  hope  that  soon  everything  will  come  to  the 
daylight,  and  then,  dear  sir,  there  coidd  not  be  a  man  to  blame  you ;  biit  there  are  many 
who  are  deeply  obliged  to  your  kindness,  to  your  liTimanity,  to  your  good-will  and 
assistance,  and,  more  than  all,  to  the  straightforward  defense  of  the  i)rincii)le  of  rigb^. 
Until  now,  I  have  not  seen  newspapers,  and  the  information  I  got  about  you  is  very 
uncertain,  so  I  hope  you  are  all  right,  and  enjoy  a  better  and  happy  life  after  so  many 
suficrings. 

I  will  tell  you  now  how  I  came  to  the  allied  army,  but  I  am  sorry  that  I  must  be  very 
brief,  as  otherwise  I  never  could  finish,  because  the  sufferings,  bad  treatment,  and  false- 
hood to  which  I  had  been  subjected  for  the  last  three  months  have  been  by  far  too  many. 

You  know  very  well  that  I  have  always  been  very  highly  estimated  by  the  Para- 
guayan government  and  all  officials,  and  it  had  been  so  until  the  23d  of  October  last 
year  when  I  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  the  army.  My  imprisonment  is  another 
specimen  of  rudeness — to  use  the  most  direct  word  for  such  an  action — because  they 
accused  me  of  the  same  dramatic  piece  of  revolution,  by  means  of  which  spectacle  they 
put  out  of  the  way  so  many  innocent  people  before  me.  Now,  look  here,  dear  sir,  how 
all  that  came.  At  the  beginning  of  October  arrived  very  near  Asuncion  a  French  and 
an  Italian  gunboat,  and  the  consuls  took  steps  to  arrange  the  departure  of  their  respect- 
ive subjects.  At  the  sanie  time  appeared  an  advice  (notice)  in  the  official  paper,  the 
Semanario,  that  the  Paraguayan  government  never  had  put  difficulties  in  the  way  of  tho 
departure  of  foreigners.  I  considered  this  a  fine  occasion  to  retire  to  Europe,  and  put 
myself  in  communication  with  the  Italian  consul,  asking  him  to  put  me  on  board  of  tho 
vessel  of  his  nation.  After  having  arranged  this,  I  went  to  the  Paraguayan  minister, 
Luis  Caminos,  and  told  him  that  I  should  like  to  retire  to  Europe,  in  case  the  Paraguayan 
government  did  not  find  it  inconvenient.  I  was  so  happy  to  be  told  by  the  minister 
that  there  was  no  inconvenience  at  all  on  the  part  of  tho  Paraguayan  government,  and 
that  he  would  write  down  immediately  to  arrange  about  the  vessel  and  to  send  me  my 
passport.  With  these  favorable  promises,  and  in  the  glorious  hope  to  spend  a  happy 
Christmas  at  home,  after  so  many  years  of  privations  and  sufferings,  I  went  home  to  my 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  25 

country  bouse  in  Recoleta,  full  of  hope  and  new  plans  for  the  future ;  packed  up  my 
huggage  and  a  few  thousand  dollars,  the  earnings  of  hard  work  in  Paraguay.  The  ne::t 
mornijig,  the  23d  of  October,  I  went  as  regularly  to  Asuncion  to  arrange  everything 
there  for  u  quick  departure,  but,  incredible  to  believe,  at  1  o'clock  I  got  arrested  by  an 
officer  and  police  sergeant  at  my  olliee,  and  immediately  transported  on  horseback  to 
tjie  majoria  of  the  army  in  Las  Lomas,  near  Vilieta.  All  my  demonstrations  to  visit 
lirst  my  house  to  iirovido  me  with  clothes  and  money  were  useless,  and  I  soon  convinced 
myself  that  I  had  to  obey  my  sergeant  as  blindly  as  he  had  to  obey  his  orders. 

I  must  pass  over  a  detailed  description  of  all  the  suft'erings  which  I  had  during  two 
UKjnths  of  imprisonment :  hunger,  thirst,  iilth,  insults,  sun,  rain,  living  and  sleeping  in 
the  open  air,  with  the  legs  in  stocks,  without  protection  against  heat  and  rain.  But  I 
must  mention  more  particularly  what  is  called  the  Paraguayan  tribunal  of  justice. 

Twenty-four  hours  after  my  arrival  in  Las  Lomas,  I  was  brought  by  fom-  soldiers 
under  arms  to  a  hut  where  there  were  sitting  three  captains.  After  a  formal  inquiry  of 
my  name,  jirofession,  religion,  and  nationality,  I  was  told  to  lay  down  an  oath  that  all  I 
should  say  before  that  tribunal  would  be  the  pure  truth.  After  having  done  this,  I  was 
inquired  of  if  1  knew  why  I  had  been  taken  prisoner,  which  question  I  answered  that 
1  had  not  the  slightest  idea. 

During  all  this  time  one  of  the  officers  most  eagerly  studied  the  Semanario,  and  then 
afterward  left  the  room  and  did  not  appear  again. 

After  having  denied  the  knowledge  of  the  motives  of  my  imprisonment,  the  speaker 
of  the  remaining  two  captains  wanied  me  severely  not  to  go  on  in  that  way,  and  that  I 
had  much  better  confess  at  once  all  my  guilt,  because  the  tribunal  knew  everything, 
and  there  were  more  than  a  hmidred  i)roofs  against  mo  that  I  had  been  one  of  the  heads 
of  the  revolution. 

There  I  lejirned  for  the  first  time  that  they  considered  me  as  »  partner  of  that  imagi- 
nary revolution,  of  Avhich  I  knew  just  as  little  as  all  the  others  who  have  lost  their 
li\  ('8,  being  forced  to  state  and  allirm  to  have  been  partners  to  such  a  revolutiim.  It  is 
<iuitf  natural  that  such  a  malicious  accusation  will  put  the  most  deliberate  man  into  a 
<  trtuin  state  of  excitement,  and  I  began  to  defend  mys<df,  stating  that  I  was  ready  to 
i'ace  any  uuin  and  any  statement  against  mo;  but  instead  of  entermg  into  the  points  of 
j.'iy  defense,  or  only  listening  to  them,  I  was  repeatedly  warned  to  consider  that  I  was 
not  in  a  grog-shop,  or  in  a  billiard-room,  or  theatre,  and  that  I  must  not  make  move- 
ments with  my  hands,  nor  speak  so  loud,  and  that  I  behaved  very  badly  before  the  tri- 
bunal, and  that  they  had  plenty  of  means  to  make  me  sjicak  the  truth. 

By  this  time  there  entered  another  captain  of  the  name  of  Goyburu,  the  only  one  I 
knew  by  name.  I  was  then  told  that  the  tribunal  had  many  xwoofs  that  I  knew  all  about 
the  revolution,  and  that  I  had  received  money  from  the  Commandante  Fernandez  to 
maintain  that  revolution.  I  denied  both  accusations,  which  caused  one  of  the  captains 
to  order  a  corporal  to  bring  a  pair  of  fetters,  wliich,  fortunately,  they  never  put  on  me. 
I  tried  everythin<f  to  persuade  the  judges  to  bring  to  my  face  any  person,  pai)er,  or  jiroof, 
which  could  speak  against  me,  but  the  clever  judge  assured  me  that  there  was  no  neces- 
sity, that  the  tribunal  is  perfectly  persuaded  of  my  guilt,  and  that  the  tribunal  never 
calls  a  person  except  he  is  guilty,  to  which  I  answered  that,  so  far  as  my  knowledge 
goes,  a  tribunal  has  a  right  to  call  any  person,  but  only  to  punish  the  guilty. 

With  this  the  examination  had  an  end,  and  I  was  advised  to  regulate  my  soul  with 
God,  because  my  life  would  be  short,  and  then  I  was  taken  again  to  my  prison,  and 
never  saw  anything  more  either  of  judge  or  jury. 

I  have  to  state  that  the  Paraguayan  tribunal  was  not  even  furnished  with  a  table, 
neither  pen,  ink,  nor  paper.  But  you  can  see,  dear  sir,  that  I  have  been  the  most  fortu- 
nate of  all  the  prisoners,  because  they  never  put  me  into  fetters,  nor  did  they  use  me 
with  all  the  diabolical  machines  of  the"^times  of  the  Inquisition,  with  which  they  pressed 
out  and  forced  all  the  other  foreigners  to  confess  and  affirm  that  there  really  had  been 
a  plan  of  revolntion,  and  that  all  of  them  had  been  members  of  it. 

I  have  now  to  tell  you  how  I  escaped  out  of  this  most  critical  and  dangerous  position. 
On  the  21st  of  December  we  were  (about  forty  of  us)  prison«!rs,  lying  in  a  retired  place 
in  the  wood,  when  the  allied  army  began  to  make  a  formal  attack  on  the  Paraguayan 
fortilications  in  Las  Lomas.  Early  in  the  morning  there  came  a  body  of  officers  and 
priests  to  our  place,  and  Commander  Marco  read  a  list  of  about  one-third  of  the  prison- 
ers, who  had  to  step  forth,  and  by  everything  it  was  evident  that  there  was  the  solemn 
moment  of  what  the  Paraguayans  venture  to  name  an  execution  of  justice.  Then  the 
called  prisoners  formed  a  circle,  Commandante  Marco  read  a  short  sentence,  the  priests 
took  them  to  confession,  a  tody  of  soldiers  took  them  a  few  steps  into  the  thicket  of  the 
wood,  another  panse  of  silence,  and  a  musket  volley  finished  all.  It  will  interest  you, 
dear  sir,  but  deeply  afflict  you,  to  know  the  names  of  some  of  the  persons  of  that  day  s 
execution.  There  were  among  them  Don  Benigno  Lopez,  the  brother  of  the  President ; 
Barrios,  the  brother-in-law ;  the  Minister  Berges,  the  bishop,  the  Portuguese  consul, 
Leite  Pereira ;  Colonel  Alen,  Captain  Fidanza,  the  very  old  mother  and  wife  of  Colonel 
Martinez,  and  the  Priest  Bogado.  We  also  had  as  companion-prisoners  the  sisters  ot 
the  President  and  the  other  brother,  Colonel  Vinceucio  Lopez.    These  were  taken  and 


26  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

shut  up,  each  ono  in  a  cart,  and  carried  off,  I  do  not  know  Avhere.    People  speak  here  of 
their  also  being  shot,  bnt  I  could  not  assure  the  truth  of  it. 

The  attack  of  the  allied  army  against  the  fortifications  of  Las  Lomas  lasted  in  per- 
manent succession,  day  and  night,  from  the  morning  of  the  21st  until  the  middle  of  the 
day  of  the  27th  of  December,  when  the  Paraguayan  army  got  entirely  cut  down,  and 
only  a  very  small  remnant  took  the  road  to  Oerro  Leon.  During  these  seven  days  of 
tremendous  fighting  Ave  xuisoners  always  were  exposed  to  the  heavy  rain  of  balls,  and 
on  the  24th,  the  celebrated  day  of  the  independence  of  the  republic  of  Paraguay,  when 
we  were  lying  in  a  long  line,  during  a  heavy  rain,  on  the  bare,  wet  ground,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  us  more  than  half  naked,  we  had  the  great  fortune  to  see  the  President 
passing  close  by  us.  Madame  Lynch  had  the  great  kindness  to  remind  his  excel- 
lency of  our  presence,  and  the  President  had  the  still  greater  kindness  to  set  us  all 
immediately  at  liberty,  as  a  gracious  act  on  the  most  glorious  day  of  the  independence  ; 
of  Paraguay — an  act  for  which  we  all  had  to  thank  him  forever.  Our  liberty  was  not 
a  complete  one,  because  we  were  i)ut  under  the  charge  of  an  officer  near  the  guard  of  a 
new  lot  of  prisoners  who  arrived  that  very  day,  but  we  could  speak  freely  one  with 
another,  and  move  about  a  certain  small  distance  from  the  guard-house. 

In  this  state  we  remained  from  the  24tli  to  the  27th,  when  the  allies  took,  with  an 
assault,  the  positions  of  the  Paraguayans,  which  already,  by  this  time,  after  seven  days 
and  nights  honorable  and  brave  resistance,  were  reduced  to  a  very  few  thousand  men. 
Now  the  allies  came  so  near  to  us  that  everything  took  to  flight  under  a  dense  rain  of 
musket  balls,  every  one  looking  out  for  himself  and  being  most  eagerly  occupied  in 
reaching  the  next  wood.  The  President,  the  two  generals — Resquin  and  Caballero — 
Madame  Lynch,  a  few  more  officers,  and  about  90  men  of  the  horse-guards,  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Cerro  Leon  on  horseback,  leaving  everything  else  behind.  About 
1,000  men  afterward  also  succeeded  in  getting  to  that  place,  where  the  President  is  for- 
tifying himself  with  the  last  remnant  of  his  male  population.  I  had  to  stop  three  days 
in  the  thickets  of  the  wood,  because  I  had  to  walk  barefooted,  in  a  miserable  state  of 
health  and  weakness,  and  on  the  first  day  I  already  saw  myself  entirely  surrounded  by 
allied  troops,  who  had  occupied  all  possible  outlets.  On  the  fourth  day  in  the  morning 
I  went  to  the  Argentine  camp  of  General  Rivas,  where  I  first  met  Colonel  Caracar,  to 
whom"  I  am  deeply  obliged  by  the  kind  reception  he  gave  me.  From  here  I  was  taken 
to  General  Rivas,  then  to  the  Argentine  chief.  General  Gelly  y  Obes,  and  then  to  the 
Marquis  de  Caxias  himself.  I  cannot  praise  sufficiently  the  kindness  with  which  these 
three  generals  received  and  treated  me.  Since  the  Ist  of  January  I  am  again  in  Asun- 
cion, but  unfortunately  I  have  to  say  that  I  found  my  house  at  Recoleta  entirely  robbed, 
80  that  I  find  myself  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  poorer  than  the  poorest  beggar ;  not  a 
cent  in  the  pocket,  not  a  shirt  to  put  on,  not  a  single  friend  to  ask  for  anything,  and 
besides  this,  miserably  sick  from  suffering,  and  so  weak  that  I  am  not  able  to  leave  the 
house.  But  with  the  help  of  God  and  some  newly  arrived  countrj^men  of  mine,  I  am 
able  to  tell  you,  sir,  now  I  am  getting  better  every  day. 

I  am  very  sorry  that  I  must  mention  here  the  very  sad  news  which  I  immediately 

learned  when  I  arrived  at  the  allied  camp,  namely,  that  Lopez,  when  he  took  to  flight 

^  toward  Cerro  Leon,  ordered  an  adjutant  with  a  list  of  all  the  old  and  new  x)risoncrs  to 

'  be  killed  wherever  they  might  be  found.    But  we  fortunately  had  hooked  it  already, 

and  all  I  know  is  that  the  adjutant  with  his  list  is  taken  i^risoner  by  the  Brazilians ;  so 

I  escaped  a  second  condemnation  to  death. 

It  will  interest  you,  dear  sir,  to  know  who  of  the  Europeans  escaped  to  the  allies. 
Of  European  ju'lsoners  there  was  only,  beside  myself,  Mr.  Alonzo  Taylor,  and  a  young 
Italian  by  the  name  of  Segunda  Wega.  Mr.  Taylor  is  on  board  the  English  gunboat  in 
Asuncion,  waiting  for  his  family  which  is  driven,  by  order  of  the  government,  into  the 
mountains.  Of  the  other  gentlemen  I  know  nothing  at  present.  But,  besides  this, 
there  is  Doctor  Stewart,  gone  to  Buenos  Ayres  direct ;  Colonel  Thompson,  also  gone  to- 
Buenos  Ayres,  but  I  believe  as  a  prisoner  of  war ;  Colonel  Wisner,  wlio,  Avith  his  whole 
family,  lives  in  his  old  house  in  Asuncion.  The  large  list  of  all  the  foreigners  which 
had  been  arrested  during  the  time  of  you  being  here,  and  a  few  more  arrested  after- 
ward, do  not  exist  any  more ;  they  all  died  either  by  hunger,  torture,  misery,  sulFerings, 
01  shooting ;  some  of  them  have  been  killed  by  bayonets  during  the  march  from  San 
Fernando  to  Las  Lomas,  not  being  able  to  folloAV  the  rest.  I  am  sorry  I  must  also  tell 
you  that  Mr.  Ullrich  also  got  shot,  but  this  case  offers  something  as  a  proof  how  false 
all  the  accusations  on  the  part  of  the  government  have  been.  They  could  not  help,  but 
had  to  fall  upon  him  from  the  moment  that  they  had  told  y,ou  there  was  still  money  in 
your  possession  belonging  to  the  people  who  had  robbed  the  treasury.  They  could  i\pt 
arrest  Mrs.  Grant,  and  did  not  like  to  arrest  Mr.  Parodi,  that  gentleman  being  of  too 
much  necessity  to  them ;  so  poor  Ullrich  had  to  suffer  for  all.  But  strange  to  say,  the 
correspondence  in  which  Ullrich  was  stated  to  you  to  be  guilty,  bears  the  date  of  the 
10th ;  I  saw  him  on  the  22d  of  that  month  in  Ita,  when  he  and  everybody  else  knew 
nothing  about  it ;  and  then,  when  the  Semanario  appeared,  when  your  correspondence 
about  that  case  was  published,  then  of  course  they  had  to  bring  him  to  i)rison  and  kill 
him. 


PARAGUAYAN   IXVESTIGATICN.  27 

As  regards  other  foreif^ners,  I  make  the  foUowing  remarks :  Doctor  Fox,  being  in  a 
deplorable  state  of  health,  was  allowed,  about  two  months  ago,  to  retire  to  England  on 
t]ie  Italian  gunboat.  Messrs.  Tv/ite,  Burrel,  and  Valjiy  are  still  with  the  rest  of  the 
I'aragua  vans  in  the  mountains.  The  same  with  the  rest  of  the  IJnglish  engineers  of  the 
arsenal.     M.  Parodi  is  in  charge  of  the  hospital  in  Ceno  Leon. 

So  far  at  present.  I  should  feel  very  umch  obliged  if  you  would  write  to  me  a  few 
lines  to  inform  mo  how  you,  your  lady  and  child  are  getting  along.  My  address  will 
be,  for  the  next  few  months, 

K.  VON  FISCHER-TREUENFELD, 

Care  of  Don  F.  \V.  Norde>;iiolz, 
Conanl-General  of  Prussia  in  Buenos  Ayres, 

in  Washington. 


EXIUBIT   II. 
Private  letter  from  Ex-Ministcr  Washburn  to  Minister  McMdhon. 

Buenos  Ayres,  Novanler  11, 1868. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  The  circumstances  under  whicli  I  left  Paraguay  having  been  of  an 
extraordinary,  if  not  unprecedented  character,  in  the  history  of  diplomacy,  and  as  our 
go\erinnent  has  appointed  you  as  my  successor  at  the  court  of  his  excellency  Marshal 
]>opez,  I  take  the  li1)erty  to  give  you  certain  memoranda  in  regard  to  persons  and 
things  in  that  delightful  republic. 

The  archives  of  the  legation,  such  as  I  did  not  bring  away  with  me,  as  also  those  of 
t  he  former  consulate  were  left  in  the  house  that  I  occui)ied,  the  key  of  which  I  delivered 
into  the  hands  ol'thc  Italian  consul,  Mr.  Chapperon.  The  rest  of  the  archives,  consist- 
ing of  the  record  books  of  the  legation,  and  all  the  official  letters  received  by  me,  I 
brought  away  with  me,  also  the  legation  and  consular  seals,  and  silk  flag.  All  these 
things  that  I  have  brought  with  me  I  shall  leave  subject  to  your  order  in  the  hands  of 
Ml'.  Worthington. 

I  als<.>  left  in  my  house  a  largo  number  of  trunks,  boxes,  &c.,  supposed  to  contain 
valuables,  lliey  were  bnmght  to  my  house  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  the  city, 
and  left  there  entirely  at  the  risk  of  the  owners.  Their  contents  are  generally  unknown 
to  me,  though  there  was  one  tnmk  belonging  to  Dr.  Wm.  Stewart,  that  had  a  large 
•juantity  of  silver  in  it,  plate  and  coin,  ^irobably  of  the  value  of  $5,000  or  $6,000.  There 
was  another  trunk  left  there  belonging  to  Mrs.  Carmelita  Gill  de  Cordal,  having  in  it 
Home  6,000  patacones  (silver  dollars)  and  a  large  quantity  of  fine  jewelry.  There  Avas 
also  a  chest  containing  some  1*2,000  patacones,  left  with  me  by  a  Bolivian  named  Lizardo 
Baca.    He  was  a  i^risoner  at  the  time  I  left,  and  Lopez  very  likely  has  seized  his  money. 

In  one  of  the  iron  safes  in  the  office  I  left  some  $6,000,  (patacones,)  the  most  of  which 
belongs  to  two  Englishmen,  Dr.  Frederick  Skinner  and  Charles  Twite,  which  Lopez 
would  not  allow  mo  to  bring  away,  alt;hough  they  were  both  in  his  service.  I  did  bring 
away,  however,  about  $2,000,  Paraguayan  currency,  belonging  to  Dr.  Skinner.  This  I 
>hali  deliver  to  your  care  with  the  archives  to  be  delivered  to  him,  if  you  should  ever 
see  him.  I  shall  do  the  same  with  a  small  box  of  jewelry  belonging  to  a  Mrs.  Lasserre, 
the  wife  of  a  French  merchant  who  was  in  prison  at  the  time  I  left.  He  had  some 
trunks  in  my  house  said  to  ccmtain  a  good  deal  of  money. 

About  a  year  ago  I  collected  from  Lopez  the  sum  of  $7,700  (patacones)  for  one  Luis 
Jiiger,  who  claimed  to  be  an  American  citizen.  You  will  observe  in  reading  my  corre- 
spondence with  the  minister  of  foreign  relations  the  terais  on  which  that  money  was 
paid.  Paraguay  did  not  acknowledge  that  she  owed  Mr.  Jiiger  more  than  $5,200,  but 
would  pay  the  $7,700,  nevertheless,  if  my  legation  would  be  responsible  for  the  return 
of  the  $2,o00  if,  on  further  and  final  examination,  it  should  be  found  to  have  been  over- 
paid. I  accepted  it  on  these  terms,  and  the  $5,200  was  paid  to  Mr.  Jiiger,  and  the  bal- 
ance, $2,539,  has  ever  since  been  on  de])osit  in  the  house  of  Samuel  B.  Hale  &  Co.,  of 
this  city.  I  shall  give  you  an  accepted  draft  for  the  money,  to  be  paid  over  as  our  gov- 
ernment shall  order.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  justice  it  ought  to  be  paid  over  to  Mr. 
Jiiger,  and,  when  I  go  to  Washington,  I  will  try  and  get  instructions  for  you  to  that 
efi'ect. 

Some  eight  or  ten  months  ago  I  received  from  Mr.  Augostin  Piaggio  a  draft  for  200 
gold  oinico.s,  which  amount  I  was  to  pay  him  in  Asuncion,  as  soon  as  I  received  notice 
that  the  draft  was  paid.  But  I  got  no  notice  in  regard  to  it  till  after  I  left  Paraguay, 
when  I  found  it  had  been  paid.  Mr.  Piaggio,  however,  when  I  left,  was,  like  all  other 
foreigners  who  were  so  unibrtunate  as  to  have  any  money,  in  prison.  I  therefore  have 
ordered  Messrs.  Hale  &  Co.  to  pay  it  on  the  order  of  Mr.  Piaggio.  Should  you  have  a 
chance  to  communicate  with  Mi*.  Piaggio,  will  you  please  advise  him  of  the  circum- 
atauces. 


?8 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 


I  brought  away  $72  (patacones)  belonging  to  John  A.  Duffiold.  I  shall  send  him  an 
order  for  the  same  on  Mr.  Hale.  Ho  is  an  American,  and  I  commend  him  to  your  atten- 
tion, and  hope  you  will  try  and  get  him  out  of  the  country. 

We  left  many  friends  in  Paraguay,  concerning  whose  fate  we  feel  the  most  painful 
interest.  To  spite  us,  wo  fear,  Lopez  may  have  robbed,  imprisoned,  tortxu'ed,  or  shot 
those  known  to  bo  our  friends.  Wo  are  terribly  anxious  to  know  their  fate,  and  depend 
on  you  to  advise  us.  Of  all  the  Paraguayans  the  family  in  which  we  take  the  most  inte- 
rest is  that  of  the  late  Don  Jos6  Mauricio  Casal,  living,  if  still  in  tlieir  old  home,  near 
the  villa  of  Limpio,  some  five  or  six  leagues  from  Asuncion.  Both  Mrs.  Washburn  and 
myself  were  more  intimate  with  that  family  than  any  other,  visiting  them  often  and 
being  visited  by  them  in  return.  One  of  the  sisters  came  and  stayed  with  Mrs.  Wash- 
burn for  five  or  six  months  after  her  confinement.  On  leaving,  I  made  a  request  that 
my  horses,  four  in  number,  and  cows,  of  which  I  had  about  ten,  might  be  sent  out  to 
this  family.  I  am  afraid,  however,  they  were  not  sent,  but,  instead,  our  good  friends 
were  sent  off  to  the  Cordilleras,  or  were  taken  in  irons  to  the  army,  and  perhaps  the 
backs  of  the  pretty  Conchita  and  Anita  scored  with  the  lush.  We  charge  you,  both  of 
ns,  to  inquire  particularly  about  this  family,  and  let  us  know  what  became  of  them. 
Should  the  war  end  and  they  be  left  in  their  old  home,  you  will  find  their  house  the 
most  delightful  place  to  visit  in  all  Paraguay. 

Another  friend  in  whom  we  take  great  interest  is  the  widow  Dona  Carmelita  Gill  do 
Corbal.  She  lived  close  by,  and  visited  us  very  often.  She  is  a  sister  of  the  Captain 
Gill  who  was  one  of  the  heroic  defenders  of  Humaita.  Few  men  living  have  been 
under  fire  so  much  as  he.  But,  because  Avhen  he  and  his  handful,  surrounded  by  ten 
times  their  number,  and  literally  starving,  with  no  possible  chance  of  escape,  surren- 
dered, Lopez  has  published  him  as  a  traitor,  very  probably  confiscated  the  property  of 
all  his  family  and  sent  them  into  exile,  or,  perhaps,  taken  them  in  irons  to  his  head- 
quarters to  be  shot.  That  is  his  style.  So  he  has  served  many  others  under  similar 
circumstances.  Try  and  advise  us  of  the  fate  of  our  spunky,  witty,  confidential,  Lopez- 
hating  little  friend.  When  the  war  began  she  had  a  husband,  who  was  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  Paraguay,  and  three  children.  Iler  husband  was  taken  as  a  common 
soldier,  and  sent  into  the  ranks  barefoot,  and  killed  in  the  first  battle  in  which  he  took 
part.    Now  we  fear  she  has  nothing  left  but  her  iron  anklets. 

Mrs.  Stewart,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Stev/art,  was  also  a  good  friend  of  ours,  and  a  superior 
woman.  Should  you  ever  see  her,  I  hope  you  will  advise  her  that  at  great  risk  to 
myself  I  brought  away  her  boxes  of  jcAvels  and  ounces,  and  delivered  them  to  her  hus- 
band's brother,  George  D.  Stewart,  and,  also,  the  equivalent  of  the  paper  money  8h« 
was  kind  enough  to  lend  me.  I  also  x>aid  over  to  him  the  amount  of  the  silver  money 
she  let  me  have  with  the  understanding  I  was  to  jilace  it  to  her  husband's  credit  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  Thus,  in  spite  of  Lopez,  I  have  been  able  to  secure  her  and  her  family 
some  $5,000  or  $6,000  beyond  the  tyrant's  power. 

Mrs.  Capdevila,  the  wife  of  Ramon  Capdevila,  who  has  been  a  prisoner  most  of  the 
time  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was  living,  when  we  left,  at  Capiata,  some  six 
leagues  from  Asuncion.  The  French  consul,  Mr.  Cochelet,  supplied  her  with  the  means 
to  support  herself  and  family  so  long  as  he  remained  in  Paraguay.  After  that  I  fur- 
nished her  with  all  the  money  she  wanted,  and  on  my  return  to  Buenos  Ayres  her 
friends  have  refunded  to  me  all  that  I  expended,  and  I  haA^e  no  doubt  that  if  you  do 
anything  for  her  you  will  be  also  reimbursed.  She  is  a  most  worthy,  unfortunate 
woman. 

When  I  left,  there  were  but  three  foreigners  of  any  standing  or  character  at  liberty : 
Jos6  Solis,  a  Spaniard,  Domingo  Parodi,  an  Italian  druggist,  and  Ventura  Gutierrez, 
a  Porteno.  The  first  was  the  boss  flunkey  of  Mrs.  Lynch ;  the  two  latter  Avere  friends 
of  ours  concerning  whom  we  would  be  glad  to  know  something.  We  were  under  many 
obligations  to  the  Parodis,  and  beg  you  to  remember  them  on  our  account. 

The  records  will  inform  you  of  the  case  of  Major  James  Maulove,  an  American,  native 
of  Maryland.  His  arrest  was  an  insult  to  my  legation,  if  not  a  violation  of  its  rights. 
I  hojjc  to  advise  you  verbally  of  the  merits  of  his  case  before  I  leave.  He  was  a  rebel  dur- 
ing the  war,  but  he  was  an  American,  and  I  stood  by  him,  though  it  cost  me  a  good  deal  of 
money  and  an  amount  of  labor  of  which  you  can  judge  by  the  length  of  the  correspond- 
ence. 

We  desire  very  much  to  send  our  regards  to  the  mother  of  the  President,  Dona  Juana 
Carillo  de  Lopez.  Both  she  and  her  daughter.  Dona  Rafaela,  were  very  kind  to  us, 
and  let  us  have  some  things,  otherwise  uiiattainable,  that  were  almost  indispensable. 
I  wanted  very  much  to  see  them  again  before  I  left,  but  could  not  do  it.  They  were 
virtually  prisoners  whom  no  one  could  visit.  I  hope  you  will  try  and  advise  me  of  tha 
fote  of  f}he  whole  family,  including  the  old  lady  and  her  two  daughters,  with  their  hus- 
bands, and  her  two  sons ;  also,  try  and  let  me  know  something  of  Mrs.  Lynch  and  ht-r 
brats. 

Several  Englishmen  and  one  German,  in  the  employ  of  Lopez,  sent  away  their  money 
by  me.    It  was  brought  down  by  the  Wasp.     Lest  it  might  be  seized  in  Buenos  Ayres 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  29 

and  River  Plate  Bank,  and  the  part  tliat  was  to  be  sent  to  England  was  to  be  forwarded 
as  directetl  oii  the  bnxorf,  and  tnc  rest  was  to  be  i>ut  to  the  credit  of  the  owners  in  said 
bank.  The  Waajj  charged  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  as  freight,  which  was  all  the 
expense  iiicui'red. 

1  brought  away  20  mzas  de  oro  (gold  ounces)  for  Percy  Burrel,  that  I  deposited  in 
the  London  and  River  Plate  Bank.    I  deliver  to  you  the  receipt  hand-book. 

You  will  understand  that  I  write  now  in  vic»\v  of  contingencies  that  may  never  arise. 
I  take  it  for  gi'anted  that  after  Lopez's  insults  to  me,  and  his  seizure  of  two  members 
of  my  legation,  you  will  not  have  any  communication  with  him  till  the  government  has 
been  advised  of  his  conduct,  and  has  deliberately  resolved  on  its  course  of  action.  I 
am  coutident  that  our  government  will  never  resume  diplomatic  relations  with  Lopez. 
1  have  denounced  him  as  a  common  enemy,  and  have  no  doubt  my  course  will  be 
approved.  But  a  common  enemy  cannot  long  stand  against  the  world.  Ho  umst  soon 
bite  the  dust,  and  my  hope  is  that  this  ogro  may  be  finished  otf  before  he  has  destroyed 
iill  my  friends  in  Paraguay.  In  that  case  you  may  learn  something  of  the  condition  of 
those  who  remain,  if  any  such  there  be,  and  the  way  the  others  were  murdered  by  the 
grim  monster.  It  is  in  view  of  such  contingencies  I  beg  of  you  to  advise  mo  of  the  fate 
of  some  of  the  dearest  friends  I  have  ever  known.  I  never  was  so  anxious  to  leave  a 
jdace  as  I  was  to  leave  Paraguay,  and  I  never  left  a  place  with  so  sad  a  heart.  I  had 
the  feeling  that  all  who  had  been  particular  friends  to  me  and  mine  were  to  be  ])\xt  to 
death — p(!rhaps  after  torture — for  that  crime. 

But  I  could  do  no  more  for  anybody,  and  the  more  I  defied  Lopez  the  more  provoked 
he  was  to  visit  his  wrath  on  my'fiiends,  and  at  the  time  of  the  last  arrival  of  the  Wasj^ 
he  was  on  the  i)oint  of  i>rocceding  to  violent  measures  against  me.  This  fact  will 
appear  if  any  of  those  persons  immediately  about  him  shall  escape  to  tell  what  tliey 
know.  But  he  does  not  intend  they  shall  escape.  His  plan  is  to  destroy  all  the  wit- 
nesses. I  beg  of  you  to  see  if  all  I  now  write  is  not  confirmed,  and  if  you  will  advise 
me  from  time  to  time  of  what  you  may  learn  I  will  thank  you  very  sincerely,  and 
reciprocate  in  any  way  that  I  may  be  able. 
Very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

P.  S. — Though  I  have  marked  this  private,  it  is  only  to  indicate  that  I  do  not  intend 
to  send  a  copy  of  it  to  the  State  Department.  You  are,  however,  at  full  liberty,  now 
or  hereafter,  to  nuiko  any  use  of  it  that  may  seem  exiiedient  or  proper.  I  have  written 
with  entire  frankness,  with  the  double  purpose  of  advising  you  of  the  situation,  and  of 
bespeaking  your  good  offices  for  friends  in  Paraguay. 

His  Excellency  General  M.  T.  McMaiiox, 

Minister  limdcnt  of  the  United  States,  Paraguay. 


Buenos  Ayres,  Novemder  20,  1868. 
Dear  Sir  :  After  your  departure  from  Montevideo  Mr.  Worthington  handed  me  a 
conmumication  from  you  in  relation  to  affairs  in  Paraguay,  containing  several  connnis- 
sions  upon  the  part  of  yourself  and  2.1rs.  Washburn,  which  you  requested  me  to  attend 
to  in  Asuncion.  It  will  give  me  jileasiu-e  to  be  of  sei-vice  to  you  in  the  way  of  obtaining 
infonuation  as  to  your  friends  in  Paraguay. 

I  will  also  endeavor  to  deliver  the  package  of  Paraguayan  money,  ($2,000,)  and  the 
small  box  of  jewels  found  in  the  box  cojitain'ing  the  archives.  The  letters  you  inclosed 
to  me  I  will  also  deliver  if  it  can  consistently  l)o  done. 

Beyond  this  you  will,  of  course,  undei-stand  that  I  assume  no  responsibility  for  private 
property  left  in  the  legation  at  Asuncion. 

lioi)ing  that  you  had  a  pleasant  i)assage  home,  and  that  ISIrs.  Washburn  has  not  suf- 
fered fi-oui  her  long  journey, 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

'       ^     .  M.  T.  McMAHON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  U.  S.,  Paraguay. 
Hon.  C.  A.  Washburn, 

Care  Department  of  State. 


Buenos  Ayres,  15  Cangallo,  January  26,  1869. 
My  Dear  Washburn  :  1  have  much  pleasure  in  letting  you  know  that  I  am  here 
sound,  and  for  the  present  safe.  I  was  taken  prisoner  of  Avar  after  our  complete  rout 
on  the  27th  ultimo,  on  the  heights  of  Villeta,  where  Lopez's  headquarters  were  when 
you  left  Paraguay.  I  had  remained  too  long  near  the  scene  of  the  disgusting  carnage, 
endeavoring  with  some  of  our  medical  stall'  to  move  the  few  wounded  who  escaped 
death,  (for  there  was  no  ouarter  asked  nor  given,)  towards  the  wood  in  the  rear ;  but  m 


30  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATIOX. 

the  mean  time  Lopez  sneaked  off  unnoticed  and  left  us  all  as  lie  thought  to  he  dispatched 
by  the  enemy.  He  did  not  halt  imtil  ho  reached  Corro  Leon,  with  two  or  three  follow- 
ers, as  it  was  impossihle  for  anybody  not  well  mounted  to  escape  through  the  lines  <.f 
the  enemy;  the  few  sound  men  who  had  escaped  into  the  wood  remained  thdVo  four  or 
five  days  until  the  enemy  retired.  Fortunately  some  cattle  had  been  driven  into  this 
wood  or  everybody  would  have  been  reduced  by  famine.  In  trying  to  escape  and  get 
off  towards  Cerro  Leon,  I  was  made  prisoner  and  well  treated  by  the  Brazilians.  Wo 
had  brought  in  from  Asuncion  and  Cerro  Leon,  and  from  every  other  place  where  there 
were  any  troops,  every  available  man,  but  after  all  we  did  not  exceed  2,500  on  the  moric- 
ing  before  the  fight  commenced,  against  1G,000  of  the  allies.  We  had  only  four  field- 
pieces  of  artillery  and  very  little  ammunition,  against  80  pieces  of  the  enemy,  pouring 
a  continuous  lire  into  us  from  two-thirds  of  our  circumference.  Our  position  was 
defended  by  a  trench  on  one  side,  but  the  enemy  attaclced  on  our  right  and  left 
flanks,  where  we  had  nothing  more  than  an  abatis  of  branches  to  hide  the  few  men 
behind.  Headquarters  had  removed  on  the  23d  into  the  wood  in  the  rear.  Tlie  enemy 
soon  took  the  position  on  the  27th  by  a  simultaneous  attack  on  all  sides,  at  6  a.  m.,  biit 
did  not  until  8  o'clock  cut  off  our  retreat  in  the  rear,  although  more  than  half  of  their 
troops  remained  inactive  throughout  the  engagement.  Mrs.  Lynch  followed  Lopez, 
but  where  she  overtook  him  I  don't  know  ;  Skinner,  I  think,  accompanied  her.  Lopez 
is  now  in  the  Cordillera  above  Cerro  Leon,  (from  four  to  eight  leagues  distant.)  The 
sick  and  wounded  are  at  Caacupd,  the  archives  and  government  at  Piribebuy,  and  tbe 
small  remaining  population  of  the  late  republic  of  Paraguay  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages of  Altos,  Barrero,  &c. ;  but  most  of  the  migrating  families  are  bivouacking  under 
the  trees. 

Lopez  issued  an  order  dated  December  28,  and  which  you  will  find  in  the  newspaper, 
calling  everybody  up  to  the  Cordillera.  Early  in  December  people  were  ordered  to  x>ro- 
ceed  to  that  part  of  the  country,  and  none  of  course  dared  disobey.  Our  entire  loss  in 
the  engagements  of  the  Gth,  11th,  and  of  the  27th  December  last,  in  killed,  Avounded, 
and  missing,  was  over  15,000  men,  35  chiefs,  and  540  officers.  Of  course,  most  of  those 
were  boys,  from  eight  years  old  upwards,  and  many  very  old  men,  some  of  them  quite 
blind.  Every  male  in  the  country  that  could  be  got  at  was  brought  down.  There  were 
in  the  hospital  at  Cerro  Leon  nearly  6,000  sick  and  wounded,  of  whom  1,500  may  be 
now  on  duty  again,  or  perhaps  500  more  may  have  been  scraped  together  from  the  par- 
tidos.  This  is  all  Lopez  can  possibly  have.  No  guns  or  small-arms  were  saved  after 
the  last  defeat,  and  they  have  no  ammunition  left. 

On  the  1st  instant  the  Brazilians  marched  to  Asuncion  and  arrived  on  the  5tli,  when 
they  commenced  the  wholesale  sack  of  the  town.  I  suffered,  as  usual,  severely  in  this 
plunder,  and  I  estimate  my  loss  at  the  lowest  calculation  to  be  £2,000,  for  I  had  not 
removed  anything  from  my  town  house  nor  from  my  quinta.  I  hear  there  is  no  hope 
of  obtaining  indemnization,  although  I  was  delivered  to  the  commander  of  her  Maj- 
esty's gunboat  Cracker  as  a  free  British  subject,  on  the  1st  of  January,  and  that 
property  is  clearly  that  of  a  British  sulyect.  Perhaps,  however,  when  this  uiiaccoiuit- 
able  sympathy  for  Lopez  is  dissipated  by  the  indisputable  corroboration  of  the  disclos- 
ures of  Lopez's  barbarities  during  the  last  six  months,  people  will  think  I  deserve  at 
least  some  sympathy  for  my  misfortune. 

Already  there  is  a  great  counnotion  here  since  we  confirm  all  you  said  about  that  mon- 
ster, but  there  are  still  a  few  who  are  ashamed  to  acknowledge  that  no  furtlier  proof  is 
required.  Your  cause  is  mine,  and  I  have  fought  the  battle  in  the  very  strongholds 
of  personal  prejudice  and  calumny.  I  have  also  told  Brazilians  and  Argentines  that 
they  are  quite  luistaken  about  you,  and  I  tell  you  that  unless  they  retract  and  do  you 
justice  immediately,  /  will  compel  them  to  do  so.     I  scorn  threats  as  much  as  applause. 

My  family  an4  a  number  of  our  countrymen  are  still  in  the  power  of  Lopez,  so  I  nuist 
be  prudent  in  making  disclosures  yet  a  while  of  his  atrocities.  Is  it  not  most  humiliat- 
ing to  the  States,  and  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  France,  and  Italy,  that  Lopez  has  hith- 
erto succeeded  in  bamboozling  the  well-meant  efforts  of  our  government,  owing  to  a  few 
young  sailor  oflicers  who  were  sent  to  treat  with  him,  when  our  ships  are  riding  all  the 
while  at  anchor  in  the  Plate  and  in  the  quiet  harbor  at  Rio  ?  I  am  confident  that  it 
only  requires  to  be  known  to  merit  the  just  censure  of  public  opinion.  I  have  a  great 
deal  to  tell  you,  but  I  would  rather  not  write  it.  The  devil  is  in  our  diplomacy,  (f) 
Well,  enough  of  this  at  present. 

Skinner,  Valpy,  and  Burrell  are  in  the  Cordillera.  Rhind  died  of  phthisis.  Fox  went 
away  in  the  Beacon.  I  asked  Lopez  if  he  could  send  some  money  to  England.  He 
replied,  "he  can  not  only  send  his  money,  but  go  himself  too,  as  he  is  quite  useless."  I 
bowed  and  went  away  to  tell  Fox ;  so  he  sent  his  traps  on  board,  and  tlie  President  Avas 
furious  when  he  knew  it.  You  can  perhaps  imagine  how  he  looked  at  me.  On  the  5th 
instant  I  met  Caverville  at  Asuncion ;  he  told  me  he  had  dined  with  Lopez  above  Cerro 
Leon,  on  the  29th  ultimo ;  that  it  was  there  rejiorted  I  had  deserted  to  the  enemy,  &c., 
but  that  my  family  had  not  yet  been  made  to  feel  the  usual  penalty  of  imprisonment 
and  torture. 

After  serving  Lopez  with  perfect  fidelity  for  12  years,  here  I  am  alone  and  in  tho 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  31 

greatest  anxiety  about  my  wife  and  children,  and  having  lost  a  considerahle.fortune  in 
the  Avur,  my  npslortune  in  falling  prisoner  might  excite  the  pity  of  any  man  hut  Lopez, 
who  chooses  to  initiate  a  calumnious  charge  against  me,  to  have  a  pretext  for  sacrilicing 
my  family.  My  only  hope  is  in  McMahon,  to  whom  I  recommended  my  family,  who 
accompanied  liim  from  headquarters,  on  the  23d  ultimo,  and  if  you  have  still  any  influ- 
ence with  your  enlightened  government,  I  pray  you  will  ask  theu"  interest  witirMcMa- 
hon,  in  behalf  of  my  family.  Give  my  sincere  regards  to  Jklrs.  Washburn,  who  was  fear- 
fully situated  at  the  same  time  that  Lopez  hesitated  whether  both  of  you  should  bo 
made  to  share  the  same  cruel  death  with  the  500  men  and  women  he  sacriticed  under  a 
false  charge  of  treason.  Amou*'  the  latest  victims  were  the  bisho])  and  the  dean,  Bogado, 
G(!neral  Barrios,  and  Berges,  the  wife  and  mother  of  Colonel  Martinez,  of  Humaita, 
Colonel  Alen.  Taylor,  Treuenfeld,  Von  Versen,  several  Argentine  and  Brazilian  pris- 
oners of  war,  cscai)ed  from  the  calabozo  when  Lopez  was  routed  on  the  27th  ultimo ; 
most  of  them  horribly  emaciated,  but  all  are  fortunately  in  sound  mind,  Manlove  and 
the  American  carman,  Duilield,  were  both  cruelly  beaten,  and  when  they  could  endure 
no  more  they  were  dragged  out  on  a  hide  and  shot.  The  same  fate  befell  poor  Stark ; 
within  a  few  days  of  reaching  San  Fernando  ho  was  shot,  because  he  could  endure  no 
more  ciuelty. 

There  are  at  present  in  Lopez's  power  about  25  Englishmen,  and  about  a  dozen  Span- 
iards, French,  and  Italians;  altogether,  GO  English,  and  about  100  French,  Italian,  Ger- 
jiian,  aiul  Spanish  women  and  chihh-en.  Besides  these,  there  are  about  30  Argentine 
women  and  children,  and  about  50  prisonera  of  war.  All  these  unfortunate  pcojjle  will 
<li(;  of  starvation  if  the  necessaries  of  life  aro  not  sent  to  then),  or  if  they  are  not  speedily 
delivered  from  the  revengeful  grasj)  of  their  destroyer.  But  with  all  these  facts  full  in 
view,  the  allies  are  not  moving  out  of  Asuncion,  nor  does  any  European  or  American 
representative  in  the  Plata  bestir  himself  in  behalf  of  his  sufiering  countrymen  in  Par- 
aguay. Who  will  be  blamed  for  it  when  it  is  proved  that  hunc&eds  of  precious  lives 
might  be  saved  by  opportune  interference  ?    Probably  nobody. 

Of  th<!  250  i»risoners  who  marched  from  San  Fernando  for  Villeta,  only  three  are  now 
alive.  All  who  could  not  walk  were  lanced  j  and  I  fear  the  same  tragedy  will  bo  con- 
tinued in  the  Cordillera. 

You  are  no  doubt  aware  that  the  French  consul's  behavior  is  criticised  very  severely, 
and  that  M.  Noel  has  gone  uj)  to  Asuncion,  where  Cuverville  is  with  the  French  consu- 
late !  Chapperon  is  with  his  family  in  Campo  Grande.  What  can  be  the  meaning  of 
t  hese  men  lea\'ing  Lopez  just  now  ?  McMahon  is  with  Lopez  perhaps  because  ho  tliinlcs 
ho  may  prevent  him  from  committing  wholesale  murder  of  the  foreign  residents.  I  am 
going  to  England  by  the  mail  which  leaves  Montevideo  the  day  after  to-morrow. 
George  Thompson  goes  along  with  me. 

I  almost  forgot  to  tell  you  that  Mcilahon  delivered  your  message  about  the  box  which 
yoii  were  not  allowed  to  bring  away  with  you,  and  which  was  my  property.  I  have 
been  able  to  learn  nothing  about  it,  although  I  went  to  your  house  with  Mr.  Chapperon 
to  search  for  it.  I  found  my  wife's  trunk,  containing  clotlies,  and  another  small  portion 
of  ])at atom's.  The  missing'box  contained  200  pounds  of  silver  plate,  a  few  gold  ounces, 
!i:  i.UOO  pajicr  currency,  and  some  title  deeds.  Our  property  has  completely  disappeared, 
and  nothiug  remains  but  two  or  three  sacked  houses,  and  some  leagues  of  land,  which 
at  present  aro  entirely  unproductive. 

While  so  many  of  my  countrymen,  and  particularly  while  my  family  remain  in  the 
])ower  of  Lopez,* I  darp'not  appear  in  print,  so  you  must  do  me  the  favor  not  to  publish 
this  letter,  nor  permit  my  name  to  be  mentioned. 

The  mail  is  closing,  so' I  defer  the  communication  of  other  interesting  facts  until  I 
reach  England ;  and  wishing  yom'self  and  Mm.  Wiishbum  a  pleasant  sojourn  in  your 
native  laud,  I  remain,  in  haste,  your  sincere  friend, 

WM.  STEV/AET. 


Washingtox,  D.  C,  Ajml  12,  1S69. 
Peikce  Crosby,  captain  of  the  United  States  navy,  sworn  and  examined. 

By  the  Chairm.vn  : 

Question.  Have  you  read  the  memorials  referred  to  this  committee  in  regard  to 
Paraguayan  matters? — Answer.  I  have  not  read  all  of  them. 

Q.  State  to  the  committee  Avhat  you  know  in  regard  to  these  matters.— A.  I  received 
these  orders  (Rio  de  Janeiro,  dated  21st  July,  186G,)  [annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A 
1,]  to  prepare  for  service  up  the  river,  and  acknowledged  Kear-Admiral  Godon's 
letter  of  July  21,  186G,  on  August  1,  1866.  [Letter  annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A 
2.]  I  reported  the  Shamokin  ready  on  August  16,  1866,  m  obedience  to  his 
order.  [Letter  annexed  to  testimonv,  marked  A3.]  I  then  wrote  to  KcaT-Admi- 
ral  Godon,    United  States   navy,   [annexed  to   testimony,  marked    A  5.]    notifying 


32  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

him  of  tlie  minister  to  Paraguay  "being  at  Buenos  Ayres  and  expecting  to  go  up  tlie 
river  to  Asuncion  in  the  Shamolcin.  I  nien*ion<;cl  this  fact,  as  I  wislied  if  sucii  was  tlio 
case  to  prepare  accommodations  and  mess  arrangements  for  him  and  his  family.  I 
also  wished  to  consult  and  get  some  instructions  in  regard  to  the  toi-pedoes  and 
obstructions  which  were  in  river  Paraguay,  and  had  been  there  since  my  arrival  on 
the  station  in  the  spring  of  18G6,  as  they  might  render  it  impracticable  to  go  to  Asun- 
cion in  the  Shamoldn.  Eear-Admiral  Godou  acknowledged  my  letter,  but  made  no 
allusion  whatever  to  my  taking  Mr.  Washburn.  And  as  he  liad  not  deemed  it  necessary 
or  proper  to  advise  me  what  the  nature  of  my  duties  would  be,  I  considered  that  it 
would  bo  presumptuous  on  my  part  to  ask  him  any  questions,  and  therefore  detem:une<l 
to  await  patiently  for  orders  and  then  to  obey  them.  Pear-Admiral  Godon  merely 
replied  to  my  letter  in  which  I  made  mention  of  Mr.  Washburn  by  advising  me  to 
continue  holding  myself  in  readiness  for  service  up  the  river.  [Letter  annexed  to  tes- 
timony marked  A  6.]  Believing,  however,  that  I  Avould  be  ordered  to  take  Mr. 
Washburn  and  family  up  the  river  in  the  Shamokiu,  I  took  the  responsibility  and 
precaution  to  put  up  state-rooms  in  my  cabin  [see  letter  annexed,  marked  A  2i,']  and 
be  all  ready  the  moment  I  received  orders.  I  also  laid  in  a  supply  of  provisions,  &c., 
and  kept  myself  ready  in  all  respects  for  whatever  duty  might  be  assigsued  me,  and 
waited  in  this  way  some  weeks,  when  I  received  these  instructions  from  Admiral  Godon 
to  take  JVIr.  Washbiirn  to  Asuncion,  upon  his  application  in  writing.  [Aimexed  to 
testimony,  marked  A  10.]  I  also  received  a  private  note  from  Admiral  Godon, 
which,  I  see  in  his  letters  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Welles,  he  mentions  as 
a  semi-official  note,  and  says  in  it  he  directed  me  not  to  regard  the  protest  that  would 
be  made  by  the  Brazilian  admiral  in  command  of  the  forces  up  the  Paraguay.  The 
semi-official  note  mentioned  in  Admiral  Godon's  dispatches  was  not  a  semi-official 
'  note,  but  was  a  private  note,  and  so  considered  by  Admiral  Godon  at  the  time  he  Avrote 
it,  as  he  wrote  upon  it  the  word  jmvate  and  merely  directed  it  to  '^  My  dear  Captain," 
and  signed  himself  "  S.  W.  Godon,"  without  even  giving  his  title.  Here  is  the  original 
note,  [annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  11,]  which  I  considered  as  merely  giving 
Eear-Admiral  Godon's  private  views  of  matters,  and  did  not  consider  it  an  order  in  any 
way,  nor  did  I  consider  myself  bound  to  obey  his  directions  in  that  note  or  that  it 
relieved  me  from  any  responsibility,  l3ut  left  nie  to  obey  his  orders  to  take  Sir.  Wash- 
burn and  family  to  Asuncion,  on  his  application  in  writing,  according  to  his  order  of 
October,  1886,  and  not  to  delay  my  journey  ^  ignoring  entirely  in  his  official  letter  and 
order  to  me  any  difficulty  or  obstructions  thati  might  encounter. 

I  cannot  understand  why  Admiral  Godon,  when,  as  he  says,  he  was  informed  by 
certain  officials  in  Brazil  that  a  protest  would  be  made  to  the  Shamokin's  going  through 
the  blockade  on  the  Paraguay,  did  not  so  inform  me  in  his  official  communications,  and 
give  me  positive  orders  not  tp  regard  them,  but  to  go  on  until  the  Brazilians  stopped 
me  by  force.  Eear-Admiral  Godon  does  not  even  mention  the  protest  in  his  order  to 
me,  but  says  in  his  i)rivate  note  that  it  is  known  that  orders  have  been  sent  to  allow 
the  Shamoldn  to  pass  ;  that  ''n  protest  by  the  blockade  need  not  be  regarded — nothing 
but  absolute  foi^cc  should  prevent  you ;  however,  if  the  river  is  too  low,  then  you  cannot 
go  up  now — go  as  high  as  you  can,  and  Avait  till  the  waters  rise.  Eosario  would  be  a 
good  place  to  remain  at  till  you  can  go  up."  With  these  instructions  I  sailed  for  Asun- 
cion, witli  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  on  board,  and  arrived  at  Corrieutes  November  2, 
1866,  andreported  my  arrival  to  Eear-Admiral  Godon,  and  that  I  would  go  on  up  the 
river  on  that  day.  [See  letter  annexed,  marked  A  15.]  On  the  sam^j  day  I  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Paraguay  river,  [see  letter  dated  November  3, 1866,  annexed,  marked  A 16,] 
and  was  there  boarded  by  the  Brazilians  blockading  there.  I  informed  them  of  the  natm^o 
of  my  duties,  and  received  in  reply  that  no  instructions  whatever  had  been  received 
regarding  Mr.  Washburn's  going  up,  or  the  Shamokin  taking  him  up.  It  was  then  dark, 
and  I  had  anchored.  I  informed  the  Brazilians  that  I  should  go  on  uj)  in  the  morning, 
and  wished  to  communicate  with  the  admiral  immediately.  I  sent  a  letter  informing 
him  of  my  duties,  [letter  annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  23^,]  and  received  in 
reply  by  my  officer  bearing  dispatches,  as  well  as  by  the  Brazilian  admiral's  officer,  that 
he,  the  admiral,  had  received  no  instructions  regarding  the  Shamokin  and  Mr.  Wash- 
burn ;  also,  that  he  would  call  on  board  to  see  Mr.  Washburn  and  myself  about  Mr. 
Washburn's  going  up.  On  the  following  morning  Admiral  Tamandar^  arrived  on  board. 
I  received  him  and  conducted  him  to  my  cabin,  r/hcre  he  and  Mr.  Washburn  and  my- 
self entered  into  conversation  regarding  our  i)assing  through  the  blockade.  Admiral 
Tamandar6  said  most  positively  that  he  had  not  received  any  instructions  whatever 
regarding  his  allowing  Mr.  Washburn's  going  up  in  the  Shamokin,  and  was  assured  by 
Mt.  Washburn  that  he  had  been  informed  that  instructions  had  been  sent ;  but  notwith- 
standing this.  Admiral  Tamandar6  said  he  could  not  consent,  but  was  anxious  that  Mr. 
Washburn  should  go  up  in  their  vessel.  Finding  that  Admiral  Tamandare  was  endeav- 
oring to  prevent  the  Shamokin  going  up  with  Mr.  Washburn,  I  determined  to  oppose 
him,  believing  that  it  would  meet  with  the  approval  of  my  government,  and  told  him 
that  I  had  received  peremptory  orders  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  to  Asuncion  on  board  the 
Shamokin ;  that  I  would  do  so  unless  prevented  by  absolute  force.    Admiral  Tamandar^ 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  33 

became  very  much  excited  at  this  decision,  and  remarked  on  my  taking  the  grave 
responsibility,  and  then  consented,  under  protest,  to  my  taking  'Mx.  Washburn  up  in  the 
Shamokin,  and  requested  me  to  give  my  reply  to  him  in  writing,  which  I  did.  [See 
letter  annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  24.]  Admiral  Tamandar^  was  certainly 
placed  in  a  very  awkward  and  embarrassing  position,  regarding  the  Shamokin's  going 
through  his  blockade  with  the  United  States  minister  on  board,  as  he  says  he  had  no 
instructions  whatever  from  his  government  concerning  her  or  Mr.  SVashbrn-u.  I  too  was 
placed  in  a  very  delicate  position,  but  knowing  that  my  government  was  impatient  on 
account  of  the  dilliculties  thrown  in  the  way  of  Mr.  Washburn's  getting  to  his  post  by 
the  allied  f(uces,  and  was  detennined  that  he  should  f;o,  and  as  Admiral  Godon  had  not 
alluded  to  such  difficulties  as  I  might  encounter,  or  given  me  orders  to  meet  them,  but 
leaving  mo  to  act  on  my  own  responsibility,  I  decided  to  go  an.  Admiral  Godon 
directed  me  in  his  orders  not  to  delay  my  journey.  This  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that 
he  did  not  expect  that  I  would  meet  with  any  serious  difficulty,  but  was  merely  intended 
that  I  should  not  make  delay  or  8topi)age8  other  than  would  be  necessary  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances  in  going  up  and  down  the  river.  Yet  in  his  private  note,  which  he 
calls  a  semi-official  note,  he  says  to  the  Secretary  of  tho  Navy  that  a  protest  would  be 
made,  (see  Admiral  Godon's  letter  published,  dated  Montevideo,  December  10,  1866, 
No.  132,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  79,)  and  that  he  had  instructed  me  to  disregard  it.  Now,  had 
Admiral  Tamandard  opposed  me,  and  had  taken  the  responsibility  of  liring  into  the 
Shamokin,  and  had  prevented  me  by  force  from  going  through  the  blockade.  Admiral 
Godon's  instructions  to  me  were  such  as  would  have  shielded  him  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  my  act,  as  he  conveys  tho  idea  in  his  private  note  that  he  supposes  instructions 
luid  been  sent,  and  at  the  same  time  his  orders  were  such  as  would  not  have  saved  me 
from  his  censure  or  that  of  tho  government,  had  I  delayed  my  journey  until  I  could  hear 
from  him,  or  learned  that  ordera  had  been  received  £rom  Admiral  Tamandard  to  allow 
tbe  Shamokin  to  pass  under  protest. 

After  Admiral  Tamandar6  consented  under  protest  to  the  Shamokin's  passage,  before 
starting,  I  with  his  consent  sent  Mr.  Pendleton  [see  his  report  marked  A  18,  annexed,] 
a  bearer  of  dispatches  to  Lopez,  concemiug  our  going  up  to  Asuncion  to  an-ange  about 
pilots.  After  this  officer  returned  and  all  was  ready,  I  passed  up  through  the  Urazilian 
lines  and  landed  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  at  Curupaiti,  the  lirst  fort  on  the  river  on 
the  Paraguayan  side,  and  about  one  mile  above  the  Brazilian  forces.  As  Mr.  Washburn 
and  family  and  baggage  had  to  be  landed  there,  and  as  the  Shamokin  was  directly  in 
tlie  way  of  the  line  of  lire  of  the  combatants,  and  hostilities  having  been  suspended  only 
a  few  hours  for  us,  I  deemed  it  improper  to  remain  longer  than  to  laud  Mr.  Washburn 
on  tho  bank  and  return  immediately  outside  of  the  Brazilian  blockade.  I  was  fully 
under  the  belief  until  I  anchored  [see  letter  annexed,  marked  A  17]  that  the  Sham- 
okin would  go  far  enough  up  the  river  to  be  beyond  the  batteries  of  the  allies,  Avhere  I. 
could  lay  within  the  Paraguayan  lines  and  wait  for  any  documents  Mr.  Washburn  would 
have  to  ".send  back.  I  was  but  within  a  ship's  length  of  tho  anchorage  when  I  received 
tho  lirst  intimation  from  the  pilot  to  anchor.  I  remonstrated  against  anchoring  there, 
but  received  answer  that  such  were  the  orders  of  Lopez,  not  to  take  the  vessel 
further,  that  the  Shamokin  was  then  within  about  20  yards  of  torpedoes,  and  she 
would  be  in  great  danger  to  go  further  up.  As  everything  had  to  be  hurried  to  get 
back  before  dark,  and  Mr.  Washburn  wishing  to  send  dispatches  to  his  government, 
and  not  having  any  one  with  him  beside  his  wife  and  female  servant,  and  all  his 
baggage  and  stores' lying  on  the  river  bank,  I  consented,  at  his  urgent  request,  to  let 
Mr.  Pendleton  remain  with  him  and  bring  down  the  dispatches  which  he  had,  to 
write.  As  the  Shamokin  was  in  Paraguayan  territory  as  a  right,  and  not  with  the  per- 
mission or  consent — except  under  protest — or  as  a  privilege  granted  by  the  Brazilians, 
I  did  not  believe  that  my  actions  were  to  be  dii'ected  by  the  Brazilians,  but  that  I 
had  the  perfect  right  to  leave  an  officer  if  I  chose  to  do  so  for  the  purpose  intended, 
without  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  Brazilians,  and  I  also  considered  that  the  Ameri- 
can minister  had  the  right  to  send  this  officer  as  bearer  of  dispatches  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  back  through  the  lines  to  the  Shamokin.  Indeed,  I  coulf^ 
not  see  any  sensible  or  reasonable  objection  to  doing  this,  that  is,  to  allow  this  officer  to 
remain  for  dispatches.  If  any  one  w  ith  reason  could  have  objected,  it  would  have  been 
President  Lopez.  As  will  be  seen,  however,  I  returned  outside  the  blockade  and  sent 
a  note  to  Admiral  Tamandard,  notifying  him  of  the  officer  having  been  left,  and  re- 
questing his  permission  to  return  to  the  Brazilian  lines,  as  wiU  be  seen  by  the  accom- 
panying document,  [annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  26.]  The  officer  returned. 
[See  his  report  annexed,  marked  A  19.]  Admiral  Tamandard  made  a  long  protest 
against  it,  [annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  28.]  Hav-ing  been  defeated  in  prevent- 
ing the  Shamokin  going  up,  he  caught  at  this  chance  to  make  a  serious  point  of 
it,  but  even  in  that  he  has  failed,  as  I  have  never  heard  of  the  matter  since,  and  Eear- 
Admiral  Godon  in  his  communication  to  the  Navy  Department  alludes  to  it  by  saying 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  point  in  it.  [Letter  132,  printed,  Ex.  Doc.  — ,  headed 
"South  Atlantic  squadron,  U.  S.  flag-ship  Brooklyn,  (2d  rate,)  harbor  of  Montevideo,. 
December  10, 1866."  ]    I  did  not  answer  Admiral  Tamandard's  protest,  as  Idid  not  receivt 

3  P  I 


34  PAEAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

it  until  I  Lad  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  but  forwarded  a  copy  of  it  to  Rcar-Adniiral 
Godon.  Unfortunately,  on  my  way  down  the  river  to  Buenos  Ayres  a  steamer  ran  into 
the  Shamokin  during  the  night,  damaging  the  Shamokin  seriously  and  herself  too,  so 
much  so  as  to  cause  the  other  steamer  to  sink,  after  great  exertions  to  Iceep  her  afloat. 
At  my  request  a  court  of  inquiry  was  held  upon  the  case,  and  I  was  exonerated  from 
blame,  as  facts  proved  I  had  saved  my  own  vessel,  and  that  the  collision  was  caused  by 
the  bad  management  of  the  strange  steamer.  To  repair  damages  to  the  Shamokin  I 
went  into  the  Lujan  river,  20  miles  distant  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Shortly  after  this, 
Rear-Admiral  Godon  arrived  in  the  Wasp.  I  will  here  mention  that  several  days  after 
landing  Mr.  Washburn  in  Paraguay,  and  when  about  600  or  700  miles  down  the  river, 
near  Rosario,  I  received  from  a  Brazilian  transport  this  document,  [marked  A  20,  an- 
nexed to  testimony,]  in  which  Rear-Admiral  Godon  says  I  did  not  allude  in  my  former 
letter  to  torpedoes  or  other  difficulties  that  you  might  encounter.  As  this  letter  is  among 
his  published  official  dispatches  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  api)ears  as  one  which 
I  was  supposed  to  have  received,  and  to  have  had  as  my  guidance  and  instruction,  I 
will  here  state  that  it  did  not  reach  me  until  some  days  after  my  mission  iip  the  river 
had  been  executed,  consequently  had  no  effect  upon  my  conduct.  Had  I  been  furnished 
with  this  letter  at  first,  I  should  not  have  considered  myself  authorized  to  pass  the  Bra- 
zilian blockade  unddr  the  circumstances  which  I  did.  When  the  Wasp  anchored  in  the 
Lujan  river,  near  the  Shamokin,  I  went  on  board  to  report  and  pay  my  respects  to  Admiral 
Godon,  when  he  questioned  me  about  my  trip  to  Paraguay  and  my  mission  generally. 
He  reprimanded  me  for  allowing  Mr.  Pendleton  to  remain  to  bring  down  dispatches, 
and  asked  me  why  I  had  done  so.  I  explained  to  him  the  circumstances,  and  he  became 
angry,  and  said,  '*do  you  think  a  minister  is  of  great  importance  f  and  was  greatly 
provoked  because  I  did  not  agree  with  him  that  I  was  wrong  in  leaving  Mr.  Pendleton 
within  the  Paraguayan  lines  as  I  have  stated.  He  also  said  that  it  was  for  this  very 
reason  he  wrote  that  note  tp  me,  "  giving  my  opinion  of  Mr.  Washbiuni,  in  order  to  put 
you  on  your  guard,  and  not  to  allow  yourself  to  be  influenced  by  him,  but  to  trust  to 
your  own  common  sense."  It  w^as  previous  to  this  that  Admkal  Godon  asked  me  if 
Mr.  Washburn  had  paid  me  his  expenses  for  taking  him  up — that  is,  for  his  mess  bill  for 
himself  and  family.  I  replied  to  him  by  saying  that  Mr.  Wasliljurn  had  offered  to  pay 
the  expenses  he  put  mo  to  for  taking  him  up,  and  had  given  me  a  check  for  16  ounces 
in  gold,  equal  to  about  i|250,  but  that  I 'would  not  accept  it  and  tore  it  up.  Rear-Ad- 
miral Godon  said  to  me  in  his  private  note  that  Mr.  Washburn  must  pay  his  own  ex- 
I)ense8,  but  he  said  nothing  in  his  private  note  about  making  or  asking  what  accom- 
modations I  had  for  him  and  family,  although  he  must  have  known  that  they  were  very 
l^oor  and  limited.  The  naval  regulations  give  full  instructions  about  ministers  paying 
their  own  expenses,  and  I  was  fully  aware  of  it  because  I  had  read  them,  and  as  the 
money  came  out  of  my  pocket  and  not  out  of  the  government,  I  considered  it  my  priv- 
ilege to  treat  my  guest  with  all  the  hospitality  that  I  chose  to,  without  being  respon- 
sible to  Rear-Admiral  Godon.  I  also  considered  it  very  indelicate  and  impertinent,  under 
the  circumstances,  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon  to  ask  me  such  a  question,  as  it  was  evi- 
dently not  done  with  the  desire  or  interest  that  he  felt  in  Washburn's  AA^elfare  or  wishes 
to  learn  that  he  had  been  treated  with  kindness  and  hospitality,  nor  for  his  interest  in 
my  purse,  but  with  the  evident  hope  that  I  had  made  Mr.  Washburn  pay  his  full  i)ro- 
portion  for  all  he  had  received,  as  he  gave  no  expression  of  pleasure  when  he  found  I 
had  been  so  hospitable  to  Mr.  Washburn,  but  by  his  silent  reception  of  my  answer  was 
evidently  disappointed,  and  impressed  with  the  fact  that  I  had  not  been  influenced  by 
his  private  wishes,  nor  had  lowered  myself  in  any  manner  to  commit  a  sordid  act. 

On  the  day  that  I  received  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  on  board  and  left  for  Asuncion, 
Paraguay,  I  was  suffering  intensely  from  neuralgia  and  had  been  confined  to  my  bed 
several  days,  but  went  on  deck  to  receive  Mr.  Washburn,  and  through  my  sickness  and 
having  my  attention  drawn  to  other  matters  concerning  the  ship  I  entirely  forgot  to 
write  to  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  who  was  then  at  Rio  Janeiro,  and  inform  him  of  my 
having  received  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  on  board,  and  having  sailed  for  Paraguay. 
Jlear- Admiral  Godon  censured  me  severely  for  this,  and,  as  I  laid  myself  liable  for  this 
oversight,  I  expected  that  he  would  make  the  most  of  it  and  censure  me.  I  cannot 
remember  whether  it  was  on -this  same  day  or  the  day  folloy*ingtliat  I  was  on  board  the 
Wasi),  and  talking  with  Admiral  Godon  in  the  cabin  regarding  this  Paraguayan  busi- 
ness, when  he  asked  me  something  about  the  private  note.  He  wanted  to  see  it.  I  told 
him  that  I  did  not  know  exactly  where  it  was,  but  it  was  somewhere  among  my  papers, 
I  thought.  He  then  said  something  to  this  effect:  "Is  that  the  way  you  keej;)  your 
papers  "F  I  do  not  remember  my  exact  reply,  but  it  Avas  in  a  very  respectful  manner. 
Shortly  after  this,  I  went  out  of  the  cabin  in  comx^any  with  Admiral  Godon,  and  was 
talking  with  him,  when  he  noticed  that  the  forward  awning  of  the  Shamokin  was 
furled,  and  it  was  very  hot,  the  sun  shining  brightly,  and  he  called  my  attention  to  it. 
.1  found  after  I  went  on  board  that  the  armorer  was  using  the  forge  directly  under  it, 
making  bolts  to  repair  the  vessel  with,  and  was  making  other  iron- work ;  besides,  there 
vras  plenty  of  shade  for  the  men  under  the  other  parts  of  the  awning  and  hurricane-deck. 
1  replied  in  a  very  respectful  manner  that  I  had  given  orders  to  Mr.  Spencer,  the  execu- 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  35 

tive  officer,  to  have  the  awning  spread  every  day,  according  to  squadron  orders.  Rear- 
Admiral  Godou  then  said:  "I  would  take  damn  good  care  to  have  the  awning  spread 
over  my  own  head,"  and  then  spoke,  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  from  one  end 
of  the  ship  to  the  other:  ''Go  on  board  your  ship,  sir,  and  have  your  awning  spread." 
I  left  Admiral  Godon,  without  making  any  reply,  to  go  on  board  and  obey  his  orders, 
and  when  I  got  to  the  |;angway  lie  called  out  to  me  to  */ send  your  cockswain  to  tell  the 
executive  officer  to  do  it."  I  replied  I  would  go  myself,  and  left  his  ship,  as  I  did  not 
wish  to  subject  myself  to  his  coarse  and  ungeutlemanly  conduct,  and  to  have  my  feelings 
outraged  by  him.  I  was  of  course  very  angry  and  indignant  at  his  conduct,  but  made 
no  reply,  as  I  intended  to  report  him  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Welles.  Although 
I  doubt,  from  what  I  have  seen  in  the  case  of  Conunander  Wells's  treatment  by  Admiral 
(lodon,  and  his  inability  to  get  satisfaction  from  Mr.  Welles,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
that  I  should  have  fared  any  better.  Ou  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  this  ungentlemaniy 
and  unofficer-like  conduct  of  Rear- Admiral  Godon,  he  called  alongside  of  my  vessel,  in 
tlie  company  with  Commanders  Kirkland  and  Marviu,  to  go  on  shore  with  them  to  take  a 
walk.  I  went  to  the  gangway,  and  Admiral  Godon  requested  me  to  go  with  him.  I 
respectfully  declined.  He  repeated  his  invitation,  and  I  declined  a  second  time.  Com- 
mander Kirkland  tlien  asked  mo  to  go,  but  I  declined  again.  They  then  shoved  off  from 
the  Shamokin  and  went  asliore.  I  learned  from  Commauder  Kirkland,  afterwards,  that 
T\(^ar- Admiral  Godon  was  very  auOTj'  on  accoimt  of  my  refusal  to  go  with  him  in  his  boat 
•  111  shore,  and  I  can  well  believe  that  he  was,  as  his  treatment  to  me  was  in  the  presence 
(iC  these  officers  and  men  in  his  boat_,  and  my  refusal  to  accept  his  advances  to  me  was 
also  in  the  i)re8ence  of  the  officers  of  my  ship  and  of  those  who  were  with  him  in  the 
boat,  and  he,  no  doubt,  wasunich  mortiiied  when  he  found  that  he  could  not  act  towards 
lue  as  he  had  done,  with  impunity,  and  found  that  I  meant  to  resent  it.  Shortly  after 
til  is,  I  had  occasion  to  send  Rear-Admiral  Godon  some  official  communications.  They 
happened  to  be  sent  ou  a  Sunday.  Some  of  these  dispatches  he  received,  but  through 
a  spirit  of  malice,  and  to  treat  me  with  disrespect,  he  returned  the  others  througli  his 
llcet-captain,  in  company  with  this  note:  [annexed  to  testimony,  marked  6^.]  I  will 
here  mention  that  I  had*^not  violated  any  orders  of  the  service  or  squadron  regulations, 
nor  was  it  inconsistent  with  the  religious  feelings  of  Rear-Admiral  Godon  to  receive 
ihcm,  as  he  allowed  a  dancing  party  to  bo  given  on  the  Wasp  on  the  following  Sunday, 
jitid  he  was  present,  Avhich  was  certainly  a  dir«>ct  violation  of  the  Sabbath,  and  there 
\v  as  no  reasonable  objections  whatever  that  the  documents  referred  to  remained  in  his 
•retary  until  the  following  day.  About  this  time  Rear-Admiral  Godon  went  to  Buenos 
les,  and  remained  several  days,  and  retunied  on  a  Saturday.  I  passed  him  in  the 
\(>r  Lujan,  within  10  yards  of  him,  and  saluted  him  in  passing.  He  said  nothing  to 
mo,  and  I  continued  on,  as  I  was  invited  to  dine  with  a  Spanish  family  on  shore. 
Shortly  after  Admiral  Godon  got  on  board  his  vessel  he  made  signal  for  me,  but  I  was 
on  shore,  and  the  executive  officer  went  in  my  stead.  On  my  return  he  informed  me 
that  he  had  gone  to  see  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  in  obedience  to  signal,  but  not  under- 
standing that  it  was  for  me  particularly,  I  did  not  go  to  see  him.  The  following  even- 
ing I  received  a  message,  through  the  pilot,  that  Rear-Admiral  Godon  wanted  to  see  me. 
I  immediately  went  on  board  to  see  him,  and  he  asked  me  about  the  ship,  and  when  she 
should  be  ready,  and  I  told  him.  This  I  had  already  reported  to  him  in  writing,  I  believe. 
He  then  asked  me,  in  the  presence  of  the  ladies  who  were  then  on  board,  at  the  dancing 
party  referred  to,  why  I  had  not  been  to  see  him.  As  I  did  not  wish  to  give  my  reasons 
in  the  presence  of  the  ladies  I  did  not  answer  him.  He  then  gave  me  some  orders  relat- 
iiig  to  getting  the  ship  afloat,  as  she  Bad  been  lying  on  a  mud  bank,  repairing.  And  I 
then  left  his  ship  and  went  on  board  the  Shamokin.  On  the  following  day— it  was, 
I  think,  in  the  moniing— I  got  imder  way,  and  was  passing  the  Wasp,  drifting  and 
working  by  her.  As  the  river  was  very  narrow  and  difficult  to  pass  lier  it  was  necessary 
to  go  slow ;  when  within  about  60  feet  of  the  Wasp,  my  attention  was  directed  by  some 
one  calling  out,  "Back  her,"  but  not  supposing  it  was  intended  for  me— as  that  was  not 
the  tone  or  manner  a  gentleman  would  speak  to  another— I  paid  no  attention  to  it,  but 

ookii 

>ut  ii 

turned  around  and  saw  that  it  was  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  standing  on  the  wheel-iiouse, 
in  an  old  gown.     I  answered  him,  and  obeyed  the  order. 

After  this  I  went  to  Montevideo,  and  in  obedience  to  Rear-Admiral  Godon  s  order,  1 
called  to  see  him  on  board  the  Wasp,  as  he  too  had  gone  down  in  her  to  Montevideo. 
But  as  he  could  not  attend  to  me  then,  he  ordered  me  to  see  him  on  board  the  United 
States  steamer  Brooklyn.  I  called  accordingly,  Avhen  Rear-Admiral  Godon  commenced 
and  Ibund  fault  generally  as  regards  my  taking  Mr.  Washbimi  to  Paraguay,  although 
I  had  done  my  duty  faithfullv,  zealously,  expeditiously,  and  creditably.  Rear-Admiral 
Godou  could  not  lind  enough'^generosity  in  his  bosom  to  say  that  he  was  pleased  at  my 
having  successfidly  accomplished  a  difficult  journey  and  fidfilled  a  dehcate  mission. 
At  the  time  I  received  instructions  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  I  was  at  Monte- 
video, and  was  detained  there  bv  duties,  and  as  I  received  orders  to  take  Mr.  Washburn 


36  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

on  board,  on  his  application  in  writing,  I  quoted  that  pai-t  of  my  instructions,  and  sent 
the  letter  up  by  the  mail  steamer,  so  that  he  could  make  his  preparations.  [Letter 
annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  13.]  I  had  a  letter  for  him  from  Rear- Admiral 
Godon,  but  kept  it  to  deliver  in  person.  Rear-Admiral  Godon  wrote  to  me  inquirhig 
why  I  had  given  Mr.  Washburn  a  copy  of  his  order.  I  replied,  as  is  stated  in  this  letter, 
[annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A  23.]  But  this  did  not  seem  to  satisfy  him,  and 
he  again  questioned  me  about  it,  and  I  told  him  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  anxious  to  get 
off,  dec,  and  I  then  asked  him  how  Mr.  Washbm-n  was  to  know  that  lie  v.as  to  make 
his  application  in  writing,  and  that  I  was  to  take  him  when  he  did  so  ?  liear-Admiral 
Godon  said  that  he  did  not  care  whether  he  know  or  not ;  he  did  not  care  how  long  he 
staid  there,  and  then  said  by  my  writing  I  had  defeated  the  very  object  tliat  he  was 
trying  to  accomplish.  Wliat  that  object  was.  Admiral  Gordon  did  not  state  to  me. 
Rear-Admiral  Gordon  forgot  that  he  had  A\Titten  to  me  in  his  private  (would  be  semi' 
official)  note  saying,  '*I  have  written  him  to  inform  him  of  my  order  to  you,  and  to  tell 
him  to  apply  to  you  in  writing."  Now,  I  cannot  see  what  object  Rear-Admiral  Godon 
had,  or  what  objections  he  could  have,  to  my  writing  to  Mr.  Washburn  what  I  did,  except 
it  was  to  get  me  into  his  power  if  he  could,  and  to  iiersecute  and  annoy  me  on  account 
of  my  kindness  to  Mr.  Washburn ;  and  because  I  did  not  equal  Rear-Admiral  Godon  in 
his  conduct  toward  Mr,  Washburn.  He  then  spoke  of  Mr.  Washburn's  written  application 
to  me,  and  said  it  was  not  a  proper  ai)plication ;  that  it  A^'as  not  respectful :  that  he  felt 
ashamed  to  send  it  to  the  Navy  Department ;  that  I  ought  not  to  have  received  it. ' 
[Application  annexed  to  testimony,  marked  A 14.]  He  then  said,  ''  It  looks  very  much  to 
me  as  though  you  were  acting  in  concert  with  Mr.  Washburn,  and  could  not  even  wait . 
to  get  to  Buenos  Ayres  to  see  him,  but  wrote,  the  very  moment  you  received  your  instruc- 
tions, .to  him  to  notify  him  of  the  fact ; "  and  then  sjioke  of  niy  not  notifying  him  of  the ; 
sailing  of  the  Shamokin  Avith  Mr.  Washburn,  and  said  it  looked  very  much  as  though 
I  was  hurrying  oif  from  Buenos  Ayres  for  fear  that  I  would  receive  orders  countermand- 
ing those  I  had  received  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  up.  He  then  said  that  Mr.  Washburn  j 
had  not  complied  with  the  instructions  he  had  received  from  the  State  Department, 
and  that  I  had  no  right  to  take  him  up  at  the  time  I  did,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  was 
not  aware  of  it — if  I  had  not  read  his  instructions,  as  though  I  was  to  judge  of  Mr. 
W^ashburn's  conduct.  I  considered  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  fully  capable  of  attending 
to  his  duties,  and  was  so  considered  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  that  my  duties  were 
merely  to  obey  the  instructions  I  received  from  the  admiral  or  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  not  to  tell  Mr.  Washburn  his  duties.  Rear-Admiral  Godon  also  said  that  he,  Mr. 
Washburn,  had  spoken  to  him  about  bringing  Lopez  out  of  Paraguay  with  him,  and  for 
that  reason  he  had  not  furnished  him  with  a  steamer  before ;  also,  that  it  Avas  on  that 
account  that  he  gave  me  such  positive  instructions  regarding  neutrality,  letters,  Lopez, 
and  other  persons.  He  also  told  me  that  Mr.  Octaviano,  the  Brazilian  minister,  had 
said  to  him,  that  papers  with  Mr.  Washburn's  name  on  them  had  been  found  at  Corri-j 
entes  at  the  time  the  city  was  captured  by  the  allies,  and  that  these  papers  show  that' 
certain  moneyed  transactions  regarding  arms  had  been  going  on  between  Mr.  Washburn  ^ 
and  the  Paraguayans,  which  implicated  Mr.  Washbiu'u,  but  that  he,  Octaviano,  did  not 
wish  to  make  such  a  statement  to  our  government,  and  that  this  was  one  of  the  objec- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  Brazilians  to  Mr.  Washburn's  going  up  to  Paraguay,  as  they 
supposed  he  was  assisting  Lopez.  Rear-Admiral  Godon  spoke  again  about  my  allowing 
Mr.  Pendleton  to  remain  in  Paraguay  to  bring  down  dispatches,  and  argued  as  one  o: 
the  great  objections  to  his  remaining,  that  he  might  have  deserted  and  remained  in  the' 
Paraguayan  territories,  and  in  such  a  case  that  the  Brazilians  could  never  be  convincec 
that  it  was  not  intentional  on  our  part  to  leave  him  thcKe.  I  regarded  such  reasons  aj 
frivolous,  as  the  officer  was  a  married  man,  anxious  to  resign  and  return  to  his  faniilyjj 
besides  bein^  a  man  of  high  character,  and  had  already  been  into  the  Paraguayan  lines 
as  bearer  of  dispatches,  as  will  be  seen  by  his  letter,  A  18.  The  whole  truth  of  the 
matter  is,  that  Admiral  Godon  was  disappointed  that  I  had  succeeded  so  well  in  gettinfl 
Mr.  Washburn  into  Paragxiay,  and  was  chagrined  that  I  had  not  acted  towards  ]VIr. 
Washburn  in  the  same  spirit  that  he  had  done.  I  must  say  that  I  felt  great  pride  and 
interest  in  taking  Mr.  Washburn  through,  as  I  had  heard  of  a  great  many  comment! 
upon  Mr.  Washburn's  detention,  and  it  Avas  the  common  talk  in  Jiuenos  Ayres  amon| 
the  peoi)le;  and  the  American  minister,  Mr,  Washburn,  was  certainly  x)laced  in  a  verj 
humiliating  position.  The  papers  constantly  referred  to  it,  which  miide  it  very  uuplea 
sant,  and  they  predicted  that  the  Shamokin  would  not  be  able  to  get  up  to  Paraguay. 
The  American  citizens  at  Buenos  Ayres  expressed  their  mortification  about  it,  and  eveii 
offered  Rear-Admiral  Godon  the  coal  to  take  him  up  if  necessary.  After  Rear-Admii'aJ 
Godon  had  found  all  the  fault  he  could  Avith  me  regarding  the  Washburn  trip,  he  agaiu 
asked  me  why  I  had  not  been  on  board  to  see  him.  He  said  if  I  had  any  report  to  mak€ 
about  him,  I  had  better  do  it,  and  that  he  would  forward  it ;  but  he  did  not  think  1 
would  make  much  out  of  it.  Now,  I  had  not  even  insinuated  to  Rear-Admiral  Godoni 
that  I  intended  to,  or  thought  of,  reporting  him,  but  his  own  guilty  conscience  told  hir 
that  he  had  violated  and  outraged  my  feelings,  and  that  he  had  dcme  so  under  the  coA'^ei 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  37 

duct,  kuowing  that  lie  had  committed  himself,  aud  wished  to  smooth  the  matter  over  in 
order  to  Y)reverit  his  being  exposed  to  the  Navy  Department.  I  replied  to  him  hy  saving 
that  I  had  not  been  to  see  him  on  account  of  his  treatment  to  me ;  that  he  had  spoken 
to  me  in  a  manner  that  I  was  never  spoken  to  before  by  any  officer  that  I  had  ever 
served  under  during  my  long  service  in  the  navy ;  that  I  required  him  to  treat  me  Avith 
respect;  that  I  was  a  gentleman,  and  that  he  must  treat  me  as  such,  and  that  he  had 
not  acted  as  a  gentleman  should  act  towards  another,  and  before  I  would  submit  to  his 
conduct  or  treatment,  I  would  leave  the  navy.  I  was  very  angry  at  the  time  I  replied 
;  ( I  K(vir-Admiral  Godon,  and  spoke  accordingly,  and  he  understood  what  I  meant.  Rear- 
A<imiral  Godon  then  apologized  to  me,  saying  that  he  was  under  the  impression  by  my 
manner  that  I  had  intended  to  treat  him  with  disrespect  on  several  occasions,  and  then 
cited  several  instances,  and  that  he  had  noticed  these  things,  and  that  they  were  in  his 
mind,  and  when  he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings,  everything  came  out  at  once.  He  also 
spoke  of  his  long  acciuaintance  with  me,  and  of  the  kind  feelings  he  had  had,  aud  I 
thought  at  the  time  tliat  he  was  sincere,  and  told  him  that  I  had  no  idea  of  treating 
him  with  disrespect,  as  I  had  always  been  careful  to  be  polite  and  respectful  on  all 
occasions.  After  this  interview,  which  was  sought  by  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  and  not  by 
me,  he  changed  his  course  entirely.  He  gave  me  verbal  orders  to  report  to  him  daily 
when  in  the  same  port,  which  I  did,  and  he  seemed  anxious  to  be  very  civil  to  me. 
Although  I  overlooked  his  former  conduct  to  a  certain  extent,  but  I  did  not  entirely 
change  mv  opinion  of  him.  Shortly  after  this  interview  he  visited  the  Shamokin  for 
the  tirst  time  while  on  the  station  to  inspect  her,  and  made,  as  I  afterwards  found  out, 
a  very  unfavorable  report  of  her  to  the  Navy  Department,  which  ho  was  careful  to  con- 
ceal from  me,  thereby  violating  the  navy  regulations,  as  they  require  that  every 
adverse  i('])(>rt  should  be  giv<.'n  to  tin;  officer  commanding  the  vessel,  against  whom  the 
report  is  made,  in  order  that  he  might  explain  or  reply  to  it.  Rear-Adniiral  Godon  did 
not  do  this,  but  kept  his  report  a  secret  from  nn?.  I  would  here  remark,  that  the  change 
of  the  admiral's  conduct  towards  me  after  this  interview  was  remarked  upon  by  Lieu- 
tenant Commander  Kirkland,  and  he  told  me  that  Lieutenant  Commander  Marvin  also 
remarked  it,  and  that  ho  did  not  know  the  cause  of  it ;  that  the  admiral  had  dropped 
me  like  a  hot  potato. 

Q.  What  do  you  understand  to  have  been  the  reason  of  the  objection  or  hesitation  or 
reluctance  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon  to  send  Mr.  Washbuni  forward?— A.  I  do  not 
remember  that  Admiral  Godon  ever  said  anything  to  me  about  Mr.  Washburn  before 
I  received  these  instructions. 

Q.  And  you  know  notliing  of  his  motives?— A.  Nothing  more  than  I  have  already 
stated. 

By  Mr.  Orth: 

Q.  How  did  he  speak  in  your  presence  of  American  ministers  as  a  general  thing ;  favor- 
ably or  unfavoriibly  ?— A.  I  could  not  state  anything  more  on  that  point  than  torei»eat 
what  ho  says  in  his  private  note  to  me  which'  I  have  read.  When  he  was  asking  me 
about  piiyiiig  Mr.  Washburn's  expenses,  he  remarked,  "you  seem  to  think  a  minister  is 
of  gvt»at  importance." 

Q.  What  was  his  manner  in  uttering  these  words  ?— A.  He  said  them  in  a  contemptuous 
Avav. 

Q.  Did  he  use  any  other  expression  showing  considerable  feeling  at  that  time,  or  any 
other  time, in  regard  to  our  foreign  representatives?— A.  I  do  not  now  recall  any  other 
remark  of  that  kind. 

Q.  You  heard  the  testimony  of  Governor  Kirk  this  morning  in  which  he  referred  to 
a  remark  of  the  admiral  that' an  American  minister  was  merely  the  representative  of 
a  political  party ;  did  you  ever  hear  him  making  a  remark  of  that  kind  in  connection 
with  this  matter?— A.  I  cannot  call  to  mind  any  such  remark  at  this  moment.  Admiral 
Godon  said  a  great  deal  in  regard  to  the  matter  in  that  Avay,  but  I  can  only  give  you 
general  impressions.  ,  .      , 

Q.  Did  you  go  down  with  Admiral  Godon's  squadron  from  here?— A.  No,  sir;  Ijomea 
the  squacUon  in  the  early  part  of  1866,  at  Rio.  He  was  then  at  Monte\ideo;  my  ship 
Vv-as  in  very  bad  condition,  and  was  detained  at  Rio  two  or  three  months  for  repairs  as 
I  recollect;  I  cannot  speak  positively  as  to  dates.  After  that  I  went  down  to  Monte- 
video and  there  met  Admiral  Godon.  ,    .  nr  •  i 

Q.  When  did  you  and  the  admiral  go  to  Buenos  Ayres?- A.  I  remained  at  Montevitieo 
about  two  weeks  in  company  of  the  admiral,  aud  amved  at  Rio  Janeiro  about  April 
or  May. 

By  the  Chairmax  : 

Q.  Wliat  was  the  strength  of  the  admiral's  fleet  during  the  spring  and  summer  ot 
1866?— A.  He  had  the  Brooklyn,  a  steam  sloop  of  war,  the  Nipsic,  the  Shawmut,  the 
Wasp,  and  the  Kansas,  in  addition  to  my  own.  x    r^^^.    a-u        i  • 

Q.  What  duty  were  they  engaged  in  during  the  season  of  1866?— A.  Ihe  Shamoian 
and  Wasp  were  Iving  in  the  river  at  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres;  the  Kansas  was 
also  there  a  great"§r  part  of  the  time.  The  Brooklyn  was  a  part  ot  the  time  m  the  ri\er 


38  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION 

and  part  of  tho  time  at  Rio.  Tiie  Nipsic  was  cruising  about  thc^  coast.  The  Shawmut 
returned  to  the  United  States  about  JVIay  of  that  year. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  between  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres? — A.  Abcat  100 
miles. 

Q.  Wliat  were  they  doing — meaning  the  Shamokin,  Wasp,  and  Kansas? — ^A.  I  ^yas 
there  as  senior  officer  a  great  part  of  the  time,  and  sometimes  the  Kansas  was  down 
there. 

Q.  Was  there  anjiihing  to  prevent  Admiral  Godon  sending  a  vessel  to  Paraguay  with 
Minister  Washburn  at  any  time  during  the  spring,  summer,  or  autumn  of  1866  ? — A. 
The  Wasp  was  there,  and  the  Shamokin  was  there;  he  could  have  sent  either  of  ^hese 
vessels  at  any  time  during  the  spring  or  summer  of  1866. 

Q.  Would  it  have  endangered  the  health  of  the  United  States  officers  or  crew  to  have 
gone  up  the  Paraguay  with  Mr.  Washburn  during  these  months. — A.  I  think  not.  The 
Shamokin  was  about  tAvo  weeks  on  the  trip  going  up  and  down.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  climate  to  endanger  the  health  of  the  officers  or  creAV.  They  all  enjoyed  it  very 
much  and  were  not  sick  at  all. 

Q.  Then,  the  apprehensions  of  the  admiral  were  groundless  in  that  regard? — A.  There 
was  no  sickness  in  the  river  that  I  remember.  There  was  none  at  all  on  board  my 
vessel. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Did  you  have  plenty  of  fuel? — A.  I  had. 

Q.  Where  did  you  get  it  ? — A.  I  filled  up  with  coal  at  Buenos  Ayres  before  starting,  and 
replenished  at  Rosario,  about  300  miles  distant.  The  squadron  obtained  fuel  atRosario. 
I  could  also  have  obtained  coal  at  Corrientes,  and  at  Parana. 

Q.  Did  you  accompany  the  admiral  in  his  visit  to  Urquiza? — ^A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Where  were  yon  at  that  time? — A.  I  was  either  at  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres, 
I  do  not  remember  which. 

Q.  You  knew  of  this  visit  ? — A.  I  remember  his  making  a  visit  at  that  time.  I  remem- 
ber Mr.  Kirk  speaking  to  me  about  it. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  Where  was  the  general  depot  of  coal  for  the  South  Atlantic  squadron? — A.  At 
Rio  Janeiro.  I  also  i)urchased  coal  at  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres.  Montevideo  is 
a.  coaling  port  where  there  is  always  a  large  supply  on  hand,  and  where  the  United 
States  vessels  got  their  supply  when  in  the  river.  I  also  purchased  coal  at  Rosario, 
300  miles  up  the  river,  and  at  Corrientes  when  I  was  at  that  port. 

Q.  How  much  additional  coal  would  it  have  required  to  have  taken  your  vessel  up 
the  river  more  than  to  have  lain  still  ? — A.  I  consmned  no  coal  while  lying  still,  except 
for  condensing  water. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  consumption  of  coal  for  such  a  tri])? — A.  I  consumed  about 
200  tons  from  going  up  and  down. 

Q.  What  did  you  have  to  pay  for  the  coal  there?— A.  Nineteen  dollars  per  ton  at 
Corrientes.  I  have  obtained  coal  at  Montevideo  for  about  $13.  I  have  purchased  coal 
at  Buenos  Ayres  at  various  prices,  ranguig  from  $19  to  $30  per  ton.  At  Montevideo  I 
could  have  got  the  coal  at  $13  a  ton,  which  was  only  100  miles  distant  and  would  have 
fiDed  up  fairly,  but  my  orders  were  to  fill  up  at  Buenos  Ayres ;  $13  is  the  regular  price 
for  supplying  United  States  vessels  by  the  coal  agents  at  Montevideo. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 

Q.  Which  consumed  the  most  coal,  the  W^asp  or  the  Shamokin? — A.  The  Shamokin. 

Q.  How  much  more? — A.  I  might  safely  say  50  tons  more  for  the  trip. 

Q.  Was  there  any  expense  attending  your  trip  except  that  of  fuel  ? — A.  None  other. 

Q.  If  you  had  received  at  any  time  a  direct  order  to  facilitate  Mr.  Washburn  on  his 
way  to  Paraguay  would  the  want  of  coal  be  any  obstacle  in  the  way  ? — A.  Not  the 
slightest ;  I  had  no  troTible  at  all  about  coal.  At  times  coal  was  scarce  up  the  river, 
but  I  never  thought  of  that  as  a  serious  objection.  Montevideo  is  the  general  dejjot  for 
coal.  There  is  always  a  large  supply  of  coal  there.  I  have  here  a  letter  among  the 
pai>ers  appended  to  this  statement  wiitten  at  Buenos  Ayres,  100  miles  of£,  on  that  sub- 
ject. At  any  time  within  a  couple  of  weeks,  at  the  farthest,  you  could  get  all  the  coal 
you  might  wish  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  So  you  considered  that  excuse  as  amounting  to  nothing  ? — A.  Nothing  at  aU. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  You  say  the  Shamokin  consumed  more  coal  than  the  Wasp;  do  you  know  why 
the  Shamokin  was  sent  in  preference  to  the  W^asj)  ?  Was  there  any  excuse  except  that 
the  admiral  before  the  arrival  of  the  Shamokin  had  refused  to  send  the  Wasp  on  the 
ground  that  she  would  not  carry  coal  enough  to  take  her  uj)? — A.  I  have  my  own  pri- 
vate supijosition  on  that  subject.  I  do  not  speak  from  any  knowledge  I  have.  The 
Wasp  was  built  in  England,  and  ran  the  blockade  to  our  coast.    She  went  from  here, 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  39 

iouching  different  ports,  to  iVIontevideo,  and  she  has  brought  Mr.  Washburn  down  fi."oni 
J  'araguay  since  that  time,  and  prior  to  that  she  went  up  to  carry  dispatches. 

Q.  And  you  say  that  Admiral  Godon  afterwards  sent  her  up  to  carry  dispatches  for 
IMr.  Washburn  ? — A.  Ho  did.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  extra  coal  was  carried  on 
deck  or  below,  but  he  had  arrangements  made  for  extra  coal.  ThesQ  steamers  in  the 
merchant  service  always  carried  extra  coal  on  the  spar  deck.  It  was  much  easier,  for 
tlio  Wasp  to  go  up  than  the  Shamokin,  as  she  drew  two  feet  less  water;  a  vessel  of  her 
(lass  drawing  six  feet  could  go  up  at  almost  any  time  of  the  year;  but  in  a  dry  season 
t  Ik;  .Sliainokiu's  draught  of  water — eight  feet — would  prevent  her  getting  over  the  bars. 

(^.  Did  you  not  undr-rstand  from  your  private  letters  and  other  sources  that  it  would 
have  been  more  agreeable  to  the  admiral  if  you  had  not  succeeded  in  getting  into 
J  'araguay  with  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  I  hardly  know  how  to  answer  that  question.  I 
liave  submitted  to  the  conmiittee  all  the  letters  I  have  received  bearing  on  that  ques- 
tion, and  I  have  stated  my  conversation  with  the  admiral. 


Appendix  to  Captain  Peirce  Crosby's  testimony. 

Al. 

United  States  Squadron  on  the  Coast  of  Brazil, 

Flag-siup  Brooklyn,  Rio  de  J.vneiro, 

July  21,  1866. 
Sir  :  Fill  up  with  coal  and  provisions  immediately  and  hold  yourself  in  readiness  foi 
service  up  the  river. 

Make  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  facilities  for  obtaining  coal  atRosarioandCorrientes 
and  rei)ort  to  me  the  result. 
Inform  me  when  your  vessel  is  ready  for  sea. 
Respectfully, 

S.  W.  GODON, 
Acting  Rear- Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 
Commander  Peirce  Crosby, 

Uiiiled  States  Navy,  Commanding  United  States  Steamer  ShamoTcin. 
[Received  on  July  31  and  answered  August  1.    August  16,  1866,  reported  ready  for 
service.] 

A  2. 

Untied  States  Steamer  Shamokin,  off  Buenos  Ayres, 

August  1,  1866. 
Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communications  of  July  20  and  21 
and  I  am  nuikiug  i)r»'parati()ns  for  sea,  viz  :  purchasing  coal  and  provisions. 

I  understand  that  there  is  coal  at  Corrientes — about  100  tons,  which  I  will  have  to 
purchase  here  from  the  parties  owning  it.  It  is  New  Castle  coal  and  is  held  at  about 
|l9  per  ton.  I  do  not  know  yet  how  long  it  will  be  held  at  my  disposal.  Should  it  be 
in  the  market  when  I  hear  from  you,  I  have  to  ask  for  authority  for  purchasing  it  before 

foing  up  the  river.  Coal  is  exceedingly  scarce  here  and  I  have  difficulty  iu  getting  it. 
am  now  trying  to  get  150  tons  from  a  vessel  in  the  "  outer  roads,"  which  belongs  to 
the  gas  company  of  ^his  place  and  is  held  at  about  $24  per  ton.  I  do  not  know  what 
success  I  will  have,  but  will  write  you  by  the  earliest  opportunity.  This  letter  I  write 
now  as  the  mail  closes  at  11  a.  m.,  before  I  can  get  a  positive  answer,  which  I  have  been 
trying  to  do  since  I  received  your  communication  yesterday. 
There  is  no  other  coal  here,  except  the  above-mentioned. 
We  have  on  board  about  100  tons. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

^       ^  ^'^  PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 

S.  W.  GODON, 

Acting  Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 

P.  S.— I  have  just  seen  a  party  having  100  tons  New  Castle  coal  at  $17  per  ton,  and 
I  have  agreed  to  take  it.    The  coal  belonging  to  the  gas  company  is  Cardiff,  and  I  am  just 
informed  they  will  not  take  less  than  §30  per  ton,  and  are  very  indifferent  about  selling 
at  that. 
I  will  cet  50  tons. 

^  PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 


40  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 


A2i. 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin,  off  Buenos  Ayres, 

Octoler  17,  186C. 
Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  three  communications  of  October  5, 
1886,  rehitiug  to  Mr.  Washburn  and  General  Asboth. 

In  accordance  with  your  instructions  I  received  General  Asboth  on  board  this  vessel 
from  the  steamer  Arno,  on  the  12th  instant,  and  on  the  following  day  proceeded  with 
him  on  board,  to  this  port,  in  company  with  the  United  States  steamer  Kansas. 

I  saluted  General  Asboth  upon  his  coming  on  board  in  Montevideo,  and  upon  his 
debarkation  at  this  port.  I  will  be  ready  to  proceed  up  the  river  with  Mr.  Washburn 
as  soon  as  he  makes  application  for  mo  to  do  so.  As  there  was  no  accommodation  in 
the  cabin  of  this  vessel  for  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family,  I  have  put  uj)  two  state-rooms 
for  their  convenience. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 

S.  W.  GODON, 

Acting  Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


A3. 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin,  off  Buenos  Ayres, 

Augiist  16,  1866. 
Sir  :  In  accordance  withyour  order  July  21,  the  Shamokin  has  been  filled  up  with  coal 
and  provisions  and  is  now  in  all  respects  ready  for  sea. 

The  bad  weather  and  difficulty  in  obtaining  coal  has  prevented  mo  from  reporting 
the  vessel  ready  for  service  at  an  earlier  date. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 

S.  W.  GODON, 

Acting  Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


A  5. 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin,  off  Buenos  Ayres, 

August  24,  1866. 
Sir  :  I  have  written  by  pre^dous  mails,  which  I  fear  have  been  delayed,,  stating  that 
the  Shamokin  is  ready  for  service  up  the  river ;  also  that  coal  can  be  obtained  at  Rosario. 
The  United  States  minister  to  Paraguay  is  at  this  place,  expecting  to  go  up  the  river  in 
this  vessel.  We  have  no  news  of  importance  from  up  the  river,  but  there  is  a  rumor 
that  a  decisive  battle  is  about  to  be  fought. 

The  Brazilian  transport,  San  Francisco,  was  consumed  by  fire  in  the  outer  roads  on 
the  20th  instant. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 

S.  W.  GODON, 

Acting  Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


A  6. 

[Letter  August  11,  refers  to  engineer  department,  deserters,  &c.;  but  not  to  Paraguay 
aflairs. 

Letter  August  16,  reporting  Shamokin  ready  for  service  up  river. 

Letter  August  24,  reporting  Shamokin  ready  for  service,  and  United  States  minister 
to  Paraguay  at  Buenos  Ayres;  expects  to  go  up  in  Shamokin.] 

South  Atlantic  Squadron,  Flag-ship  Brooklyn, 

Bio  de  Janeiro,  Septeniber  15,  1866. 
Sir  :  Your  several  communications  of  August  11,  16,  and  24,  reporting  that  your 
vessel  is  prepared  for  service  vi\i  the  river,  have  been  received. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  41 

yours 
Respectfully, 


Continue  to  hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  sail  immediately,  on  tlie  receipt  of  orders  to 
do  so. 


S.  W.  GODON, 
Acting  Rear-Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 
Commander  Peirce  Crosby, 

United  States  Navv,  Commanding  United  States  Steamer  ShamoUn. 


A6L 


United  States  Flag-ship  Wasp,  Luj^in  Rh^r, 

December  23,  1866. 
Captain:  By  direction  of  the  admiral  I  reincloso  a  portion  of  the  documents  just 
received  from  the  Shamokin;  and  ho  directs  me  to  §ay  that  he  desires  that  only  matters 
of  pressing  importance  should  bo  presented  for  his  consideration  on  Sunday. 
Very  respectfully, 

J.  D.  MARVIN, 
Fleet  Lieutenant  Commanding. 
Commander  P.  Crosby, 

United  States  Navy,  Commanding  Shamokin. 

[At  the  time  these  documents  were  returned,  tho  Wasp  was  in  the  Lujan  river.  The 
following  Sunday,  Admiral  Godou  allowed  a  party  to  bo  given  on  board — a  dancing 
party.] 


A  10. 


United  States  Fl\g-ship  Juniata, 

Harbor  of  Bio  de  Janeiro,  October  5,  1866. 
Sir:  On  application  in  writing  from  our  minister  resident  at  Paraguay,  Mr.  Washburn, 
to  whom  I  have  written  this  day,  you  will  proceed  with  him  and  his  family,  in  the 
Shamokin  under  your  command,  to  Paraguay,  and  land  him  in  Asuncion. 

You  will  make  tho  best  of  your  way  up  the  river,  and  on  reaching  the  blockading 
squadron,  you  will  inform  the  commaniling  officer  of  your  orders  to  convey  our  minister 
to  his  official  post ;  and  will  not  delay  your  journey.  Permit  no  passengers,  letters,  or 
packages  to  bo  sent  up  in  your  vessel,  except  such  as  belong  to  tho  minister.  Observe 
the  strictest  neutrality  between  the  belligerents.  You  will  under  no  circumstances 
give  to  Lopez,  or  any  Paraguayans,  a  passage  in  your  vessel  on  your  return.  After 
remaining  a  reasonable  time  at  Asuncion  you  will  make  the  best  of  your  way  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  If  Mr.  Washburn  has  gone  up  the  river  Corrientes,  you  will  go  there  and  carry 
out  these  instructions. 
Respectfully, 

S.  W.  ^ODON, 
Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 
Commander  Peirce  Crosby, 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  ShamoUn. 


Private.!  *  A  11. 

U.  S.  S.  Brooklyn, 

October  8,  1866, 
Bio  de  Janeiro. 
My  Dear  Capt.  : 

I  have  sent  you  an  order  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  up  to  Asuncion. 
It  will  be  as  we'll  that  you  should  know  how  matters  stand.  I  had  declined  to  take, 
or  rather  have  Mr.  W.  taken  to  Asuncion  some  time  ago.  The  Navy  Department 
app'd  of  my  course.  Since  then  the  refusal  of  the  allies  to  give  Mr.  W.  free  pass 
through  tho^  military  lines  has  annoyed  the  gover't  at  home,  and  they — that  is,  the 
State  Depar't— have  directed  him  to  write  to  the  Argentine  gov't  and  com'r-in-chief  of 
the  allied  armies  and  demand  a  free  pass  through  the  lines ;  if  this  was  refused  again, 
I  was  to  take  Mr.  Wash'n  up  in  a  man-of-war.  Presuming  Mr.  W.  has  applied,  as 
directed,  I  have  written  him  to  inform  him  of  my  order  to  you  and  to  tell  him  to  apply 
to  you  in  writing.  At  all  events,  it  is  proper  now  that  Mr.  W.  should  go  to  his  post, 
and  the  Secretary  of  State  desires  it.  Mr.  W.  will,  if  he  pleases,  show  you  a  copy  of  my 
orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  am  not  required  to  send  him  up  if  a>  free  pass 
is  given  him,  and  it  is  known  that  orders  have  been  sent  from  here  not  to  obstruct  his 


42  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

passage ;  but  I  think  it  is  proper  lie  should  go  in  a  vessel  of  war,  any  lio^v,  now ;  a 
protest  by  the  blockade  need  not  be  regarded — nothing  but  absolute  force  should  pre- 
vent you;  however,  if  the  river  is  too  low,  then  you  cannot  go  up  now.  Go  as  high  as 
you  can  and  wait  till  the  waters  rise.  liosario  would  be  a  good  place  to  remain  at  till 
you  can  go  up.  The  Wasp  does  not  carry  coal  enough  to  go  and  return.  Mr.  Wash- 
burn must  pay  his  own  expenses.  I  do  not  feel  much  confidence  in  Mr.  W.'s  judgment 
as  an  international  lawyer,  or  as  to  his  -views  in  general.  So  follow  your  own  common- 
sense,  which  will  be  the  safest  way,  I  hope.  When  you  reach  Asuncion  do  all  you  can 
to  make  Mr.  W.'s  landing  of  consequence  to  him,  and  give  him  every  attention.  Get 
me  a  dozen  of  those  rings  madeinParaguay,2uarkingj?ncesonthem — they  are  for  others. 
Get  me  some  of  that  Paraguay  cordial  or  cam.  I  shall  be  doAvn  at  the  river  about  the 
1st  or  15  of  next  month.  You  can  get  wood  to  bum  in  your  furnaces  along  the  river 
if  you  have  means  to  cut  it.  You  know  that  the  river  gets  hot,  full  of  insects,  and 
unhealthy  later ;  so  govern  yourself  accordingly. 
Yours,  very  truly,  , 

S.  W.  GODON., 


A  13 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 
Hardor  of  Montevideo,  October  1*2,  18G6. 
Sir  :  I  have  received  from  Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon,  commanding  South  Atlantic 
squadron,  the  following  instructions : 

"On  application  in  writing  from  Mr.  Washburn,  our  minister  resident  at  Paraguay, 
to  whom  I  have  written  this  day,  you  will  proceed  with  him  and  his  family  in  the 
Shamokin  under  your  command,  and  land  him  in  Asuncion." 

General  Asboth  is  now  on  board  the  Shamokin,  and  I  will  leave  here  to-morrow  for 
Buenos  Ayres,  taking  him  with  me,  and  will  be  ready  to  carry  out  my  instructions 
regarding  yourself. 

It  is  now  blowing  a  gale,  and  prevents  my  leaving  until  I  can  communicate  with  the 
ehore  and  get  off  the  pilot. 

I  have  a  communication  for  you  from  the  admiral  inclosed  to  me,  which  I  consider 
best  to  deliver  in  j)erson  as  it  might  not  otherwise  reach  you.  • 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commande7'. 
Hon.  Charles  H.  Washburn, 

United  States  Minister  Resident  at  Paraguay,  Buenos  Ayres. 


A  14. 


Buenos  Ayres,  October  16,  1866. 
Sir  :  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  give  myself  and  family  a  passage  in  the  vessel 
under  your  command  to  Asuncion,  and  oblige. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN, 

United  States  Minister  to  Paraguay. 
Commander  Peirce  Crosby, 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Shamokin. 


A  15. 


United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Corrientes,  November  2,  1866. 
Sir:  I  arrived  at  this  place  with  the  United  States  steamer  Shamokin  at  9.30  a.  m, 
to-day,  my  run  so  far  having  been  without  accident ;  and  will  leave  this  port  this  after 
noon,  and  proceed  uj)  the  river. 

Verv  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 
Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  43 

A  16. 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Eiver  Paraguay,  Noveinher  3,  1866. 

Sir. :  I  ai  rived  and  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  this  river  last  night  at  dark,  and  shortly 
after  was  boarded  by  an  officer  from  the  Brazilian  blockading  vessel  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Paraguay  river,  offering  the  usual  civilities  and  informing  me  that  the  blockade 
commenced  hero,  and  thai  no  instructions  had  been  received  regarding  the  passage  ol 
this  vessel  nj)  the  river ;  whereupon  I  told  him  that  I  would  go  up  on  the  following 
day ;  and  as  ho  offered  his  services  to  carry  a  dispatch  from  myself  to  Admiral  Taman- 
daid,  (of  which  I  inclose  a  copy,  marked  No.  1,)  I  embraced  the  opportunity  and  sent 
it  immediately,  with  one  of  my  officers,  (Acting  Ensign  Pendleton,)  together  with  a 
verbal  message  to  the  admiral  that  I  would  pay  my  respects  to  him  as  I  passed  up  in 
the  morning. 

At  3.30  this  a.  m..  Acting  Ensign  Pendleton  returned,  in  company  with  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  Brazilian  blockading  vessel,  and  I  Avas  informed  by  them  that 
the  admiral  had  not  received  any  instructions  whatever  regarding  the  passage  of  this 
vessel  up  the  river;  also,  that  the  admiral  would  come  down  and  call  on  me  at  10 
a.  m.  to-day.  At  7  a.  m.  I  dispatched  Mr.  Pendleton  with  a  letter  to  General  Mitre 
from  tl)e  Argentine  governmeut,  regarding  the  passage  of  this  vessel  up  the  river, 
which  letter  was  sent  up  by  Mr.  Washbum.  At  10  a.  m.  Admiral  Tamandar6  called  on 
board,  and  gave  mo  a  letter  in  answer  to  my  communication  in  which  I  had  informed 
him  that  I  was  going  to  Asuncion.  The  admiral  i)roposed  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  up 
by  another-  convcjyauce.  I  replied  to  this  proposition  (as  will  be  seen  in  inclosure 
marked  No.  2)  by  stating  that  my  orders  were  imperative;  whereupon  Admiral  Taman- 
dar6  made  his  protest,  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose,  marked  No.  4,  also  a  copy  of  his  first 
communication,  marked  No.'  3,  both  of  which  are  in  the  Portuguese  language.  After 
this  form  had  been  gone  through  with,  the  admiral  very  kindly  offered  to  send  a  letter 
through  the  lines  from  Mr.  Washburn  to  General  Lopez,  announcing  his  arrival  here, 
and  asking  for  a  pilot  to  conduct  this  vessel  up  after  passing  the  Brazilian  squadron,  in 
order  to  aVoi(l  torpedoes.  I  expect  to  obtain  a  pilot  on  Monday,  (Oth  instant,)  and  will 
at  once  proceed  ou  my  journey. 

I  seat  Acting  Ensign  Pendleton  as  bearer  of  dispatches  from  Mr.  Washbum  to  Gen- 
eral Lopez  regarding  our  safe  passage  up  the  river  after  getting  within  the  Paraguayan 
territory,  and  gave  him  verbal  orders  to  say  to  General  Lopez  that  it  was  my  desire  to 
pass  uj/to  Asuncion,  or  to  land  Mr.  Washburn  within  the  lines  if  possible.  As  Admiral 
Tamaudar6  had  received  no  instructions  whatever  from  his  government  to  allow  this 
vessel  to  ])ass  up  the  river,  he  was  placed  in  a  very  embarrassing  position  on  my 
arrival.  As  my  orders  were  positive,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  decide  the 
matter  at  once,  either  by  consenting  to  our  passage  under  ])rotest  or  resorting  to  force, 
the  admiral  agreed  to  our  passage  under  protest.  Admiral  Tamaudar6  has  been  exceed- 
ingly courteous  in  ofleriug  every  assistance  in  procuring  pilots  to  go  through  the 
obstructions,  sending  his  own  pilot  to  couduct  me  through  his  lines. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

^       ^  ^'^  PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 

Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godox, 

Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


A  17. 


United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Parana  Elver,  November  9,  1666. 
Sir  :  Acting  Ensign  Pendleton  returned  to  this  vessel  at  11  a.  m.,  on  the  5th  instant, 
in  company  with  a  Brazilian  pilot  whom  Admiral  Tamandard  sent  to  conduct  the 
Shamokin  past  his  fleet.  At  1.20  p.  m.  I  got  under  way  and  proceeded  up  the  river. 
After  passing  the  blockading  fleet  the  Brazilian  pUot  left  us,  and,  in  his  stead,  I  received 
a  Paraguayan  pilot  on  board,  who  conducted  the  vessel  to  Cmapaiti,  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  in  advance  of  the  Brazilian  picket  vessel,  which  was  as  far  as  the  obstructions 
in  tbe  river  would  allow  this  vessel  to  proceed.,  The  pilot  would  not  attempt  to  con- 
duct her  through  the  obstructions,  saying  the  danger  was  too  great  on  account  ol  torpe- 

aV4.30  p.  m.  I  came  to  anchor  off  Curupaiti,  and  saluted  the  Paraguayan  flag,  which 
salute  was  returned  by  the  ibrt.  I  then  disembarked  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family, 
together  with  their  ellects,  and  upon  his  leaving  the  vessel,  saluted  him  with  15  g^ns. 

Before  passing  through  the  Brazilian  lines,  Admiral  Tamandar.!  informed  me  by  a 
verbal  message  through  one  of  his  officers,  that  he  would  suspend  hostilities  lor  lour  or 
five  hours,  during  our  passage. 


44  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  fully  expected  to  bo  able  to  ^o  above  the  Paraguayan  fortifications,  but  the  Para- 
guayan officers  and  pilots  said  it  was  impossible  for  this  vessel  to  pass  through  the 
obstructions  which  are  situated  immediately  below  the  fort,  telling  mo  there  were 
torpedoes  only  a  few  feet  above  where  the  vessel  was  then  lying.  I  therefore  had  to 
land  Mr.  Washburn  below  the  Paraguayan  fort. 

The  Shaniokin  laid  in  a  direct  line  between  the  Brazilian  fleet  and  Curupaiti,  and  it 
was  impossible  for  her  to  remain  in  the  position  she  then  occupied  without  embarrass- 
ing the  movements  of  the  Brazilian  fleet.  Under  the  circumstances  I  could  not  wait 
for  such  commufiications  as  Mr.  Washburn  v/ished  to  send  by  this  vessel,  and,  at  his 
earnest  request,  I  dispatched  Acting  Ensign  Pendleton  to  accompany  him  to  his  desti- 
nation, that  he  might  return  with  such  dispatches  as  Mr.  Washburn  might  wish  to  send. 
At  1  p.  m.  I  o-ot  under  way,  and  proceeded  to  my  anchorage  at  Tres  Bocas,  below  the 
blockading  fleet. 

On  the  6th  instant  I  sent  a  letter  to  Admiral  Tamandar6,  informing  him  that  I  had 
sent  an  officer  with  Mr.  Washburn  to  bring  back  his  dispatches,  of  which  letter  the 
inclosed,  marked  No.  6,  is  a  copy. 

On  the  7th  instant  Mr.  Pendleton  returned  with  dispatches  from  Mr.  Washburn,  and 
was  brought  down  to  this  vessel  by  a  Brazilian  gunboat. 

Admiral  Tamandar6  sent  me  a  verbal  message  through  an  aide-de-camp  that  he  had 
not  had  time  to  answer  my  letter  of  the  6th  instant  concerning  the  return  Of  Mr.  Pen- 
dleton, but  that  he  would  j)rotest  against  his  return  through  the  lines,  and  would  send 
mo  his  protest  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  instant  I  left  Tres  Bocas  for  Buenos  Ayres. 

Inclosed  (No.  7)  I  send  a  copy  of  Mr.  Pendleton's  report  tome  concerning  his  transit 
through  the  Brazilian  lines,  and  his  interview  with  General  Lopez;  also  a  copy  (No.  8) 
of  Ms  report  concerning  his  passage  to  Humaita  with  Mr.  Washburn. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Covimande7\ 

Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

Commanding  United  States  Brazil  Squadron. 


A  18. 


United  States  Steamer  Shamokix, 

Tres  Bocas,  November  5,  1866. 

Sm:  In  compliance  with  your  orders  of  the  evening  of  the  3d  instant,  "to  proceed  to 
the  camp  of  his  excellency  Francisco  S.  Lopez,  president  and  commander-in-chief  of 
the  republic  of  Paraguay,  and  from  him  ascertain  whether  there  are  obstructions  in 
the  river  Paraguay  which  will  prevent  the  United  States  steamer  Shamokin  passing  to 
Asuncion,  and  if.  so,  to  learn  how  far  the  steamer  could  como  within  his  lines  with 
safety ;  and  also  to  make  an  arrangement  for  a  pilot  to  come  on  board  after  the  Shamo- 
kin had  passed  the  Brazilian  blockading  squadron,"  I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  fol- 
lowing report : 

At  5.10,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  instant,  I  left  this  ship,  having  in  my  possession 
an  ansealed  communication  addressed  to  his  excellency  Francisco  S.  Lopez,  president 
and  commander-in-chief  of  the  republic  of  Paraguay.  I  went  on  board  the  Brazilian 
gunboat  Ivahy,  and  was  soon  under  way  for  the  flag-ship  of  Vice-Admiral  Taniandar<5, 
commanding  the  Brazilian  naval  forces  on  the  Paraguay  river,  reaching  there  about 
11.30  a.  m.,  and  from  the  admiral  receiving  another  letter  addressed  to  his  excellency 
Francisco  S.  Lopez,  &c. 

The  preliminaries  of  a  flag  of  truce  having  been  arranged,  I  started  about  1  p.  m. 
under  an  escort  of  cavalry,  bearing  the  American  and  Brazilian  flags,  with  a  flag  of 
truce,  to  cross  the  lines ;  we  were  met  by  an  escort  from  the  Paraguayan  forces  at  Curu- 
paiti, who  conducted  me  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Jos6  Dias,  where  I  remained 
until  my  presence  was  made  known  to  his  excellency  President  Lopez,  who  desired  a 
personal  interview  with  me. 

About  5  p.  m.  I  reached  his  headquarters,  delivering  my  communications,  and  in 
answer  to  your  inquiries  as  to  the  Shamokin  being  able  to  pass  to  Asuncion  from  above 
the  Brazilian  squadron,  he  informed  me  that  it  was  impossible  for  tho  ship  to  do  so. 
And  although  he  regretted  very  much,  that  Ave  could  not  reach  the  capital,  the  obstruc- 
tions were  such  they  could  not  be  temporarily  removed,  and  it  would  be  very  dangerous 
to  pass  above  Curupaiti,  and  that  he  would  provide  a  pilot  to  take  us  as  soon  as  we 
passed  the  Brazilian  fleet. 

He  informed  me  that  he  wished  to  return  a  letter  to  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn, 
informing  him  of  the  matter.  On  the  following  morning  about  7.30  I  received  two 
sealed  letters  from  President  Lopez,  (through  one  of  his  stafl",)  one  addressed  to  Vice- 
Admiral  Tamandar6,  the  other  to  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn. 


•  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  45 

I  immediately  stai-ted  to  return,  doiug  so  by  the  same  medium  throuab  which  I  went 
reaching  my  ship  at  12  m.,  bearing  the  dispatch  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Washburn,  and  deliv- 
ering the  one  addressed  to  Vice-Admiral  Tamandar^  in  person,  at  the  headquarters  of 
General  Porto  Alcgre,  as  I  returned. 

Very  respectfully,  youi-  obedient  servant, 

E.  C.  J.  PENDLETON, 
Acting  Ensign  United  States  Xavii. 
To  Commander  Peirce  Crosby,  U.  S.  N., 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Shamokin. 
[This  i»  the  same  officer  that  the  Brazilians  made  such  a  long  protest  about  my  lea^^u<'■ 
him  with  Mr.  Washburn  to  biiug  back  dispatches.]  ° 


A  19. 


United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Parana  River,  November  8,  1866. 

Sm :  In  obedience  to  your  orders  of  the  5th  instant,  "  to  accompany  Hon.  Charles  A. 
Washburn,  minister  resident  to  the  republic  of  Paraguay,  within  the  lines  of  the  Para- 
guayan army,  and  return  with  such  communications  as  he  may  desire  to  send  by  me," 
I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  following  report : 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  instant  I  left  this  ship,  then  lying  under  the  fortifications 
of  Cunipaiti,  on  the  Paraguay  river.  Upon  reaching  the  shore  I  learned  that  Mr.  Wash- 
bum  had  started  for  Humaita,  and  I  immediately  followed,  reaching  there  about  8.30 
1).  m.  The  next  morning  a  steamer  was  placi'd  at  Mr.  Washburn's  disposal,  and  prepa- 
rations made  to  leave  that  evening  for  Asuncion. 

At  9  p.  m.  Mr.  Washburn  gave  me  a  package  addressed  to  General  Asboth,  United 
States  minister  to  Buenos  Ayres.  I  returned  to  Curupaiti  the  same  night,  in  order  to 
cross  the  lines  early  the  next  morning,  but  \>a.H  detained  from  doing  so  by  an  engage- 
ment having  taken  place  between  the  two  annies  on  the  extreme  right.  After  the  tiring 
had  ceased.  General  Dias,  of  the  Paraguay  army,  sent  me  under  llag  of  truce  to  the  Bra- 
zilian lines,  where  I  was  received  by  the  picket  guard,  and  by  them  detained  until  my 
presence  was  reported  to  General  Porto  Alegie,  who  returned  word  that  I  would  not  be 
allowed  to  pass.  In  this  peculiar  situation  I  asked  permission  to  communicate  with 
you,  which  was  very  cheerfully  granted.  The  note  being  intercepted  by  Vice-Admiral 
Tamandard,  ho  at  once  had  an  interview  Avith  General  I'orto  Alegre,  and  dispatched  an 
otlicer  to  inform  mo  I  could  pass,  but  only  under  protest,  as  there  had  been  no  under- 
8taudin<j  that  any  one  but  Mr.  Washburn,  his  wife,  and  one  servant,  were  to  leave  the 
Shamokni.  Admiral  Tamandar6  kindly  sent  me  on  one  of  his  small  steamers  to  return 
to  my  ship,  which  I  did  about  5  p.  m.  on  the  7th  instant,  bringing  with  me  the  corre- 
spondence of  Mr.  Washburn. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

R.  C.  J.  PENDLETON, 
Acting  Ensign  United  States  Naiy 

To  Commander  Peirce  Crosby,  U.  S.  N., 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Shamokin. 

[Note. — Mr.  Pendleton  is  the  same  oflBcer  who  was  bearer  of  dispatches  from  the 
Shamokin  to  President  Lopez,  with  the  consent  of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied 
forces,  and  there  was  no  sensible  or  reasonable  objection  to  his  remaining  with  Mr. 
Washburn  to  bring  his  dispatches,  notwithstanding  the  protest  of  Admiral  Taman- 
dard.— P.  C] 


A  20. 


[On  the  5th  November  landed  Mr.  Washburn  at  Curapaiti 

On  the  8th  November  left  the  Tres  Bocas.  , 

About  the  11th  November  arrived  at  Eosario,  where  I  received  this  communication.  J 

•     South  Atlantic  Squadron,  Flag-ship  Brooklyn, 

Bio  de  Janeiro,  October  21,  1866. 


Sir  :  In  my  instruction  to  you  to  proceed  to  Asuncion,  on  application  m  writing  from 
r.  Washburn,  I  did  not  aUude  to  any  difficulties  you  might  meet  with  for  want  of 

,  nor  from  torpedoes,  or  other  obstructions  in  the  river,  placed  by  Paraguayans. 

L  will  not  proceed  at  all,  until  you  know  the  water  is  high  enough  to  allow  you  to 


Mr, 
water 
You 


go  up  Avithout  inconvenience.  ,         .   ,  ^        ,  ^  ... 

I   torpedoes  or  other  difficulties  offer,  you  wiU  then  land  the  mimster  at  Curupaiti 


46  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

by  boats,  or  at  some  convenient  landing  within  the  Paraguayan  lines,  to  wliicli  tlio 
allies  will  have  no  objections,  or  you  may  be  obliged  to  avail  yourselr  of  the  means 
which  will  be  placed  at  your  disposal  to  pass  the  minister  through  the  allied  lines  to 
those  of  General  Lopez. 
Resj)ectfiilly, 

S.  W.  GODON, 
Scar-Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 
Commander  Peirce  Crosby,  U.  S.  N., 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  ShamoMn. 


A  23. 


UxiTED  States  Steamer  Shainiokix, 

Ltijan  liiver,  December  26,  1866. 

Sir  :  In  answer  to  your  communication  of  the  24tli  instant,  requiring  me  to  explain 
why  I  gave  a  copy  of  any  of  your  orders  to  me,  to  Mr.  Washburn,  United  States  minister 
to  Paraguay,.  I  have  to  say  that  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Washburn,  informing  him  of  my  orders 
to  take  him  to  Asuncion,  upon  his  application  to  me  in  writing ;  and  in  doing  this  I 
quoted  the  words  of  the  portion  of  your  order  which  referred  to  his  making  an  applica- 
tion in  writing,  in  order  that  there  would  be  no  misunderstanding  about  it ;  that  is,  in 
the  form  required  of  him — a  written  apjDlication. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

Commander. 
Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

Commanding  United  States  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 


A  231. 


}  United  States  Steamer  Shamokix, 

I  Trcs  Bocas,  Noveniber  2,  1866. 

Sir  :  In  obedience  to  my  instructions,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have  the 
Hon.  C.  A.  Washburn,  United  States  minister  to  Paraguay,  and  family,  on  board  of  this 
vessel,  with  orders  from  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon,  commanding  United  States  South 
Atlantic  Squadron,  to  proceed  with  him  without  delay  to  Asuncion. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY. 
Commander  United  States  Navy. 
His  Excellency  Vice-Admiral  Viscount  de  Tamandare, 

Commanding  Allied  Squadron, 


A  24. 


United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Tres  JBocas,  November  3,  1866. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yovir  conmiuuication  of  the  3d 
instant,  in  reference  to  the  passage  of  the  Hon.  C.  A  Washburn,  United  States  minister 
to  Paraguay. 

In  reply  I  have  to  state,  that  my  instructions  from  my  commander-in-chief  are  impera- 
tive, and  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  proceed  on  my  journey  without  delay,  and  whi6h 
I  will  do  unless  prevented  by  absolute  force. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 
Commander  United  States  Xavy. 
Viscount  de  TamakdariS, 

Vice- Admiral,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Brazil  Squadron,  Paraguay. 


A  26. 

United  States  Steamer  Shamokin, 

Tres  Bocas,  November  3,  1866. 
Sir  '  At  the  request  of  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn,  United  States  minister  to 
Paraguay,  I  ordered  one  of  my  officers,  Acting  Ensign  Pendleton,  to  accompany  him  to 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATIOX.  47 

his  destination  in  Paraguay  that  he  might  bring  back  such  dispatches  as  the  Hon  M- 
Uashbuni  may  wish  to  send;  and  I  have  to  request  that  you  will  allow  my  officer  to 
pass  through  your  lines  on  his  return,  which  I  expect  will  be  on  Tuesday. 

Allow  me,  sir,  to  return  my  thanks  for  the  great  courtesy  you  have  shown  me  in  this 
very  delicate  mission. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEIRCE  CROSBY, 

,,.  X  1    m  u.  Commander. 

Viscount  de  Tamandar^, 

Vice- Admiral,  Commander-in-dii<f  of  the  Brazil  Squadron,  Paraguay. 


A  28. 


[Translation  of  A  27.] 
COMMANDEIl-Df-ClIIEF  OF  THE  NaV.\I.  FoKCES  OF  BitAZIL 

IK  THE  RiVEii  La  Plata, 
On  board  Steamer  Apa  in  front  of  Curuzu,  Xovemher  7, 1866. 

Sir  :  With  great  surprise  I  have  read  the  note  which  you  sent  me  yesterday,  com- 
municating to  me  that,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Washbuni,  United  States  minister  for  Para- 
guay, you  liad  ordered  one  of  your  oflBcers,  the  Acting  Ensign  Mr.  Pendleton,  to  accom- 
pany him  for  the  purpose  of  returning  with  dispatches  which  the  said  Mr.  Washburn 
should  like  to  forward,  asking  mo  to  allow  this  officer  to  pass  through  our  lines. 

When  I  permitted  that  the  steamer  of  your  command  might  pass  the  lino  of  blockade 
rvnd  the  forces  in  operation  that  I  maintain  in  this  river  to  communicate  with  territoiy 
of  Paraguay,  I  had  in  view,  only,  to  give  credit  to  the  testimony  of  Rear-Admiral  Godou, 
and  of  (jfenerals  Webb  and  Asboth,  United  States  ministers  in'Brazil  and  in  the  Argen- 
tine Republic,  and  to  honor  the  character  of  these  gentlemen,  who,  in  dispatches 
^vl*itten  to  Mr.  Washburn,  assured  for  certain  that  the  imperial  government,  with 
consent  of  the  Argentine,  had  sent  orders  permitting  that  this  gentleman  and  his  family 
might  proceed  to  liis  destination  in  a  man-of-war  of  his  nation. 

You  are  aware,  on  account  of  having  been  present  at  the  conference  which  I  had  with 
Mr.  Washbuni  on  board  of  the  ship  under  your  command,  that  in  the  absence  of  orders 
direct  from  my  government  to  permit  his  passage,  I  procured  to  conciliate  the  departme 
of  Mr.  Washburn  for  his  destination,  with  our  rights  of  belligerent,  pointing  out  to  him 
a  manner  of  ett'ecting,  without  violation  of  the  blockade,  his  transport  for  Paraguay 
through  tho  lines  of  the  allied  annics,  or  otherwise,  in  one  of  the  steamers  of  this 
squadron,  which  would  convey  him  to  tho  advanced  jyoatsi  of  Cuiupaiti,  in  order  to 
transship  himself  to  a  Paraguayan  steamer,  in  which  he  could  continue  to  Asuncion,  pre- 
ceding to  this  an  agreement  with  the  Marshal  President  of  Paraguay;  and  you  are 
aware,  likewise,  that  only  to  the  irresolution  of  Mr.  Washburn  in  not  acceding  to  these 
my  propositions,  and  to  the  steadiness  in  availing  himself  of  tho  permission  granted  by 
the  Brazilian  government,  I  had  to  yield,  to  give  the  most  complete  credit  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  delegates  of  the  United  States  government. 

It  was  likewise  with  tho  samia  object  in  view  that  I  procured  to  facilitate  and  accel- 
erate his  voyage  by  all  measures,  even  pointing  out  to  Mr.  Washburn  the  idea  that  he 
should  ask  for  a  pilot  from  Marshal  Lopez,  in  order  to  take  the  Shamokin  from  my  van- 
guard upwards  through  tho  secret  obstacles  with  which  tho  Paraguayans  have  pre- 
tended to  obstruct  the  river;  I  ofierin^  and  lending,  on  that  occasion,  a  pilot  that 
should  take  her  from  the  mouth  of  this  river  up  to  the  palisade  of  Curupaiti. 

With  this  my  proceedings  I  believe  to  have  demonstrated  how  much  the  imperial 
government  is  careful  in  demanding  from  their  agents  that  they  shall  maintain  the 
most  exact  and  obliging  relations  with  the  agents  of  the  friendly  nations.  And  if  I  did 
protest,  in  the  name  of  my  government,  against  the  going  up  of  the  Shamokin,  disre- 
garding the  friendly  means  that  I  proposed,  it  was  foreseeing  the  consequences  of  this 
act. 

In  these  consequences,  notwithstanding,  I  could  not  foresee  that  an  officer  of  the 
Shamokin  (should  or)  might  remain  in  Paraguayan  territoiy  without  right  for  so  doing, 
nor  pernussion  equal  to  the  one  granted  to  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family,  the  which 
constitutes  an  offense  to  tho  right  which  my  nation  and  their  allies  have  of  impeding 
tho  passage  of  any  neutral  agent  to  the  enemy's  territory,  and  anew  (de  novo)  it  com- 
pels me  to  protest  against  those  who  ordered  that  act,  as  I  protest  solemnly;  and  in 
this  manner  I  reply  to  your  above-mentioned  note. 

But  as  Mr.  Pendleton  presented  himself  at  the  advanced  posts  of  the  army  of  Viscount 
de  Porto  Allegro  without  the  customary  formalities  in  similar  cases,  and  the  Paraguay- 
ans that  accompanied  him  went  back'^to  their  camp  without  delay,  and  that  worthy 
officer  found  himself  in  the  impossibilitv  of  going  backwards  without  risk,  as  the  Para- 
guayans might  fire  on  him  as  they  did'to  the  parley  (parlamentariau)  when  the  same 


48  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Mr.  Pendleton  and  my  secretary  and  aid-de-cami^,  first  Lieutenant  Artlim-  Silveira  da 
Motta,  were  going,  Viscount  de  Porto  Allegre  and  I  determine  to  consent  to  the  passage 
of  tlie  said  ofiScer,  allowing  ourselves  (rcservandonos)  the  right  of  protesting  against 
his  stay,  though  of  short  duration,  in  the  territory  of  Paraguay. 

I  am,  with  much  consideration,  your  attentive  admirer  and  servant, 

VISCONDE  DE  TAMANDAEfi. 
Mr.  Peirce  Crosby, 

Commando'  of  the  United  States  Steamer  ShamoMn. 


Testimony  of  Robert  C.  KirTc, 

Washington,  D.  C,  Airril  12, 1869. 
Robert  C.  Kirk  sworn  and  examined. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Question.  State  your  residence,  and  the  ofiEice  held  by  you  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Wash- 
hurn's  visit  to  Paraguay. — Answer.  I  reside  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  I  was  at  the  time 
referred  to,  minister  resident  to  the  Argentine  Republic. 

Q.  Have  you  read  the  j)etition  of  Masterman  and  Bliss,  which  is  now  the  subject  of 
investigation  ? — A.  I  have  not. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  facts  connected  with  this  master? — A.  I  am 
acquainted  with  some  of  the  facts  in  connection  with  Admiral  Godon  sending  Mr. 
Washburn  to  Paraguay. 

Q.  Please  state  to  the  committee  what  you  know  in  regard  to  that  matter. — A.  Mr. 
Washburn  arrived  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  in  the  winter  of  1865.  I  think  Admiral 
Godon  arrived  there  in  January,  1866.  When  Mr.  Washburn  arrived  there  he  told  me 
he  had  met  Admiral  Godon  at  Rio  Janeiro,  and  that  the  admiral  had  promised  to  send 
him  to  Paraguay,  but  when  the  admiral  arrived  at  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  he  refused 
to  send  him  to  Paraguay.  The  admiral  gave  several  reasons  in  my  presence  for  refusal 
to  send  him.  One  of  the  particular  reasons  he  urged  was  that  he  had  no  authority 
from  the  department,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  use  economy  in  burning  coal. 
He  also  said  that  he  did  not  think  the  interests  of  the  government  required  thatt  he 
should  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay.  Mr.  Washburn  repeatedly  in  my  presence 
urged  the  admiral  to  send  him  to  Paraguay.  I  also  said  that  I  thought  the  admiral 
should  send  Mr.  Washburu  to  Paraguay.  Mr.  Washburn  Avas  there  a  long  time  urging 
the  admiral  to  send  a  vessel  to  take  him  to  Paraguay,  but  he  refused  to  do  so.  I 
thought  the  action  of  Admiral  Godon  while  he  was  there  tended  to  lessen  the  influ- 
ence of  ministers  abroad.  I  know  that  his  action  lessened  my  influence  there,  and  I 
am  satisfied  it  lessened  Mr.  Washburn's  influence.  When  Admiral  Godon  first  arrived 
there  I  formed  a  favorable  impression  of  him.  I  liked  him  very  much,  but  his  subse- 
quent acts  caused  me  to  change  my  impression  of  him,  being  satisfied  that  his  course 
was  such  as  to  lessen  our  influence  there.  I  know  that  before  he  came  there  my  influ- 
ence was  good,  and  that  I  had  efiected  a  great  deal  with  the  Argentine  Republic  in  favor 
of  the  United  States.  When  I  left  Buenos  Ayres  Mr.  Washburn  had  not  yet  reached 
Paraguay.    I  believe  he  was  sent  there  afterwards. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  When  was  this  ? — A.  This  was,  I  think,  in  the  early  part  of  1866.  I  never  expected 
to  give  any  evidence  in  the  case,  and  consequently  cannot  speak  with  entire  accuracy 
as  to  dates. 

By  the  Chairm.^^  : 
Q.  Did  the  refusal  of  Admiral  Godon  to  forward  Mr.  Washburn  to  his  post  imply  on 
his  part  any  other  right  to  judge  than  that  which  pertained  to  him  as  an  officer  of  the 
navy  ? — He  claimed  that  he  was  to  judge  of  his  own  acts ;  that  he  was  under  no  obli- 
gation whatever  to  ministers.  He  told  Mr.  Washburn  that  he  was  under  no  obligation 
to  him,  and  he  told  me  that  he  was  under  no  obligation  to  me  as  a  minister,  whatever. 
When  I  left  him  he  was  about  to  embark  on  a  visit  to  General  Urquiza.  I  told  him  that 
I  thought  he  ought  not  to  visit  General  Urquiza ;  that  the  relations  existing  between 
the  tjnited  States  and  the  Argentine  government  being  friendly,  I  thought  such  a  visit 
would  be  interpreted  by  that  government  as  unfriendly  in  its  nature,  and  I  thought  he 
ought  not  to  make  the  visit.  He  still  insisted,  however,  that  he  would  go  to  make  the 
visit.  Thinking  the  matter  was  of  some  importance,  I  sent  him  a  friendly  note,  ad- 
dressed to  him  as  ''  Dear  admiral,"  giving  my  reasons  for  the  opinion  I  had  expressed 
more  at  length.  When  he  received  that  note  I  learned  from  friends  of  mine  who  were 
present  that  he  sjioke  very  unkindly  of  me  for  sending  it.  He  started  on  the  trip,  went 
as  far  as  Conception,  and  then  concluded  that  he  would  not  visit  General  Urquiza,  and 


PARAGUAYAN   JNVESTIGATION.  49 

as  I  learned,  my  letter  had  the  effect  of  causing  him  to  reconsider  his  determination 
to  do  so.  ^\llen  he  came  back  to  Buenos  Ayres  he  visited  the  legation,  and  asked  me 
why  I  had  written  that  note  to  him.  I  told  him  that  the  letter  gave  its  own  explana- 
tion ;  that  its  object  was  simply  to  express  my  opinion  that  he  ought  not  to  visit  Gen- 
eral Urquiza.  He  expressed,  seemingly  with  some  feeling,  the  opinion  that  he  was 
under  no  obligations  to  me.  I  told  him  I  wa«  quite  aware  that  I  had  no  right  to  con- 
trol his  movements,  but  that  I  thought  when  a  minister  had  resided  for  several  years 
in  a  place,  that  an  admiral  coming  to  that  place  could  properly  consult  the  minister  in 
regard  to  any  such  movement;  that  the  minister  would  be  more  likely  to  know  the 
condition  of  aifairs  and  to  judge  of  the  effects  of  a  particular  line  of  policy  than  a  man 
who  had  just  come  to  the  country.  That  passed  oft'  and  I  heard  no  more  of  it,  and 
Iiud  no  other  disagreement  with  the  admiral  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  reasons  given  by  the  admiral  were  that  he  was  under 
no  obligation  to  aid  the  diplomatic  agents  of  the  govenunent — that  he  was  only  bound 
to  do  what  suited  himself  as  a  naval  officer?— A.  That  is  as  I  understood  it.  Unless 
Ills  opinion  coincided  with  the  opinion  of  the  minister  he  was  not  bound  to  be  gov- 
tined  thereby. 

By  Mr.  Orth: 
Q.  Do  you  mean  that  he  was  not^  upon  qnestions  of  political  and  diplomatic  affairs  ?— 
A.  I  should  judge  so  upon  all  affairs.  He  told  me  I  had  no  claim  to  have  any  rofluence 
apoD  his  action  wJiatever.  I  thought  it  was  his  duty  to  listen  to  suggestions  made 
by  me  in  regard  to  political  questions.  The  Ai-gentine  Republic  was  engaged  in  a  war 
with  Paraguay.  I  was  occupying  a  neutral  position.  My  government  had  the  good 
will  of  the  Argentine  government,  and  I  thought  it  important  that  he  should  not  do 
anything  to  disturb  those  friendly  relations. 

By  the  CiiAmMAN : 

Q.  Did  he  express  any  dissent  from  Mr.  Washburn's  movements  in  regard  to  inter- 
national afiairs  ? — ^A.  He  said  this — that  he  was  under  no  control  whatever  from  Mr. 
Washburn  or  from  myself;  that  he  was  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  ;  that  he  was  responsible  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  to  nobody  else.  I 
supiiose  that  was  true,  and  I  did  not  claim  to  have  any  control  over  his  actions. 

Q.  What  was  the  deportment  of  Mr.  Washburn  towards  Admiral  Godon  ? — A.  It  was 
of  the  kindest  character.  I  was  strongly  impressed  with  the  fact  that  he  conducted 
himself  under  the  circumstances  in  a  veiy  gentlemanly  and  dignified  manner. 

Q.  No  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  at  any  time  in  that  regard  ? — ^A.  No ;  not  at  any 
time  while  I  was  there. 

Q.  Have  you  fonued  any  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of  Admiral  Godon's  going  up  to 
visit  General  Urquiza? — A.  I  have;  and  I  have  just  stated  that  it  was  the  letter  I 
addressed  to  him  which  caused  him  not  to  make  that  visit. 

Q.  What  was  the  basis  of  the  opinion  expressed  by  you  against  the  propriety  of  that 
visit  ? — A.  ]My  opinion  was  that  it  would  create  trouble  between  the  Argentine  govern- 
ment and  the  government  of  the  United  States.  Urquiza  was  regarded  at  that  time 
as  hostile  to  the  Argentine  government,  and  I  thought  a  visit  to  him  by  the  admiral  of 
the  United  States  navy  woiud  be  construed  as  an  unfriendly  act  to  the  Argentine  gov- 
ernment ;  that  it  would  cause  them  to  look  upon  us  as  sympathiziug  with  Paraguay 
and  against  that  government. 

Q.  What  was  the  admiral's  reason  for  paying  this  visit  against  your  remonstrance? — 
A.  Simply  that  he  thought  Urquiza  an  important  man  there,  and  that  he  ought  to  pay 
him  a  visit. 

Q.  What  position  did  Urquiza  hold  at  that  time  ? — ^A.  None  whatever.  He  was  a 
private  citizen — ^the  ex-president  of  the  republic ;  a  very  wealthy  and  powerful  man. 

Q.  You  say  you  expressed  these  opinions  to  him  ? — A.  I  did,  in  the  letter  I  wrote  to 
him ;  and  I  also  sent  a  copy  of  that  letter  to  the  department. 

Q.  Have  you  stated  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  this  remonstrance  ?— A. 
Yes,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Washburn  ever  tu  your  presence  urge  the  admiral  to  send  him  to  Para- 
guay ? — A.  Repeatedly.  The  admiral  gave  as  a  reason  for  not  sending  him,  that  he 
could  not  bum  coal ;  and  afterwards,  when  an  American  citizen,  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Hale, 
asked  him  if  he  would  send  ISIr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  if  American  citizens  there 
would  fm-nish  the  coal,  the  admiral  said  that  he  did  not  wish  to  send  a  vessel,  because 
the  men  would  suffer  from  the  climate. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Was  that  the  fact  ?— A.  I  do  not  know.  I  know  several  of  the  men  connected 
with  the  fleet  wanted  to  go  uji — were  anxious  to  go. 

Q.  Was  it  the  unhealthy  season  of  the  year  ?— A.  No,  it  was  in  winter  season.  I 
know  that  Captain  Walker  and  Captam  Wells  were  both  anxious  to  go  up. 

Q.  What  was  the  general  line  of  conduct  of  Admiral  Godon  in  regard  to  ministers 
representing  the  United  States  ?— A.  It  was  just  as  I  have  stated.    He  said  he  was 

4  P  I 


50  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

under  no  control  or  obligation  whatever  to  the  ministers ;  that  his  obligations  were 
simply  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Q.  What  was  his  conduct  and  bearing  towards  these  ministers  ? — ^A.  It  was  always 

fentlemanly  to  me.    I  supposed  that  he  would  listen  to  any  advice  or  suggestions  that 
gave  htm ;  but  unless  they  corresponded  with  his  own  views  he  would  not  be  governed 
by  them. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  When  he  said  he  was  not  under  the  control  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  of 
the  government,  did  you  understand  that  anybody  had  assumed  to  control  his  move- 
ments or  give  him  orders  ? — ^A.  No ;  it  was  a  voluntary  remark  of  his.  I  know  that  it 
was  entirely  voluntary  on  his  x)art  when  he  said  that  to  me  in  consequence  of  a  friendly 
letter  I  had  written  to  him,  suggesting  reasons  why  he  should  not  visit  Urquiza.  I 
thought  it  was  proper,  and  my  duty  as  a  representative  of  the  government,  to  give  him 
the  information  which  I  did  in  my  letter. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  him  to  consider  himself  in  anywise  bound  to  respect  the 
opinions  of  the  United  States  ministers  in  regard  to  the  "foreign  countries  to  which 
they  were  accredited  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  could  answer  that  question  positively. 
I  felt  this,  that  he  was  always  controlled  by  his  own  opinions.  I  think  Admiral  Godon 
would  consult  a  minister,  but  at  the  same  time,  if  the  opinion  exjiressed  by  the  minis- 
ter did  not  coincide  with  his  own  he  would  not  be  governed  by  it.  He  claimed  to  be 
under  the  control  of  nobody  except  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Did  you  understand  that  the  main  reason  why  he  declined  to  send  a  vessel  to  take 
Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  was  that  he  had  not  coal  or  fuel  ? — A.  That  was  the  first 
reason  he  gave. 

Q.  Was  this  offer  on  the  part  of  American  citizens  to  furnish  fuel  brought  to  his 
attention  ? — A.  It  was.  I  told  him  about  it  myself.  He  said  he  could  not  go ;  and 
he  repeatedly  refused  positively  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay.  As  I  stated,  he 
subsequently  gave  the  excuse  that  it  would  endanger  the  health  of  his  men.  This  was 
after  the  offer  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hale  to  furnish  coal. 

Q.  At  which  of  your  interviews  with  him  did  he  say  Mr.  Washburn  ought  not  to  go 
there,  for  political  reasons  ? — A.  He  frequently  said  this.  He  said  that  he  would  not 
take  Mr.  Washburn ;  that  he  saw  no  reason  why  Mr.  Washburn  should  be  there ;  that 
there  was  no  interest  suffering  because  he  was  not  there.  That  was  one  of  the  posi- 
tions he  took.  Mr.  Washburn  told  me  one  day  that  he  was  going  to  vindicate  himself, 
and  that  the  admiral  would  have  to  take  the  consequences.  He  asked  me  to  state  this 
to  the  admiral,  which  I  did.  * 

Q.  What  was  his  reply  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  recollect  perfectly  what  he  did  reply.  The 
substance  of  it  was  that  he  felt  perfectly  independent. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Washburn  request  to  be  taken  upon  a  vessel  of  the  navy — upon  a  gunboat  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  admiral  declined  that  ? — A.  Yes,  sir  ,•  repeatedly. 

Q.  What  length  of  time  would  it  have  taken  a  vessel  to  have  made  the  trip  ? — ^A.  It 
takes  about  six  or  eight  days  to  go  up,  and  probably  a  less  time  to  return. 

Q.  Do  you  think  a  vessel  could  have  taken  him  there  and  returned  within  twelve 
days  ? — A.  Yes ;  unless  it  was  detained. 

Q.  In  your  opinion,  would  a  trip  of  twelve  days  for  that  purpose  endanger  the  health 
of  the  men  going  there  ? — ^A.  I  should  say  it  was  no  excuse  at  all. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  Did  you  regard  it  as  necessary,  from  the  condition  of  public  affairs,  that  Mr. 
■Washburn  should  go  to  his  post  ? — A.  I  hardly  know  how  to  express  myself  in  answer 
to  that  question  except  by  saying,  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  minister  of  the  United  States 
.accredited  to  Paraguay,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go  there  If  he  had  gone  by  any 
other  conveyance  than  an  American  man-of-war  it  would  have  given  him  much  less 
power  and  much  less  influence  than  to  have  been  conveyed  in  one  of  the  naval  vessels. 

Q.  In  consequence  of  this  delay  how  long  was  Mr.  Washburn  detained  from  proceed- 
ing on  his  mission  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  know.  I  arrived  there  in  December,  1865,  and  left  in 
-Jiily,  1866.  When  I  left  he  had  not  gone.  He  made  the  effort  once  to  get  to  Paraguay 
ill  a  private  vessel. 

Q.  During  all  the  time  he  was  there  did  Admiral  Godon  have  command  of  the  squad- 
ron ? — A.  Yes.    And  there  were  a  number  of  vessels  of  the  navy  lying  there. 

Q.  You  say  the  admiral  did  not  feel  bound  to  receive  the  opinions  of  ministers,  or  to 
•act  on  them,  unless  they  accorded  Avith  his  own  ideas  of  duty  as  an  officer  of  the 
navy  ? — A.  He  repeatedly  asserted  that  he  w^as  under  no  obligation  whatever  to  them ; 
that  he  was  responsible  alone  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  recollect  saying  to  him 
once,  that  I  had  heard  that  opinion  expressed  several  times,  and  that  I  did  not  care 
who  he  was  under  obligation  to. 

Q.  What  other  means  was  there  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  get  to  his  post  ? — ^A.  He  could 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  51 

have  gone  to  Corrientes,  16  or  20  miles  below  the  eontheni  border  of  Paraguay.  He 
could  not  have  gone  directly  to  Paraguay  in  any  other  way.  The  Brazilian  authorities 
claimed  the  right  to  prevent  any  person  from  going  above  Corrientes. 

Q.  The  result  of  the  admiral's  refusal  was,  that  Mr.  Washburn  continued  to  be 
detained  away  from  his  post  ? — A.  Yes ;  I  have  no  doubt  at  all  that  when  he  first  came 
there,  3Ir.  Washburn  could  have  been  landed  at  Asimcion  without  any  difiaculty. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  And  his  presence  there  would  have  been  productive  of  a  good  effect? — A.  It  might 
I  do  not  know  as  to  that. 

Q.  You  remarked,  did  you  not,  that  the  refusal  of  Admiral  Godon  lessened  the  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  It  did  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  or  lowered  the  charac- 
ter of  all  the  representatives  of  our  government.  I  made  the  application  generally  to 
ill!  of  us.  It  looked  as  if  (and,  in  fact,  he  remarked)  that  we  were  merely  the  repre- 
sentatives of  political  friends. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Godon  make  that  statement  ? — A.  He  did :  that  these  ministers  were 
the  mere  representatives  of  political  friends.  As  I  have  said,  I  did  not  undertake  to 
exercise  any  control  over  him,  but  I  thought  under  the  circumstances  existing  there,  it 
was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  would  consult  the  ministers  there  in  regard  to  polit- 
ical affairs.  My  relations  with  Admiral  Godon  personally  were  of  the  most  friendly 
(liaracter  nearly  all  of  the  time  I  was  there. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  State  what  was  the  general  feeling  of  Americans  there  in  the  river  in  regard  to 
the  conduct  of  Admiral  Godon  ?— A.  The  great  mass  of  Americans  there  felt  that  the 
admiral  ought  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay. 

By  the  Chairman  : 
Q.  Did  you  hear  the  expressed  opinions  upon  that  subject?— A.  I  heard  a  number  of 
them  exi)re8S  themselves  in  that  way. 
By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Was  not  that  feeling  almost  unanimous  among  them  ? — A.  I  could  not  say  that.    I 
liiiNc  i'oigottcn  it  if  I  heard  any  other  opinion  expressed.    The  fact  of  the  statement  of 
Mr.  llalr,  that  they  would  furnish  coal  for  the  purpose  of  taking  him  up,  showed  their 
ieeliug  in  that  regard. 

By  the  Chairman  : 
Q.  State  whether  you  heard  any  American  citizen  speak  in  justification  of  the  course 
of  the  atlmii-al  in  this  regard.— A.  I  do  not  recoUect  that  I  did.  I  may  state  that  when 
Admiral  Godon  first  arnved  there  I  formed  a  very  favorable  impression  of  him,  and  I 
never  had  any  personal  disagreement  with  him  unless  it  was  in  regard  to  his  proposed 
visit  to  General  Urquiza ;  and,  as  I  have  stated,  he  started  upon  that  visit  but  did  not 
complete  it. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Did  ho  bum  coal  on  that  occasion  ?— A.  Of  course. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  What  was  the  occasion  of  that  visit  ?— A.  Nothing  more  than  personal  courtesy. 
Q.  What  time  did  it  require  ?— A.  I  think  he  was  gone  four  or  five  weeks ;  I  am  not 
certain. 
Q.  Did  his  fleet  go  with  him  ?— A.  No ;  only  the  gunboat  Wa«p. 


Additional  sUtement  of  Charles  A.  Washburn. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Apnl  13, 1869. 
Charles  A.  Washburn  appeared  and  made  the  following  additional  statement : 
I  wiU  remark  that  I  left  Paraguay  on  leave  of  absence  to  return  to  the  United  tetates 
on  the  16th  of  January,  1865.  I  started  again  in  September  from  New  York  t«  go 
back  with  my  wife,  and  reached  Rio  Janeiro,  I  think,  the  27th  of  September,  or  at  any 
rate  near  the  Ist  of  October.  I  saw  Admiral  Godon  the  same  day.  Ho  was  then  sta- 
tioned at  Kio.  I  was  on  board  his  flag-ship.  I  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation  with  hnn 
at  different  times  in  regard  to  the  situation  of  affairs,  and  from  other  sources  learned 
that  in  aU  probability  1  should  not  be  able  to  get  up  to  Paraguay  ^^^^^o",*  *^^/"|^,^|^^ 
gunboat,  that  all  communication  otherwise  had  been  «*oPPf  V  ,f  ^^f",^j\,^:^^^^^^^^ 
remarked  that  he  had  no  suitable  vessel  to  send  up  the  river,  but  that  the  steamer 
Wasp  was  expected  veiy  shortly;  in  the  meanwhile  he  said  he  was  gomg  down  to 


52  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESIIGATIOX. 

St.  Catliarines,  wliich  is  400  miles  down  the  coast.  Before  that  I  expected  if  I  found 
any  merchant  vessels  goinj^  up  that  I  should  go  in  one  of  them,  although  I  supposed 
I  should.have  a  gunboat  offered  me  without  any  special  order  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  Whei^  I  Avcnt  out  in  1861  we  had  but  one  gunboat  on  the  station,  and  it 
was  questionable  whether  it  should  leave  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  that  time ;  never- 
theless, I  ascertained  when  I  got  to  Eio  that  Commander  Macomb  was  expecting  mo 
and  was  getting  ready  to  convey  me  up  even  without  any  order.  At  that  time  I  took 
the  trouble  to  go  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  request  instructions  for  a  gunboat 
to  be  sent  up.  But  this  time,  knowing  we  had  a  squadron  at  that  station  doing  noth- 
ing, and  supposing  the  commander  of  the  squadron  would  desire  to  facilitate  my  pur- 
pose, I  did  not  think  it  at  all  necessary  to  get  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
If  I  found  it  necessary  in  order  to  reach  my  post  I  supposed  I  had  but  to  call  for  a 
gunboat  and  it  would  be  furnished  me.  The  admiral,  as  I  stated,  went  to  St.  Catha- 
rines, 400  miles  down  the  coast,  as  I  understood,  though  I  cannot  say  he  told  me,  for 
the  Bake  of  exercising  his  men  in  target  firing.  I  remained  at  Kio  waiting  for  the 
Wasj)  to  come  in  order  to  ascertain  about  what  time  she  might  be  expected  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  and  when  I  could  calculate  upon  being  able  to  leave  and  go  up  to 
Paraguay.  I  waited  there  accordingly  until  the  admiral  had  gone  down  to  St.  Catha- 
rines and  returned.  In  the  mean  time,  while  he  was  absent  I  think,  the  Wasp  arrived, 
and  as  he  said  she  must  have  some  improvements  or  repairs  made  upon  her  that  would 
take  some  time,  I  took  the  first  steamer  after  her  arrival,  according  to  my  recollection, 
and  went  down  to  Buenos  Ayres.  I  took  an  inferior  steamer  because  I  had  been 
delayed  there  longer  than  I  expected.  The  admiral  told  me  before  I  left  that  he  should 
soon  follow,  in  ten  or  twelve  days  at  least.  I  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  4tli  of 
November,  and  it  was  about  Christmas  before  I  heard  of  the  admiral's  arrival  at  Mon- 
tevideo. About  six  weeks  after  my  own  arrival  I  heard  that  the  Wasp  had  arrived 
previous  to  the  flag-shii)  reaching  that  port,  and  I  wrote  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
admiral,  which  I  sent  to  Commander  Kirkland  and  requested  him  to  deliver  it  to  the 
admiral  as  soon  as  he  arrived.  That  letter  is  published  in  the  diplomatic  correspon- 
dence of  1866,  imder  date  of  December  14,  1865. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Is  that  an  official  letter? — ^A.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  official  or  semi-official. 
It  begins,  "  My  Dear  Sir :"  and  is  addressed  to  Admiral  S.  W.  Godon,  United  States 
steam  frigate  Susquehanna,  and  was  signed  by  myself,  "  Charles  A.  Washburn,"  as  I 
sign  all  my  letters  official  or  otherwise. 

Q.  Was  the  letter  max^ed private?— A.  Not  at  all.  The  letter  referred  to  in  Captain 
Crosby's  testimony  yesterday  was  marked  private,  and  was  still  designated  as  semi- 
official by  Admiral  Godon.  This  was  not  marked  private.  I  wrote  to  the  admiral  two 
or  three  letters  while  at  Montevido,  which  are  not  published  in  the  correspondence. 
The  lettet  to  which  I  have  referred  is  as  follows : 

"  BuExos  Ayres,  Decemher  14, 1865. 

"My  Dear  Sir:  You  see  by  the  date  of  this  that  I  have  only  got  thus  far  on  my 
way  to  Paraguay.  I  reached  here  on  the  4th  of  November,  and  have  been  patiently 
waiting  here  ever  since  for  some  conveyance  to  take  me  to  my  post  of  service.  But,  as 
I  anticipated  while  at  Eio,  all  communication  between  this  place  and  Paraguay  has 
been  suspended,,  and  only  the  war  vessels  of  neutral  nations  have  ventured  to  pass  the 
lines  of  the  belligerents.  A  French  and  an  Italian  gunboat  had  been  sent  up  from  here 
a  short  time  before  my  arrival,  neither  of  which  has  yet  returned  to  this  port.  The 
English  gunboat  Spider  left  at  a  later  date,  and  is  supposed  to  be  lying  at  Corrientes, 
the  Brazilian  admiral  objecting  to  her  going  above  the  'Tres  Bocas.'  The  Brazilians 
assume  that  they  have  the  right  to  forbid  any  man-of-war  of  a  neutral  power  going  up 
the  river,  and  have  declared  that  it  was  only  under  favor  that  the  above-mentioned 
gunboats  have  been  allowed  to  pass.  But  both  the  French  and  English  ministers  have 
protested  against  this  asswmed  right  of  the  allies,  though  the  latter  have  not  yielded 
the  point,  but  on  the  contrary  have  requested  the  different  ministers  to  recall  all  vessels 
bearing  their  respective  flags  to  some  point  below  the  Brazilian  squadron. 

"Under  these  circumstances,  I  do  not  know  what  objections  may  be  made  if  an 
American  war  vessel  were  to  go  up  the  river.  I  infer,  however,  that  no  real  objection 
would  be  made.  The  Brazilian  special  envoy  here,  Senor  Octaviano,  has  assured  me 
me  repeatedly  that  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power  to  facilitate  my  passage,  and 
has  even  offered  me  a  steamer  to  take  me  all  the  way  to  Paraguay.  But  for  reasons 
you  will  readily  understand,  I  have  declined  to  accept  any  such  favor.  But  I  think  I 
ought  not  to  delay  here  any  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  hope  that  you  may 
find  it  convenient  to  dispatch  the  Wasp  or  some  other  light-draught  steamer  to  take 
me  to  my  destination.  Please  inform  mo  with  as  little  delay  as  joossible  if  you  can  do 
80,  and  how  soon.  I  think  matters  are  comiug  to  a  crisis  at  the  seat  of  war,  and  I  am 
very  anxious  to  be  near  the  scene  of  action  when  the  day  for  negotiation  arrives. 

"I  write  this  letter  to  you  in  anticix)ation  of  any  notice  of  your  arrival  in  Montevideo, 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  53 

bnt  as  I  received  a  letter  from  our  friend,  Major  Ellison,  saying  that  you  had  left  Rio  on 
the  5th  instant,  I  think  it  possible  you  will  be  there  by  the  time  this  note  is.  I  shall  be 
L^rcatly  obliged  for  early  infonnation  as  to  what  I  may  expect,  as  I  can  make  no  calcu- 
lations or  tmangcments  in  regard  to  my  own  movements  till  I  know  how  and  when  I 
am  to  go  to  Paraguay. 

if#  *  »  *  #  #  ^f 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

''CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 
"Admiral  S.  W.  Godox, 

"  United  States  Steam  Fi-igate  Sttsqiiehanna." 

I  received  no  satisfactory  ajiswer  to  that  letter,  and  went  down  to  Montevideo  to  see 
the  admiral. 

Q.  Did  you  get  any  answer  at  all? 

A.  I  did. 

Q.  Why  was  that  not  published  if  it  went  off  with  the  letter  which  you  have  just  read? 

A.  That  is  explained  m  my  letter  to  Mr.  Seward  of  August  20,  1866,  as  follows: 

"From  the  admiral  I  learn  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Kirk,  written  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  on 
his  way  home,  that  after  getting  his  instructions  to  send  a  vessel  from  his  squadron  to 
Paraguay  if  so  refpiested  by  me,  ho  went  northward  to  Bahia,  where  it  is  probable  my 
letter  will  reach  him  if  he  has  not  gone  still  further  north.  Mr.  Kirk  writes  me  that 
the  admiral  told  him  if  I  would  send  an  official  noto  he  would  send  a  vessel  to  take  me 
np  the  river.  From  this  I  infer  he  will  try  and  justify  himself  for  not  having  done  ft 
before  by  pretending  that  I  have  not  duly  and  officially  notified  him  of  my  desire  for 
his  assistance.  I  will  spike  tiiat  gun  for  him  here  and  now  by  sending  you  a  copy  of  a 
letter  I  addressed  to  him  in  December  la«t." 

Q.  Had  you  written  any  other  letters  between  the  time  of  sending  the  letter  to 
Admiral  Godon,  which  you  have  read,  and  your  letter  to  Mr.  Seward  from  which  you 
have  just  read  an  extract  ? 

A.  There  werp  a  good  many  letters  which  are  not  published,  and  this  letter  I  did  not 
intend  for  publication.  I  considered  it  at  the  time  a  private  letter.  I  went  to  see 
Admiral  Godon  twice,  but  he  never  made  any  allusion  to  the  fact  that  he  wanted  an 
official  letter  from  me,  although  ho  talked  the  matter  over  at  great  length.  He  stated 
one  ii'uson  and  another;  one  was  the  expense  of  coal,  another  the  mosquitoes  and  hot 
w<  ather,  and  this,  that,  and  the  other. 

I  have  omitted  one  thing  in  regard  to  my  convereation  at  Rio  which  I  had  with  the 
admiral.  He  told  me  while  I  was  talking  with  him  about  the  probability  that  I  could  not . 
get  up  to  my  post  without  the  aid  of  a  gunboat,  that  in  that  case  when  we  got 
down  the  river  if  he  found  it  so  he  would  have  to  send  me  up.  That  remark  I  stated  subse- 
quently in  a  letter  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Seward.  I  was  somewhat  surprised  when  I  arrived 
at  Montevideo,  that  he  was  not  disposed  to  do  what  he  had  said  he  would  do  in  Rio. 
I  wish  to  state  another  thing  which  may  not  bo  exactly  pertinent  and  still  is  of  some 
conseciuonce.  On  reaching  Buenos  Ayres  I  found  the  Arj^entine  government  were  not 
dissposcd  to  have  me  go  up  to  Paraguay,  as  they  alleged,  lor  various  reasons.  The  min- 
ister of  that  govermnent  told  me  he  thought  it  would  give  some  moral  support  to 
Lopez  ;  that  was  the  principal  objection  they  had.    As  I  had  learned  before  that  some 

{)apers  had  been  discovered  and  taken,  with  which  my  name  w  as  connected,  I  spoke  to 
lim  about  it.  It  was  in  regard  to  a  matter  that  had  occurred  about  two  years  before. 
President  Lopez,  soon  after  his  accession  to  power,  had  a  great  deal  of  talk  with  me 
about  getting  some  light-draught  steamers  made  in  the  United  States,  which  I  told 
him  we  could  make  better  and  cheaper  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  He  said 
he  wanted  to  get  some  specimens  of  our  arms  of  all  descriptions,  muskets,  pistols,  light 
artillery,  &c.,  and  requested  me  to  send  to  the  United  States  to  some  person  in  whom  I 
had  confidence  and  request  that  these  arms  might  be  purchased  and  sent  out.  That  was  in 
January,  I  think,  1863.  I  sent  to  a  friend  of  mine  in  New  York,  and  after  some  months 
he  got  together  the  arms,  amounting  in  value  to  not  more  than  $3,000  or  $4,000.  He 
wanted  to  ship  them,  but  found  an  order  had  been  issued  by  the  War  Department  not 
to  allow  any  arms  to  leave  the  country.  He  tried  very  hard  to  get  permission,  but  lie 
could  not  do  it.  He  wrote  to  me  that  he  had  applied  to  Mr.  Seward,  and  that  Mr. 
Seward  said  as  I  had  not  written  anything  to  the  government  about  it  the  arms  would 
not  bo  permitted  to  leave  the  country ;  but  that  if  I  should  write  to  the  State  Depart- 
ment what  they  were  for,  there  would  be  no  objection.  That  letter,  for  some  reason, 
miscarried,  and  after  a  long  time,  as  I  was  writing  continuously  asking  why  the  arms 
were  not  sent,  he  inclosed  to  me  a  duplicate  of  that  letter.  After  which,  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Seward  about  it  and  he  gave  permission ;  in  fact,  before  Mr.  Seward  got  my  letr- 
ter  permission  had  been  granted.  The  Argentine  government  found  somethmg  about 
it  which  was  among  the  papers  taken  from  the  Paraguayan  agent  at  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  which  led  them  to  suspect  that  when  I  left  Paraguay  I  had  some  agency,  or  was 
purchasing  arms  for  Lopez.  As  that  occurence  gave  rise  to  some  talk,  I  think  it  proper 
to  mention  it  now,  though  the  whole  matter  was  satisfactorily  explained  at  the  time 
to  the  Argentine  minister,  Mr.  Rawson,  by  Mr.  Kirk.    I  wiU  say  also,  that  when  I  got 


54  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

to  Buenos  Ayrcs  I  saw  the  Brazilian  special  envoy,  Senor  Octaviano,  and  told  liim  I 
was  going  to  Paraguay,  taking  it  for  granted  I  should  go  in  a  United  States  gunboat. 
He  told  me  that  the  year  before  I  had  been  instrumental  in  getting  away  the  Brazilian 
minister  from  Paraguay,  and  his  whole  family  ;  that  probably  all  of  them  would  have 
been  killed  by  Lopez  if  it  had  not  been  for  me.  Ho  said  he  Avould  provide  me  with  a 
gunboat  at  any  time  to  take  me  up  to  Asuneion.  I  told  him  no ;  that  it  was  not  well 
that  I  should  go  in  a  Brazilian  vessel ;  that  I  knew  the  character  of  Lopez,  and  that  he 
would  suspect  at  once  if  I  came  in  a  Brazilian  vessel  that  I  was  acting  under  Brazilian 
influence ;  that  the  commander  of  our  own  squadron  would  be  there  shortly,  and  that 
I  would  go  in  an  American  gunboat,  as  I  supposed  I  could.  I  think  this  conversation 
with  Octaviano  must  have  taken  place  in  November,  1865. 

Q.  Did  you  inform  Admiral  Godon  of  that  conversation,  or  give  the  purport  of  it  as 
a  reason  why  you  wanted  to  go  in  an  American  gunboat  ? — A.  I  stated  it  verbally  to 
him ;  and  I  believe  I  wrote  to  him  on  the  subject  unofiicially,  as  no  suggestion  was 
ever  made  by  him  in  any  of  the  many  conversations  I  had  with  him,  that  he  wanted 
anything  official  from  me. 

Q.  Did  he  ever  base  his  refusal  to  furnish  a  vessel  to  you  upon  the  ground  that  you 
had  not  made  an  official  request  ? — A.  Never  at  that  time.  He  stated  a  great  many 
other  reasons,  but  never  that.  If  I  had  had  the  least  intimation  from  him  I  should 
have  given  him  an  official  letter  at  any  moment.  Senor  Octaviano  renewed  his  offer 
to  send  me  up  in  a  Brazilian  gunboat  on  several  occasions  ;  but  I  told  him  I  could  not 
accept  it.  Subsequently,  however,  finding  that  Admiral  Godon  would  not  send  a  ves- 
sel, I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Brazilian  minister,  Octaviano,  telling  him  that  owing  to 
the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed,  I  had  determined  to  accept  his  offer  ;  but  in 
the  meantime  he  had  seen  Admiral  Godon,  and  instead  of  lurnishing  me  a  vessel  as  he 
had  promised  to  do,  he  took  no  notice  of  my  request.  The  following  is  the  letter 
I  addressed  to  him  on  that  occasion : 

"  Buenos  Ayres,  January  18, 1866. 

"  Sir  :  Your  excellency  is  doubtless  fully  aware  of  the  events  which  transpired  in  Para- 
guay at  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  war  now  existing  between  that  coxmtry 
and  Brazil,  and  you  are  probably  equally  well  aware  that  at  the  time  of  the  seizure  of 
the  Brazilian  steam  i)acket  Marquis  de  Olinda  by  the  Paraguay  government,  the  min- 
ister of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  the  Hon.  Cesar  SauvanViannadeLima,  was 
left  in  the  country  with  no  means  of  egress  for  himself,  family,  or  suite.  The  ports  of 
Paraguay  were  closed  against  the  departure  of  any  merchant  vessel,  and  no  way  was 
Jeftfor  Senhor  Vianna  de  Lima  to  got  away  except  by  an  overland  journey  so  long  and 
difficult  as  to  be  utterly  impracticable.  Under  these  circumstances,  his  Majesty's  min- 
ister, having  already  received  his  passports,  so  that  he  could  hold  no  further  official 
communication  with  the  Paraguay  government,  appiealed  to  me,  as  the  senior  member 
of  the  diplomatic  body  at  Asuncion,  to  obtain  for  him  and  his  party  some  means  of 
leaving  the  country,  and  such  as  would  be  consistent  with  the  dignity  and  comfort  of 
a  public  minister. 

"About  this  time  I  received  from  the  Secretary  of  State  for  my  government  leave  of 
absence  to  visit  my  own  country,  to  which  I  was  anxious  and  impatient  to  return. 
But  I  immediately  responded  to  his  call,  and  after  a  long  correspondence,  and  a  good 
deal  of  vexatious  delay,  I  got  the  promise  of  a  steamer  to  take  the  minister  and  suite 
to  Buenos  Ayres,  but  on  the  condition  that  he  should  j)lcdge,  as  its  agent  and  rein-esenta- 
tive,  both  to  the  government  of  Paraguay  and  that  of  the  IJnited  States,  that  the  steamer 
should  return  unharmed  without  unnecessary  detention.  This  pledge  was  at  once  given 
by  the  minister,  and,  on  behalf  of  my  government,  was  accei)ted  by  me,  and  the  steamer 
finally  left  and  arrived  safely  at  Buenos  Ayres.  Having  accepted  this  assurance  of  the 
steamer's  safe  return,  it  seemed  to  necessitate  my  remaining  there  in  Paraguay  till  she 
got  back,  as  my  going  away  might  have  caused  suspicion  or  distrust ;  so  that  what 
with  the  time  consumed  in  the  correspondence,  the  getting  ready  of  the  steamer,  and  the 
time  taken  for  the  voyage,  I  was  delayed  some  six  or  eight  weeks  in  setting  out  on  my 
visit  to  the  United  States.  Hence,  I  was  the  same  length  of  time  later  in  my  return 
to  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  than  I  would  have  been  but  for  the  delay  to  render  this  service. 

"  This  last  delay  has,  owing  to  x)eculiar  circumstances,  seriously  interfered  with  my 
return  to  my  post  as  minister  of  the  United  States  in  Paraguay.  No  steamer  of  any 
nation  has  ascended  the  river  to  Paraguay  since  my  arrival  in  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  4th 
of  November  last.  Since  that  time  I  have  been  waiting  here  for  one  of  our  national 
gunboats  to  come  to  this  river,  supposing  it  would  take  me  to  my  post.  But  I  learn 
that  the  admiral  of  the  Brazilian  squadron  now  in  the  Plate  objects  to  the  i)assage  of 
any  person  or  vessel  above  the  Tres  Bocas,  and  the  admiral  of  the  United  States  squad- 
ron thinks  with  myself  that  it  is  particularly  desirable  to  avoid  any  complications  in 
the  present  war,  and  especially  with  the  government  of  Brazil,  which,  during  our  late 
gigantic  civil  war,  has  shown  itself  owe  steady,  reliable,  and  earnest  friend.  Hence,  as 
no  vessel  of  my  own  nation  will  go  to  Paraguay  at  present,  I  must  avail  myself 
of  such  means  of  getting  there  as  may  be  open  to  me.    It  is  under  these  circmnstances 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  55 

that  I  beg  to  call  the  attention  of  your  excellency  to  the  fact  that,  had  I  not  dclAyed 
to  assist  Senhor  Vienna  de  Lima  to  leave  Paraguay,  I  should  have  been  back  here  at 
least  a  month  and  a  half  earlier  than  I  was,  and  in  amjde  time  to  have  gone  to  Para- 
guay on  one  of  the  neutral  gunboats  that  left  for  that  country  a  few  days  before  my 
arrival  here.  Hence  it  is,  that  from  my  waiting  to  render  an  important  and  vital  ser- 
vice to  the  Brazilian  minister,  I  am  suffering  all  this  inconvenience  and  detention.  It 
is  true  that  this  result  is  not  immediate,  but  it  is  no  less  direct,  and  I  am  persuaded 
that  I  have  only  to  call  your  excellency's  attention  to  the  facts  of  the  case  to  secure 
such  action  as  will  reli(!ve  me  from  my  present  unpleasant  position. 

"  I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  express  to  your  excellency  my  high  regard  and 
distinguished  consideration. 

"CHAKLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

"  His  Excellency  F.  Octaatano  de  Ax>rEiT>A  Rosa, 
^^ Envoy  Extraordinani  and  MinMcr  rU^nipoieniiarij 

"  of  kin  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  ^-c" 

I  will  say  that,  although  I  wrote  this  letter  after  1  found  Admiral  Godon  would  not 
send  me  to  my  post,  and  although,  as  I  have  stated,  Senor  Octaviano  had  repeatedly 
offered  to  fun)ish  me  a  vessel  to  take  me  up,  yet  he  had  not  the  courtesy  to  answer  my 
letter.  I  cannot  say  positively  that  Admiral  Godon  had  seen  Octaviano ;  he  had  come 
to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  I  did  not  see  him  with  Minister  Octaviano,  yet  I  took  it  for 
granted  that  he  had  seen  him,  and  I  think  he  told  me  so.  In  this  letter  I  did  not  wish 
to  state  to  the  minister  of  another  government  that  there  was  any  difference  between 
the  admu-al  of  the  United  States  navy  and  myself.  We  did  agr<H;  that  I  should  avoid 
complications,  but  I  never  believed  it  would  involve  any  complication  by  sending  an 
American  gunboat  to  take  me  to  my  destination,  and  it  never  did.  This  letter  was 
sent  home  with  my  letter  of  June  8,  18G6,  to  Mr.  Seward.  I  did  not  send  a  copy  ot 
that  kttcv  imnicdiately  for  the  reason  I  got  no  answer  to  it,  and  I  apprehended  that 
])ossibly  it  iiiijilit  not  have  been  received;  but  Mr.  Kirk  wrote  me  that  he  learned  it 
liad  been.     I  will  now  read  what  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Seward  in  regard  to  it : 

"  With  this  I  send  you  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  addressed  to  the  Brazilian  special 
minister,  Senor  Octaviano,  before  I  left  Buenos  Ayres.  I  should  have  sent  a  copy  of  it 
soon  after  it  was  written ;  but  receiving  no  reply  to  it,  I  concluded  that  from  some 
»  rror  it  had  not  been  received.  But  not  caring  to  make  any  direct  inquiry,  and  not 
I -nniiu^  anything  of  it  incidentally,  I  mentioned  the  matter  to  our  minister,  Mr.  lOrk, 

(guesting  iiim  to  advise  me  should  he  learn  whether  it  had  ever  been  received  or  not. 
I  y  the  last  mail,  wliich  arrived  two  days  since,  Mr.  Kirk  wiites  me  that  Senor  Octaviano 
told  Admiral  Godon  that  he  received  my  letter,  but  did  not  choose  to  answer  it.  As  I 
wrote  you  when  I  Avas  in  Buenos  Ayresj  Senor  Octaviano  offered  me,  without  any  solici- 
tation, a  man-of-war  to  take  mo  to  Paraguay.  This  offer  was  several  times  repeated, 
and  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Kirk  I  replied  that  on  the  arrival  of  ovu-  squadron  doubtless 
one  of  our  gunboats  would  go  up  the  river,  so  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  avail 
myself  of  liis  kind  offer.  He  repeated  that  if  I  should  want  it,  a  vessel  would  be  at 
my  disi)osition  at  any  time. 

*'  After  the  arrival  of  our  admiral,  however,  and  he  found  that  he  would  not  seiid  up 
an  American  war  steamer,  it  seems  that  SeFior  Octaviano  changed  his  mind,  for  on  my 
writing  him  a  note  intimatino-  that  I  would  accept  a  passage  in  a  Brazilian  vessel,  he 
did  not  condescend  to  answer  it.    Such  is  the  brief  history  of  this  matter." 

The  admiral  came  to  Buenos  Ayres  after  I  had  been  to  see  him  twice  in  Montevideo 
to  urge  upon  him  the  necessity  that  he  should  send  a  gunboat,  and  I  had  written  to 
him  twice  on  the  subject,  one  of  which  letters  I  have  already  read  to  the  committee. 
Finally  he  came  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  then  told  me  positively  he  would  not  send  me. 
At  Montevideo  he  would  nev*er  say  yes  or  no.  He  said  "perhaps"  he  would,  that  he 
would  see ;  if  I  would  wait  until  the  1st  of  AprU  very  likely  he  would  send  a  gunboat 
about  that  time,  and  perhaps  he  would  consent  to  go  himself  as  high  as  Corrientes. 
Finding  that  I  could  not  have  a  gunboat,  I  thought,  as  I  had  been  there  two  months 
and  a  half  nearly,  waiting  for  the  athniral  to  fultill  what  he  had  given  me  to  under- 
stand he  woukf  do,  I  thought  I  must  make  an  effort  to  get  to  my  post.  I  did  not 
believe  I  could  succeed,  but  I  thought  I  would  make  the  effort.  I  therefore  lett  my 
family  in  Buenos  Ayres  and  started  on  a  merchant  vessel  and  went  to  Corrientes.  1 
found  that  the  allied  armies  were  stationed  a  Uttle  out  of  town,  and  that  the  army  ot 
President  Mitre,  who  is  the  commander  of  the  allied  forces,  was  about  thirty  miles 
from  Corrientes.  I  am  not  sure  about  the  exact  distance.  I  went  to  see  Presiclent 
Mitre,  and  told  hmi  I  wished  to  go  to  Paraguay.  He  treated  me  with  great  courtesy. 
1  stayed  over  night  with  him.  He  said  it  was  a  question  of  policy  with  his  govern- 
ment whether  I  should  go  through,  and  that  it  was  beyond  his  power  to  decide,  that 
he  must  refer  it  to  his  aUies,  but  in  his  opinion  I  had  a  perfect  right  to  go  througli, 
although  he  stated  to  me  that  Admiral  Godon  had  advised  some  high  authority,  1 
think  Admiral  Tamandar6,  in  command  of  the  Brazilian  forces,  that  they  had  a  perfect 
right  to  stop  me.    It  was  his  opinion,  however,  nevertheless,  that  I  had  a  perlect  ngiit 


56  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

to  go,  but  he  must  first  confer  with  his  allies.  I  asked  him  how  long  it  would  take  him 
to  get  their  asseufc.  He  said  he  must  write  to  Buenos  Ayres,  hut  he  was  satisfied  there 
was  no  difiiculty  in  getting  through.  I  replied  that  in  that  case,  having  been  to 
Coriientes  and  seen  the  condition  of  afiairs,  I  would  myself  return  and  bring  my 
family  there. 

I  therefo/e  retm-ned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  as  Mr.  Kirk  was  absent,  I  went  directly  to 
the  minister  of  foreign  afiairs  and  told  him  what  President  Mitre  had  said.  He  told 
me  the  President  had  written  him  to  the  same  purport,  and  that  Le  ^vas  of  the  same 
opinion ;  that  he  had  referred  the  matter  to  the  allied  ministers  and  they  were  going 
to  allow  me  to  pass  through.  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  President  Mitre  requesting  him 
to  furnish  all  proper  facilities  for  me  to  get  through.  With  that  letter  I  started  back, 
taking  my  wife  and  servant  with  me.  The  steamer  getting  aground  I  was  longer  in 
reaching  there  than  I  expected  to  be,  and  when  I  went  to  President  Mitre  with  that 
letter  from  his  mmister  of  foreign  afiairs,  asking  him  to  send  me  through,  he  would 
not  respect  it.  He  said,  however,  that  he  would  go  and  consult  with  Admiral  Taman- 
dar6.  He  repeated  that  Admiral  Godon  had  told  him  they  had  a  right  to  stop  me,  but 
that  he  would  consult  Admiral  Tamandar6,  and  Marshal  Osorio,  and  others  high  in 
authority,  and  see  if  they  would  sanction  it,  and  would  let  me  know  the  same  night. 
He  went  on  board  the  flag-ship  to  see  Admiral  Tamandard,  and  sent  me  a  note  soon 
after  that  he  would  write  me  at  Corrientes.  He  Avrote  mo  at  Corrientes  afterwards 
that  they  did  not  grant  me  the  permission  until  he  again  consulted  his  government. 
When  I  went  to  see  him  the  second  time  I  went  on  board  an  English  transport.  Presi- 
dent Mitre  told  me  that  he  was  unwell  himself,  and  that  if  I  would  go  and  see  Admiral 
Tamandar<5  on  board  his  flag-ship,  he  could  arrange  the  matter  as  well  as  himself;  and 
he  sent  his  minister  of  Avar  on  tlie  boat  with  me  with  this  message.  I  found,  however, 
that  Admiral  Tamandard  had  conversed  with  Admiral  Godon,  as  I  have  stated,  who,  as 
he  said,  told  him  he  had  a  perfect  right  to  stoj)  me  from  going  above  his  squadron,  and 
Admiral  Tamaudard  said  he  should  do  it.  I  told  him  that  Admiral  Godon  had  no 
business  to  interfere  in  the  matter.  Admiral  Tamandard  replied  that  nevertheless  he 
must  stop  me.  He  knew  I  was  unpleasantly  situated,  that  my  expenses  were  heavy, 
that  if  I  wanted  any  money  I  could  have  it ;  that  I  could  also  have  a  steamer  to  go 
back  to  Buenos  Ayres  Avhenever  I  desired.  (I  wrote  all  this  in  my  letter  of  April  27, 
1866,  to  Mr.  Seward.)  I  replied  that  I  did  not  want  his  money,  and  did  not  want  his 
steamer,  but  that  I  did  want  to  ^'et  to  Paraguay,  and  that  I  should  get  there.  We 
parted  in  no  very  pleasant  humor  either  of  us.  After  my  first  interview  with  President 
Mitre,  when  he  told  me  I  must  wait  until  he  had  sent  to  Buenos  Ayres,  I  wrote  an 
account  of  the  interview  I  had  with  him  to  Mr.  Seward.  And  after  the  interview  I  had 
had  with  Admiral  Tamandard,  in  which  he  said  I  could  not  go  there,  but  that  I  could 
have  money  and  steamers,  or  anything  else,  so  that  I  did  not  go  through,  I  also  wrote 
an  account  of  this  interview  to  Mr.  Seward.  It  was  after  my  interview  with  Admiral 
Tamandard  that  I  went  to  see  President  Mitre  again,  and  delivered  the  letter  of  his 
minister.  He  seemed  to  be  very  much  embaixassed  because  he  could  not  carry  out 
what  his  government  had  promised.  Pie  said  he  would  communicate  with  Admiral 
Tamandard,  with  Octaviano,  and  with  other  high  ofiiciaLs,  and  see  if  he  could  not 
arrange  it,  and  would  advise  me  the  same  afternoon.  An  hour  or  two  afterwards  he 
sent  me  a  little  note  that  they  had  come  to  no  conclusion,  as  I  have  stated,  and  that 
he  would  write  mo  at  Corrientes.  I  went  to  Corrientes,  and  subsequently,  after  other 
visits  and  several  letters  iiassed  between  us,  addressed  a  protest  to  President  Mitre, 
which  I  will  read  as  a  part  of  my  testimony,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  more  clearly 
how  I  was  delayed  and  humbugged  by  the  allies.  It  is  dated  at  Corrientes,  July  2i, 
1866,  and  is  as  foUows : 

"  Corrientes,  July  21, 1866. 

"  Sir  :  On  the  26th  of  last  month  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving,  by  hand  of  your  sec- 
retary. Lieutenant  Colonel  Don  Jos6  M.  la  Fuente,  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  22d 
ultimo.  In  that  letter  your  excellency  informed  me  that  circfimstances  entirely  foreign 
to  your  desire  to  give  an  answer  to  my  oft-repeated  question  whether  or  not  I  should 
be  allowed  to  pass  through  the  lines  of  the  allied  forces  to  Paraguay,  had  prevented 
your  giving  me  a  definite  answer;  but  that,  being  desirous  of  showing  due  considera- 
tion to  the  matter,  you  had  dispatched  your  secretary  to  make  verbal  explanations  of 
these  circumstances. 

"  The  explanations  made  by  Colonel  la  Fuente  were  these :  That  the  Brazilian  special 
minister,  Senor  Octaviano,  was  expected  to  arrive  very  soon  at  the  seat  of  war,  and  it 
was  the  desire  of  your  excellency  to  confer  with  him  before  granting  me  a  final  answer. 
The  secretary  further  assured  me  that  within  two  or  three  days  after  the  arrival  of 
Senor  Octaviano  at  the  headquarters  of  the  army,  I  should  have  the  final  reply  of  your 
excellency.  Within  two  hours  after  this  interview  with  your  secretary,  a  steamer 
aiTived  in  thirs  port  having  on  board  the  Brazilian  minister.  A  day  or  two  after  he  left 
for  the  army,  and  though  since  then  nearly  four  weeks  have  elapsed,  I  have  received 
no  such  reply  as  I  was  promised  in  two  or  three  days  on  your  behalf,  by  your  secretary. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  57 

"It  is  now  nearly  six  months  since  I  first  called  on  your  excellency,  and  made  knovrn 
my  desire  to  jjass  over  to  the  country  to  which  I  was  accredited  by  my  government. 
The  opinion  you  then  expressed  to  me  was  that  I  was  entitled  to  pass  through  without 
intenuption  to  ray  destination,  Imt  that  you  prefeiTed  to  get  the  opinion  of  your  gov- 
ernment on  the  question  hefore  taking  any  action  upon  it.  I  accordingly  waited  until 
such  opinion  was  obtained,  and  then,  as  it  corresponded  with  that  previously  expressed 
by  your  excellency,  I  did  not  suppose  I  would  have  any  more  trouble  or  difficulty  in 
reachinf^  the  capital  of  Faraway.  But  month  after  month  has  passed  since  I  had  the 
honor  of  delivering  iHjrsonally  into  yom-  hands  the  letter  of  Seuor  Elizalde,  in  which 
he,  as  minister  for  foreign  relations,  requested  your  excellency  to  furnish  me  such  facili- 
ties of  passing  through  to  Paraguay  as  he  had  promised  me.  Your  reply  then  was  that 
circumstances  had  so  far  changed  since  ray  former  interview  that  it  would  bo  again 
necessary  to  consult  your  goveniuient.  Since  then  I  have  repeatedly,  personally  and 
by  letter,  requested  your  final  answer,  and  each  time  I  have  been  told  that  within  a 
very  few  days  I  should  have  it,  so  that  there  has  not  been  a  day  for  the  past  four  months 
when  I  might  not  reasonably  have  expected  such  a  decision  from  your  excellency  as 
would  have  left  me  at  liberty  to  go  to  Paraguay,  or,  if  the  decision  was  unfavorable, 
would  have  justified  me  in  returning  to  Buenos  Ay  res  or  Montevideo  to  await  the 
instructions  of  my  government.  But  this  decision  I  have  not  yet  received,  and  have,  as 
it  were,  been  compelled  to  remain  with  my  family  in  this  town  of  Corrientes,  which  all 
the  while  hart  been  a  city  of  hospitals,  full  of  sick  and  v,-oundcd,  and  every  way  un- 
healthy, disagreeable,  an(i  very  expensive. 

"  To  what  extent  and  under  what  circumstances  a  nation  at  war  with  another  may 
rijjhtfuUy,  and  without  giving  just  cause  of  offense,  detain  the  accredited  minister  of  a 
third  and  friendly  i)ower,  andiwevent  him  from  reaclling  the  government  to  which  he 
is  accredited,  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss.  That  a  nation  at  war  has  a  right  to  guard 
its  lines  and  prevent  any  one  from  passing  over  into  the  enemy's  territory  at  a  time 
when  active  operations  might  thereby  be  embarrassed,  I  do  not  and  never  have  ques- 
tioned. But  as,  since  my  first  visit  to  your  headquarters,  there  have  several  times  been 
weeks  at  a  time  when  there  were  no  active  operations  going  on,  I  am  unable  to  see  how 
that  my  passing  through  to  Paraguay  could  in  any  way  cause  embarrassment  or  afi'ect 
the  result  of  the  war. 

"  It  is  unnecessary,  as  it  would  bo  improper,  for  mo  to  remind  your  excellency  of  the 
system  of  international  law  that  has  in  the  course  of  many  generations  grown  into 
established  usage,  and  under  which  the  diplomatic  agents  of  all  friendly  countries  are 
entitled  to  certain  privileges  and  immunities  alike  in  the  couuti-ies  through  which  they 
may  pass  as  in  those  to  which  they  may  be  accredited.  Nevertheless,  I  may  allude  to 
the  fact  that  this  system  or  code  recon:nize8  the  absolute  independence  of  all  diplomatic 
a«jcnt8  of  any  local  authority.  This  immunity  results  from  the  necessity  that  in  time 
ol  war  there  should  bo  some  pei-sous  who  may  be  independent  of  the  l>elligerent  powers 
to  pass  between  them,  and  who  may  be  at  liberty  to  reside  in  the  country  where  they 
are  accredited,  sulyect  only  to  the  laws  of  their  own  government,  and  free  from  molesta- 
tion or  hindi-ance  in  passing  through  other  fiiendly  countries  to  or  from  their  own  lega- 
tion. By  reason  of  these  immunities  and  privileges,  the  ministers  of  foreign  coimtries 
have  often  been  instrumental  in  averting  war,  and  sometimes  initiating  terms  of  peace, 
or  mitigating  the  evils  of  war.  This  exemption  from  local  laws  is  so  important  a  privi- 
lege that  it  underlies  the  whole  system  of  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  world,  as  it  is, 
to  a  great  extent,  by  reason  of  the  immunities  and  exemptions  enjoyed  by  the  ministers 
of  foreign  and  neutral  nations,  that  they  are  enabled  to  exert  their  good  offices  at  a 
time  when  the  subjects  of  the  belligerent  nations  are  exposed  to  liabilities  and  suspi- 
cions that  may  render  their  interference  dangerous  to  themselves  and  embarrassing  to 
their  governments.  But  if  such  diplomatic  agents  may  bo  detained  at  the  jileasuro  or 
caprice  of  one  of  the  belligerent  parties,  there  is  an  end  to  the  whole  system,  for  what 
minister  of  a  neutral  power  will  venture  himself  in  the  territory  of  a  nation  that  may 
prevent  his  return  to  his  post  of  official  duties?  Such  an  act  would  not  be  so  much 
.against  the  enemy  as  against  the  friendly  power  whose  agent  it  restrained.  No  nation 
has  a  right  to  say  to  another  that  because  it  is  at  war  with  a  third,  therefore  this  other 
shall  not  have  a  diplomatic  agent  to  reside  near  the  government  of  its  enemy.  The 
government  of  the  United  States  have  a  right  to  send  a  minister  to  any  recognized 
nation  in  the  world,  and  it  would  not  comport  with  its  dignity  to  ask  permission  to  do 
BO  of  a  third  power  Avith  which  such  nation  happened  to  be  at  war.  It  has  as  much 
right  to  have  a  minister  at  Asuncion  as  it  has  at  Buenos  Ayres  or  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
when  it  is  prevented  from  the  exercise  of  that  right,  as  it  has  been  during  all  the  time 
of  my  detention  here,  it  will  not  be  thought  unreasonable  should  it  regard  the  action 
of  your  excellency  with  serious  concern  as  a  violation  of  the  undisputed  rights  of  one 
of  its  agents.  Supposing  at  the  time  this  war  commenced,  or  at  a  later  period,  oiir 
minister  at  Buenos  Avres,  Mr.  Kirk,  or  our  minister  at  Eio  de  Janeiro,  General  Webb, 
had  found  himself  within  the  military  lines  of  the  Paraguay  army,  and  had  been  detained 
there  as  long  as  I  have  been  delayed  here,  what  would  have  been  expected  of  the  United 
States  government  in  that  case?    Would  it  not  have  regarded  such  an  act  on  the  part 


68  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

of  Paraguay  as  a  ^eat  indignity,  and  would  it  not  liavo  been  justified  in  resorting  to 
extreme  measures  in  vindication  of  its  violated  rights  ?  And  in  what  docs  my  case  differ 
from  that  of  the  one  supposed?  Will  not  my  government  he  justified  in  taking  the 
same  means  of  vindicating  the  rights  of  its  liumble  minister  to  Paraguay  as  it  Avould 
be  were  our  minister  to  Buenos  Ayres  now  detained  within  the  lines  of  the  Paraguay 
army?  It  lias  been  the  object  and  intention  of  the  United  States  in  this  war  to  observe 
the  strictest  neutrality.  If  it  has  not  done  so,  it  is  because  your  excellency  has  denied 
it  the  privilege  of  having  a  diplomatic  representative  in  Paraguay  the  same  as  it  has 
in  Buenos  Ayres  and  Rio  do  Janeiro.  Of  tliis  partiality,  however,  it  is  only  for  Paraguay 
to  complain. 

"  It  is  with  extreme  regret  !^hat  I  find  myself  compelled  to  speak,  after  so  long  a  delay, 
of  my  detention  in  this  place,  and  to  enter,  as  I  now  do,  most  earnestly,  ray  protest 
against  it.  I  protest  against  the  detention  as  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations  and  of 
all  diplomatic  usages  and  courtesies.  I  protest  against  the  detention  as  unnecessary 
and  unlawful  in  itself,  and  I  protest  against  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  effected. 
If  it  was  your  purpose  to  thwart  the  wishes  of  my  government,  and  prevent  me  from 
doing  that  which  it  had  ordered  me  to  do,  I  certainly  had  a  right  to  know  it  long  before 
this.  I  protest  against  the  repeated  intimations  and  assurances  I  have  from  time  to 
time  received  that  within  a  few  days  a  final  answer  should  be  given  mo,  when  now 
nearly  six  months  have  passed  and  such  answer  has  not  yet  been  received.  I  submit 
that  the  United  States  have  ever  shown  such  friendly  sentiments  towards  the  govern- 
ment and  institutions  of  the  Argentine  Republic  as  to  entitle  its  accredited  agents  to 
the  customary  privileges  and  courtesies  accorded  to  diplomatic  persons.  Such  privi- 
leges I  consider  have  not  been  granted  me,  and,  therefore,  I  take  this  occasion  to  make 
my  formal  protest,  and  at  the  same  time  to  express  to  your  excellency  the  assurances 
of  my  most  distinguished  consideration. 

"CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN, 
"  United  States  Minister  to  Paraguay. 

"  His  Excellency  General  Bartolom:^  Mitre, 

.  "President  oftlie  Argentine  Bepuhlic,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Allied  Army." 

To  that  letter  I  received  an  answer,  in  which  President  Mitre  undertook  to  justify 
himself  for  his  course  towards  me,  which  answer  I  will  also  read. 

[Translation.] 

"  Headquarters,  Tuyuty,  July  24, 1866. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  the  note  of  your  excellency,  dated  the  21st 
instant,  in  which,  making  reference  to  the  diverse  circumstances  that  have  intervened 
since  you  presented  yourself,  soliciting  a  passage  to  the  Paraguay  territory  in  order  to 
continue  there  your  dii)lomatic  duties  with  which  you  were  charged  by  your  govern- 
ment, you  terminate  your  note  by  protesting  against  the  delay  of  a  definite  answer  on 
that  matter,  in  the  supposition  that  it  may  have  been  the  mind  of  the  Argentine  gov- 
ernment or  of  the  allied  governments  to  hinder  the  United  States  from  having  a  dip- 
lomatic representation  in  Paraguay. 

"  W^ithout  entering  on  my  part  into  a  discussion  of  the  point  of  international  right  that 
your  excellency  touches  uj)on,  I  limit  myself  to  consider  the  acts  of  which  you  make 
mention,  referring  to  whom  it  pertains  such  discussion,  as  likewise  the  consideration 
and  answer  to  your  protest  if  it  should  take  place. 

"  When  your  excellency  presented  yourself  for^the  first  time  at  my  headquarters  solicit- 
ing, in  terms  most  frank  and  friendly,  your  passage  to  the  Paraguay  territory,  the  ope- 
rations of  war  against  the  republic  of  Paraguay  had  not  yet  commenced,  and  all  the 
allied  forces,  land  and  naval,  were  yet  in  Argentine  territory.  I  then  manifested  to 
your  excellency  that  I  believed  that  it  would  not  be  inconvenient  that  you  should  con- 
tinue your  voyage  to  Paraguay,  but  that  this  being  a  matter  that  pertained  to  the 
decision  of  the  government,  in  which*  it  ought  to  co-operate  with  its  allies,  and  not 
being  myself  in  the  exercise  of  the  executive  power,  I  would  refer  it  to  my  government 
in  order  that,  with  the  consent  of  said  allies,  it  should  dictate  to  mo  the  line  of  policy 
that  I  ought  to  pursue.  Your  excellency  having  assented  to  this,  returned  to  Buenos 
Ayres  and  obtained  from  the  Argentine  government,  with  the  approbation  of  their 
allies,  the  passage  which  you  solicited.  But  in  these  circumstances,  the  admiral  of  tho 
allied  squadron  being  in  Montevideo,  mentioned  to  the  United  States  admiral  whom  he 
met  there,  that  there  would  be  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  minister  continuing  his 
voyage  to  Paraguay  all  the  while  that  things  should  be  in  tho  state  in  which  they  then 
were,  that  is  to  say,  the  allied  forces  being  in  Argentine  territory,  as  when  your  excel- 
lency honored  me  with  your  visit  at  headquarters;  but  that  such  a  thing  could  not 
take  place  after  the  allies  should  establish  their  line  of  war,  since  it  was  a  right  recog- 
nized by  all  nations,  that  the  military  lines  of  belligerents  could  not  bo  crossed  by  neu- 
trals, whatever  might  be  their  character,  except  by  an  express  concession,  and  in  so 
far  as  it  would  not  damage  their  arrangements  or  prejudice  their  operations.    This 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  59 

principle  was  recognized,  without  any  restriction,  by  the  admiral  of  the  United  States, 
declaring  that  we  are  in  om-  perfect  right  in  not  allowing  any  neutral  to  cross  oiu'  lines 
of  war  once  established. 

"  From  imforeseen  accidents,  and  in  circumstances  that  are  made  clear  by  our  confiden- 
tial correspondence,  your  excellency  arrived  at  Corrientes  after  much  delay,  at  a  time 
when  the  invasion  of  Paraguay  was  already  efiected,  and  when  our  lines  of  war  con- 
trolled their  coasts.  Thus  far  the  circumstances  had  varied,  as  your  excellency  may 
yourself  remember.  Notwithstanding  this,  being  desirous  of  giving  to  your  excellency 
a  proof  of  esteem  towards  your  person  and  of  the  consideration  of  the  allied  govern- 
ments towards  that  of  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States,  I  referred  it  again  to 
the  decision  of  the  allied  governments,  a  proceeding  to  which  your  excellency  willingly 
gave  your  assent. 

"I  then  thought,  as  I  manifested  to  your  excellency,  to  be  able  to  give  very  soon  a 
deliiiitc  uiiHwcr  to  the  (jucstion ;  but  the  minister  ])leni])otentiary  of  Brazil  not  finding 
liiiiiself  authorized  to  deci(Ui  the  case,  the  definitive  resolution  of  the  allied  governments 
Ixiing  yet  pending— having  to  make  their  communications  through  such  long  distances, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  pressing  engagements  of  a  war  to  which  they  have  been  pro- 
voked without  reason  and  without  justice — it  has  not  been  possible  for  me  to  give  such 
answer  to  your  excellency  in  my  quality  of  general-in-chief  of  the  allied  armies,  in 
which  I  have  only  been  a  simple  intermediary,  without  assuming  in  any  case  the  char- 
acter of  a  diplomatic  personality  to  treat  or  discuss  with  your  excellency,  for  which 
reason  I  have  limited  myself  always  to  communications  confidential  and  friendly ;  this 
also  being  the  reason  for  which  I  sent  my  military  secretary  to  your  excellency  to  give 
some  explanations  in  my  character. 

"  Not  having,  then,  to  the  present  time  obtained  any  definite  answer  from  the  allied 
government,  Irom  the  circumstance  that  it  has  not  been  possible  for  them  to  act  in  con- 
cert, it  is  not  possible  for  mo  to  accept  the  conclusions  that  your  excellency  deduces  in 
the  note  to  which  this  is  an  answer,  neither  the  diplomatic'  personality  in  which  you 
invest  me,  nor  to  take  into  account  the  protest  that  you  make  in  consequence. 

'*  Notwithstanding,  I  cannot  let  pass  m  silence  that,  in  compliance  with  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  allied  governments  to  permit  no  one  to  cross  over  lines  of  Avar,  they  have 
had  in  view  only  the  exercise  of  a  perfect  right,  a  right  explicitly  recognized  by  the 
admiral  of  the  United  States,  before  that  your  excellency  commenced  your  voyage  on 
distinct  conditions,  and  that,  this  being  in  harmony  with  the  practice  of  all  civilized 
nations,  and  as  the  exercise  of  their  own  right,  it  cannot  give  ofiense  to  a  third ;  and 
it  is  correctly  deduced  from  this  that  the  allied  governments,  in  making  use  of  their 
own  riglit  in  establishing  a  general  rule  for  all,  have  not  had  in  view  to  offend  any 
other.  And  much  less  that  of  the  United  States,  respecting  which  they  cherish  senti- 
ments of  confraternity  and  sympathy. 

"  With  only  this,  I  hope  that  your  excellency  will  yourseK  acknowledge  the  violence 
of  your  deduction,  when,  starting  from  the  fact  of  a  definite  answer  not  having  been 
given  to  this  late  time,  you  suppose  that  the  intention  of  the  allied  governments  may 
be  to  prevent  that  of  the  United  States  from  having  a  diplomatic  representative  in 
J 'nraguay,  which  cannot  be  deduced,  not  even  from  the  refusal  itself,  since  it  would 
import  only  the  use  of  a  proper  right,  foreseen  and  acknowledged  beforehand ;  so  much 
the  more  a«  your  excellency  having  obtained,  in  time  fit  and  oijportune,  the  definite 
answer  that  you  solicited  and  the  passport  to  continue  your  journey  to  Paraguay,  and 
having  arrived  at  Cori'ientes  at  a  time  when  the  circumstances  under  which  condition 
the  passport  was  given  had  entirely  changed,  the  act  itself  fails  to  serve  as  a  base  for 
such  deduction. 

"  Their/ore  I  refer  cvcrytldng  to  my  government,  in  order  that,  togethe)'  with  the  allied  gov- 
ernments, it  may  decide  this  matter  aiid  may  give  to  your  excellency  in  the  fomi,  and  by  such 
action  as  may  pertain  to  it,  the  definite  answer,  taking  into  consideration  your  protest,  if  there 
should  be  occasion  for  it,  leaving  this  correspondence  for  my  part  thus  terminated,  since  finding 
viysclf  enf/agcd  in  an  active  tear  and  of  daily  combats,  and  without  the  exercise  ofotlm'  than 
military  functions,  it  is  not  possible,  neither  is  it  permitted  me,  to  enter  into  diplomatic  disputes. 

"  Having  thus  answered  the  note  of  your  excellency,  I  cannot  avoid  showing  that  if 
the  sentiments  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  have  been  friendly  towards  the 
government  and  the  institutions  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  greater  and  more  spon- 
taneous have  been  those  that  the  Argentine  people  and  government  have  manifested 
towards  the  government  and  institutions  of  the  United  States  in  times  of  real  trial,  the 
same  to  the  diplomatic  agents,  including  your  excellency. 

"  With  this  motive,  I  have  the  honor  to  salute  your  excellency  with  my  most  dis- 
tinguished consideration.  ^ 

"BART0L0M15  MITRE. 

*'  His  Excellency  Charles  A.  Washburn, 

"  Minister  of  the  United  States  in  Paraguay." 


60  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

To  my  letter  addressed  to  Admiral  Godon,  August  8,  I  received  an  answer  dated 
September  16,  in  which  the  admiral  still  declines,  as  follows : 

"  Buenos  Ayres,  August  8, 1866. 

"  Sir  :  Since  my  last  interview  with  yon  in  the  city,  in  January  last,  I  have  made 
repeated  attempts  to  reach  my  post  of  official  duties  in  Paraguay.  I  have  been  nnahlo 
to  do  so  from  the  fact  that  the  allied  powers  now  at  war  with  that  repu.blic  have  refused 
to  grant  me  permission  to  pass  through  their  military  lines. 

"  I  liave  therefore  been  waiting  here  and  at  Corrientes,  nearly  all  the  time  at  tlie 
latter  place,  till  I  could  inform  my  government  tliat  you  had  declined  to  furnish  me  with 
a  war  vessel  to  take  me  to  my  destmation,  and  that  the  allies  had  refused  me  a  passage 
through  their  lines. 

"  By  the  last  mail  from  the  United  States,  being  then  at  Corrientes,  I  received  a  dis- 
patch from  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  he  informs  me  that  the  President  is  very 
much  surprised  at  the  course  of  the  allied  commanders  in  detaining  me,  as  it  is  a  pro- 
ceeding both  discourteous  and  illegal.  He  also  sent  me  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  the 
Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  Secretaiy  of  the  Navy,  had  addressed  to  you,  in  which  you  are 
instructed  to  furnish  me  with  a  war  vessel  and  such  convoy  as  might  be  necessary  to 
take  me  to  Paraguay.    Cox)ies  of  these  two  letters  are  inclosed  herewith. 

'*  I  had  already  anticix^ated  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  had 
requested  of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  armies  a  passage  through  their  mili- 
tary lines  for  myself  and  family.  But  it  has  been  persistently  refused,  and  I  therefore 
request  you  to  i:)rovide  me  with  a  war  vessel  and  the  necessary  convoy,  in  accordance 
with  the  instructions  of  the  government. 

"  I  arrived  at  this  i)lace  yesterday  from  Corrientes,  and  shall  await  here,  or  at  Monte- 
video, the  arrival  of  so  much  of  the  squadron  as  you  may  detail  for  the  voyage  to  Par- 
aguay. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

"Acting  Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

"  Commanding  UniUd  States  Brazil  Squadron,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil." 

"  South  Atlantic  Squadron,  Flagship  Brooklyn, 

"JRio  de  Janeiro,  September  16,  1866. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  two  letters,  dated  respectively  the 
Btli  and  28th  of  August — the  first  in  duplicate,  inclosing  copies  of  a  dispatch  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  to  yourself,  and  also  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
to  me,  containing  instructions  under  which,  in  a  certain  contingency,  I  was  to  send  you 
in  a  vessel  of  the  squadron  to  Asuncion. 

*'Iu  anticipation  of  the  contingency  therein  alluded  to,  I  had  given  orders  in  the 
month  of  July  to  Commander  Crosby,  of  the  Shamokin,  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  .for 
immediate  service  up  the  river  Paraguay. 

"The  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  leaves  me  in  no  doubt  how  to  act  in  regard 
to  his  orders.  It  informs  me  that  you  have  been  instructed  to  ask  the  commander  of  the 
allied  forces  and  the  President  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  in  a  respectful  manner,  to  give 
you  a  safe-conduct  through  the  military  lines,  which  it  is  believed  will  be  accorded  to 
you ;  but  in  the  event  of  its  not  being  done,  you  have  been  further  instructed,  without 
unreasonable  delay,  to  apply  to  me  for  a  passage  in  a  war  vessel  with  sufficient  naval 
escort  to  your  destination. 

"  Clear  as  these  instructions  are,  they  are  made  even  more  distinct  by  the  dispatch 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  yourself,  a  copy  of  which  you  have  been  kind  enough,  under 
directions  from  the  department,  to  furnish  me.  That  dispatch,  after  alluding  to  the 
^inconvenient'  and  ^not  altogether  courteous'  delay  caused  you  in  returning  to  Asun- 
cion, but  without  desiring  to  regard  it  as  an  '  unfriendly  proceeding,'  directs  that,  should 
the  hindrance  still  continue,  you  are  to  address  yourself  at  once  to  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  allied  forces,  and  to  the  President  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  informing  them 
that  you  are  proceeding  as  resident  minister  for  the  United  States  at  Asuncion ;  that 
you  are  charged  with  no  duties  inconsistent  with  the  neutrality  which  the  United  States 
lias  maintained  in  the  war  in  which  the  allies  are  engaged  with  Paragiiay,  and  to  ask 
them,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  government,  to  give  you,  together  with  your 
family  and  domestics,  safe-conduct  through  the  military  lines. 

"  After  having  addressed  this  letter  as  directed,  the  dispatch  adds,  '  should  the  hin- 
drance not  cease  within  a  reasonable  time,'  you  will  then  deliver  a  copy  of  these  instruc- 
tions, together  with  a  copy  of  the  accompanying  letter  of  instructions  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  to  me,  and  will  proceed  in  such  vessel  as  I  shall  furnish  to  the  place 
of  your  destination. 

"  You  will  perceive,  sir,  from  the  preceding  synopsis  of  your  and  my  instructions,  that 
the  contingency  alluded  to  has  not  arrived ;  and  that  I  would  not  be  carrying  out  the 
spirit  of  the  orders  of  my  superior,  or  the  evident  intention  of  those  from  your  chief,  by 
immediately  sending  you  to  your  destination  in  a  vessel  of  war,  as  you  request. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  61 

"Tlic  Secretary  of  State  evidently  desired  to  show  the  Argentine  ffoveminent  that 
the  ohstnictions  iuterijosed  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allies  to  youi-  passa<>-6 
through  the  militaiy  lines  to  youi'  legithnate  duties  -was  regarded  as  an  act 'not  coifr- 
tcous/  and  one  which  was  causing  an  agent  of  the  United  States  inconvenience :  that, 
as  there  was  no  ^ood  reason  for  such  a  course,  they  were  requested  not  only  to  discou- 
tinno  it,  hut  to  aid  you  A\ith  a  safe-conduct  through  the  militaiy  lines. 

"Therefore,  until  you  receive  from  the  authorities  named  a  refusal  to  comply  with 
that  request  within  a  reasonable  time,  my  orders  will  not  justify  me  in  construing  the 
hindrance  to  your  movements  as  a  proceeding  sufficiently  "  unfriendly"  to  require  me  to 
send  you  with  an  armed  escoi-t  through  the  blockading  squadron. 

"  From  the  character  of  the  dispatch  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  it  is  clear  to  my  mind 
that  no  violent  measures  are  either  desired  or  anticipated,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
distinctly  infoiins  me,  as  you  will  notice  in  his  letter,  that  from  the  general  tenor  of 
J  our  last  communication,  it  was  probable  that  the  allies  would  desist  from  any  further 
opposition  to  youi*  progress. 

"It  is  therefore  with  regret  I  find  that  your  letter,  which  I  have  been  expecting,  does 
not  state  that  you  have  addressed  the  connnander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces,  or  the 
President  of  the  Argentine  Kepublic,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  desired  safe-con- 
ductj  or  that  you  have  allowed  a  *  reasonable  time  for  the  hindrance  to  cease '  before 
making  the  application  for  a  vessel  and  suitable  naval  escort  to  take  you  to  your  desti- 
nation. 

"  I  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  inconvenience  and  seeming  discourtesy  of  the  allies 
in  keeping  a  minister  of  the  United  States  from  passing  through  the  military  lines  to  his 
post,  and  have  communicated  with  our  acting  charg6  d'affaires  to  this  government  in 
regard  to  it,  from  whom  I  learned  that  the  obstructions  would  be  removed.  I  feel  sat- 
isfied that  the  same  information  will  be  given  to  you  when  you  addi'ess  the  President  of 
the  Argentine  government,  as  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

"The  truly  friendly  relations  that  exist  between  the  allies  now  at  war  against  Para- 
guay and  our  own  goveiimunt,  disjxised  me  still  more  to  refrain  from  coumiitting  any 
act  which  would  seem  like  arrogance  in  a  great  and  powerful  nation  like  the  Lnited 
States,  towards  governments  too  weak  to  resist  it,  although  they  might  in  their  very 
weakness  venture  to  commit  indiscretions,  as  in  the  present  instance. 

"Should  a  refusal  of  safe-conduct  follow  your  letter  to  the  Argentine  government  and 
commander-in-chief  of  the  allies,  I  will  then  consider  under  iny  iustnictions  that  they 
liave  committed  an  unfriendly  act,  and  that  the  occasion  has  arrived  for  the  dignity  of 
I  lie  United  States  to  be  sustained  by  furnishing  you  with  a  vessel  and  suitable  naval 
c  scort  to  carry  you  through  the  blockading  squadron  to  your  station. 

"  Even  should  a  safe-guard  be  offered  you  for  your  passage  through  the  lines,  as  is  fully 
anticipated,  I  will,  untu-r  all  the  ciicumstances  of  delay,  still  find  it  advisable,  if  you 
desire  it,  to  furnish  you  with  a  vessel  to  caiiy  you  in  a  friendly  manner,  but  with 
national  dignity,  to  the  government  to  which  you  are  accredited.  I  shall  await  and 
hope  to  receive  an  early  communication  from  you. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"S.W.  GODON, 
"Acting  Eear-Admiral,  Cornd^g  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

"Hon.  C.  A.  Wasiiburx, 

"Minister  licaideni  for  the  United  States  at  Asuncion." 

That  letter  you  will  notice  is  dated  September  16.  I  had  been  ten  months  already 
tiying  to  get  through.  I  had  been  long  at  Corrientes  without  being  able  to  get  per- 
mission to  go  through.  President  Mitre  had  refused  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
the  matter,  and  Minister  Octaviano  would  not  answer  my  letter. 

Q.  State  whether  Admiral  Godon,  prior  to  writing  this  letter,  had  been  informed  of 
all  the  conespoudence  between  yourself  and  President  Mitre  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  he  had.  I  Avrote  to  Mr.  Kirk  about  it,  and  Mr.  Kirk  replied 
that  he  had  told  Admiral  Godon,  and  that  the  admiral  had  said  he  would  not  under 
any  circumstances  send  me  up  the  river ;  and  I  stated  that  in  my  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Seward,  although  Mr.  Kirk  now  says  that  he  does  not  remember  all  the  circum- 
stances. It  was  for  that  reason  I  did  not  consider  it  was  of  any  use  to  write  anything 
further  to  Admiral  Godon.  I  had  also  other  reasons,  having  heard  of  his  remarks,  which 
were  far  from  complimentary  to  me.  After  I  received  this  letter  from  the  admiral,  I 
thought  I  could  not  again,  with  i)ropriety,  write  to  President  Mitre;  that  I  could  not 
well  repeat  the  letter  I  had  written  a  day  or  two  before ;  and  if  I  did,  I  feared  it  would 
compromise  the  government  more  a  thousand  times  than  to  ask  for  a  gunboat.  I 
knew  perfectly  well  that  if  a  gimboat  went  up  they  would  not  fire  into  it,  and  that 
there  would  be  no  sort  of  difficulty,  but  that  if  I  wrote  a  letter  I  should  probably  have 
at  least  sought  to  have  used  strong  terms,  and  if  I  still  received  a  refusal  it  would  com- 
plicate the  case  and  make  it  very  much  worse.  I  supposed  the  admiral  would  respond 
to  my  application  to  furnish  a  gunboat,  and  that  that  would  be  an  end  of  the  matter. 
I  therefore  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  was  very  much  astonished  when  I  received 


62  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  admiral's  letter  basinj?  bis  refa.sal  on  the  ground  that  I  had  not  obeyed  the  instruc- 
tions of  my  chief.  I  -wrote  to  him  virtually  telling  him  that  if  ho  would  attend  to  his 
business  I  would  to  mine.  When  I  came  down  I  was  not  aware  that  orders  had  been 
sent  by  the  admiral  for  the  gunboat  to  take  me  up,  and  I  was  invited  by  the  minister 
to  confer  with  him  personally,  which  I  did,  stating  the  situation  fully.  There  was 
nothing  official  in  my  correspondence,  because  I  was  not  officially  accredited.  Mr. 
Kirk  had  left  to  go  home.  General  Webb  was  away,  and  I  was  left  there  alone,  with 
everybody  holding  official  position  against  1:96.  After  I  received  this  letter  from  Admiral 
Godon  I  did  not  know  absolutely  what  to  do.  The  allies  would  not  allow  me  to  go 
through.  Mitre  had  refused  further  correspondence.  Octaviano  had  declined  to  ansvrcr 
my  letter.  I  had  told  Admiral  Godon  a  long  time  before,  when  I  met  him  in  December, 
that  if  I  could  get  out  of  the  difficulty  and  return  without  disgracing  the  country  and 
disgracing  myself,  I  should  bo  very  glad  to  do  so,  but  as  I  considered  that  the  allies 
had  no  right  to  stop  me,  and  I  had  no  right  to  allow  them  to  stop  me,  I  felt  that  I  must 
go  on.  I  was  hoping  that  the  new  minister.  General  Asboth,  the  successor  of  Governor 
I<irk,  would  arrive.  Governor  Kirk  had  gone  home,  and  General  Webb  had  also  gone 
home.  The  admiral  was  not  disposed  to  aid  me  in  getting  to  my  post,  and  I  was  in 
such  a  situation  as  I  never  hope  to  be  again.  I  wrote  to  the  admiral  a  long  letter, 
which  is  here,  explaining  to  him  my  circumstances,  and  giving  the  reasons  why  I  had 
not  made  another  application  to  President  Mitre.    I  Avill  read  an  extract  from  it : 

"In  my  letter  to  you  of  August  8, 1  informed  you  that  the  contingency  contemplated 
by  the  instructions  both  to  you  and  to  me  had  arrived,  as  I  had  done  the  very 
thing  but  a  few  days  before  my  instructions  reached  me  which  I  was  ordered  to  do 
by  the  Secretary  of  State;  and  there  was  no  reason  why  I  should  do  the  same  over 
again.  In  fact,  I  could  not  do  it,  for  the  reason  that  President  Mitre,  in  reply  to  my 
last  letter  to  him,  said  that  for  his  part  the  correspondence  must  close.  Had  you 
known  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  I  would  fain  believe  you  would  not  have  hesitated  a 
single  moment  in  sending  the  orders  for  one  of  the  war  steamers  now  lying  in  this  river 
to  ];)roceed  at  once  to  Paraguay ;  and  that  you  may  now  be  fully  informed  of  the  repeated 
indignities  to  which  I  have  been  subjectecl  during  my  long  detention  within  the  military 
lines  of  the  allies,  I  now  write  you  more  at  length,  though  not  with  a  view  to  influence 
your  action.  I  considered  that  I  was  the  x>roper  judge  and  interpreter  of  my  own 
instructions,  as  you  were  of  yours,  and  that  when  I  (^nt  you  my  last  letter  my  duties 
had  been  fulfilled,  and  if  you  had  conformed  to  your  instructions,  and  not  constituted 
yourself  the  interpreter  of  mine,  there  would  have  been  no  occasion  for  question  or 
argument." 

In  that  letter  I  stated  what  I  have  stated  here,  specifically,  in  regard  to  the  difficulties 
of  my  situation.  I  got  a  reply  which  I  think  I  can  quote  from  memory  literally ;  it  was 
about  as  follows : 

"  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  October  1  has  been  received. 
"  Yours,  respectfully, 

«S.  W.  GODON." 

I  sent  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  Mr.  Seward  with  my  letter  to  Admiral  Godon.  I  had 
heard  in  the  meanwhile  that  after  Admiral  Godon  had  got  this  letter  instructing  him 
under  certain  contingencies  to  send  me  on  a  gunboat,  with  a  convoy  if  necessary,  to 
Paraguay,  and  I  had  supposed  when  I  got  it  that  I  would  find  him  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  prepared  to  receive  me.  But  I  was  surprised  to  learn  that  instead  of  going  this 
way  he  went  off  north  to  Baliia.,  and  when  he  would  get  this  letter  of  mine  of  the  8th 
of  August,  I  did  not  know.  But  it  went  to  Rio,  and  I  suppose  he  was  further  north. 
He  had  gone  north  for  what  business  I  do  not  know,  unless  it  was  to  find  a  pretext  for 
longer  delay. 

In  the  meanwhile  I  did  not  know  what  I  was  to  do.  The  admiral  had  declined  to 
send  me  up  until  I  had  done  certain  things  which  I  thought  I  ought  not  to  do.  But 
he  did  send  orders,  after  I  had  been  delayed  nearly  a  year,  that  a  gunboat  should  go  up. 

Q.  What  was  the  date  of  those  orders  ? — A.  October  5,  1866.  He  sent  the  gunboat  to 
take  me  up  on  the  ground  that  General  Webb  had  advised  him  that  all  obstructions 
had  been  withdrawn.  I  did  receive  a  letter  from  General  Webb,  stating  that  he 
was  informed  that  the  obstructions  had  been  withdrawn.  I  attached  no  importance 
whatever  to  that  promise  made  to  General  Webb,  as  I  had  been  humbugged  and 
delayed  and  deceived  so  often  by  the  allies. 

Q.  What  information  had  General  Webb  that  led  him  to  write  this  letter,  stating 
that  all  obstructions  had  been  withdrawn  ? — A.  It  was  known  there  was  great  scandal 
about  my  detention,  and  a  great  deal  was  said  in  the  newspapers  that  Avas  very  disa- 
gTceable  to  me.  Mr.  Webb  may  have  had  a  private  letter  from  me  in  regard  to  it.  He 
at  once  saw  the  impropriety  of  my  detention,  and  insisted  that  the  obstructions  must 
be  withdrawn.  They  (the  Brazilians)  told  him  they  would  be  withdrawn,  and  oil 
the  strength  of  that  he  wrote  me  this  letter.  I  wrote  to  the  admiral  that  nothing  had 
been  done  ■  by  the  Brazilians  to  remove  the  obstructions.  Admiral  Godon  did  not 
answer  my  letter,  but  passed  it  over  to  General  Webb,  who  answered  it. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  63 

By  Adiuiral  Godon  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  I  asked  General  Webb  to  answer  that  letter?— A.  I  do  not 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  I  told  him  he  ought  not  to  write  that  letter?— A.  He  never 
told  me  anythijig  of  the  kind.  I  know  nothing  more  than  the  letter  itself  expresses 
Even  after  I  had  got  to  Paraguay,  notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties,  I  learned  froni 
diiferent  sources  that  several  of  my  friends  in  the  8(iuadron — and  I  believe  nearly  everv- 
body  in  the  squadron  of  the  higher  grade  of  officers  Avere  my  friends— had  been  verv 
much  persecuted  by  Admiral  Godon  for  that  reason.  I  heard,  in  the  meanwhile  that 
tlic  United  8tat<}8  proposed  mediation,  and  tliat  it  had  sent  instructions  to  General 
AVcbl),  and  General  Asboth,  and  myself,  respectively,  to  see  what  we  could  do  in  the 
matter  of  mediation.  But  I  had  not  got  any  letters,  official  or  otherwise,  for  a  lon^' 
time,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  and  ascertain  what  was  going  on  in  regard  to  the 
matter.  I  went  down  to  the  front,  and  went  through  the  allied  camp  to  see  if  any 
mail  matter  had  come  for  mo.  I  lieard  while  there  that  General  Asboth  was  expected 
up,  and  that  this  matter  of  mediation  had  been  discussed  at  considerable  length  in 
the  newspapers  of  the  place.  I  returned,  and  had  been  back  only  two  or  three  days- 
had  come  up  from  tlio  army  to  Asuncion— and  I  got  a  telegram  informing  me  that 
Captain  Kirkland,  of  the  Wafip,  had  arrived  at  the  camp  with  dispatches  for  me.  I 
went  l)»'l()w  to  meet  him,  as  ho  was  not  allowed  by  Lopez  to  go  up  to  Asuncion.  I 
ascertained  that  General  Asboth  had  not  come  on  board  the  steamer,  although  he 
desired  to  very  much.  And  it  appears  from  the  correspondence  that,  though  Admiral 
Godon  was  sending  up  a  gunboat  to  bring  dispatches  to  me,  and  General  Asboth 
thought  it  very  important  and  necessary  that  he  should  have  a  conference  with  me  in 
regard  to  the  proposed  mediation,  Admiral  Godon  refused  him  permission  to  travel  on 
a  United  States  gimboat,  and  ho  did  not  think  it  very  proper  to  travel  on  a  private 
vessel  when  a  gunboat  was  going  up;  and,  therefore,  he  did  not  come  to  visit  me.  But 
we  considered — I  considered — that  wo  were  no  more  bound  to  consult  admirals  than 
other  individuals  in  regard  to  our  diplomatic  duties. 

Q.  Did  you  not  state  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  I  had  had  some  communication  with 
the  Brazilian  minister  that  led  both  you  and  Mr.  Asboth  to  suppose  that  I  had  con- 
ceded something  to  tliose  ^-[cntlemen  ? — A.  I  stated  that  in  one  of  those  letters.  When 
I  was  in  the  allied  camp  of  the  Marquis  do  Caxias  I  inquired  of  him  whether  he  had 
heard  anything  in  regard  to  General  Asboth,  and  whether  he  was  coming  up  or  jiot. 
He  said  no,  ho  thought  not.  He  said  he  had  got  a  letter  from — I  did  not  understand 
who— but  it  was  evidently  an  official  letter,  and  ho  read  it  to  me.  It  was  in  substance 
to  this  effect :  That  General  Asboth  had  desired  to  come  up  to  Paraguay  to  consult  -the 
American  minister  there ;  but  that  they,  the  writers  of  the  letter,  whoever  they  were, 
had  arranged  it  with  Admiral  Godon  so  that  ho  should  not  go.  That  was  the  purport 
of  it. 

Q.  And  you  considered  it  necessary  to  write  to  the  government,  on  the  strength  of 
the  statement  of  the  Brazilians,  that  I  had  done  this  ? — A.  I  did  do  it. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Wednesday,  April  14, 1869. 
Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn  appeared  and  resumed  his  statement : 
I  would  remark  that  this  delay  to  which  I  was  subjected  by  not  having  a  gunboat 
when  I  first  arrived  at  the  Plate,  had  the  effect  of  causing  me  to  be  suspected  very  much 
by  the  allies.  I  persisted  in  going  through,  notwithstanding  all  the  obstacles  put  in 
my  way ;  notwithstanding  that  Admiral  Godon  refused  to  send  a  gunboat  with  me,  and 
I  never  would  take  money  or  anything  else  from  them.  I  would  state  on  two  different 
occasions  I  was  offered  money,  once  by  Admiral  Tamandar^.  He  made  no  secret  of  it. 
It  was  to  keep  me  quiet,  and  to  induce  me  not  to  go  tluough.  And  another  high  official 
came  to  me  afterwards  in  Corrientes,  and  made  a  proposition  that  I  should  accept 
money.  I  declined.  He  said  it  was  a  conlidential  affair,  and  I  do  not  desire  to  make 
use  of  his  name  unless  the  committee  desire  it.  He  was  a  Brazilian,  high  in  authority. 
He  persisted,  and  tin  ally  the  result  was  that  they  thought  or  pretencfed  to  think  that  I 
must  be  somehow  in  the  interest  of  Lopez,  or  a  friend  of  Lopez. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  Upon  Avhat  terms  were  you  with  Lopez  prior  to  your  visit  to  this  coun- 
try ? — Answer.  Our  relations  were  amicable  enough. 

Q.  How  were  those  relations  affected  by  your  long  delay  in  returning ;  what  impres- 
sion did  it  make  upon  his  mind  ? — A.  I  suspected  that  my  delay  would  be  construed  by 
him  against  me  ;  that  he  would  think  I  was  delaying  in  the  interest  of  the  allies,  and 
that  I  should  lose  any  influence  that  I  might  have  had  after  I  got  there,  by  that  delay. 
And  I  am  satisfied  that  was  the  case,  to  a  certain  extent.  In  fact,  it  had  been  reported 
there  that  I  had  been  bribed  not  to  go  through.  Yet  when  I  did  force  the  blockade,  he 
made  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets  to  his  own  people,  to  show  that  the  Brazilians  had 
been  humiliated  by  my  getting  through.  I  was  regarded,  however,  by  the  allies  with 
such  distrust  that  I  was  spoken  of  always  by  them  as  a  friend  of  Lopez  ;  whereas  I  was 


64  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

not  a  friend  of  Lo];)ez  ;  I  was  a  friend  of  the  Paraguayan  people,  and  hoped  Lopez  would 
be  used  up  before  lie  sacrificed  all  of  them.  Nevertheless,  it  was  my  duty  as  a  minister 
not  to  show  that  feeling,  and  I  ostensibly  kept  on  good  relations  with  the  head  of  the 
government  as  far  as  I  could.  The  allies  regarded  me  all  the  while  as  inimical  to  their 
alliance  and  to  them ;  and  their  newspapers  spoke  of  me  in  derogatory  terms.  They 
put  great  impediments  in  the  way  of  my  getting  supplies  and  mail  matter — all  owing 
to  tliis  delay  caused  by  Admiral  Godon,  I  think,  and  my  persistency  in  breaking  through 
at  last. 

Q.  Did  you  OA^er  mention  this  matter  to  Admiral  Godon  ? — A.  I  did  not  have  any  com- 
munication with  Admiral  Godon  all  that  time. 

By  Admiral  Godon  : 

Q.  Was  there  any  communication  ever  addressed  by  Mr.  Kirk  about  this  busi- 
ness, which  came  to  me  in  any  shape,  which  would  place  these  things  before  me  in  any 
possible  form  ? — A.  I  know  of  no  communication  from  Mr.  Kirk  to  you  about  it ; 
I  niade  no  formal  application  to  Mr.  Kirk.  But  what  I  wish  to  say  is,  that  I  was 
obliged  to  remain  with  my  family  at  Corrientes  about  five  months.  At  that  time  it 
was  a  city  of  hospitals,  very  sickly,  and  we  were  exposed  to  a  great  many  inconven- 
iences and  humiliations.  I  heard  of  people  having  pretty  warm  discussions  about  my 
position.  They  said  I  could  not  be  an  Ajnerican  minister,  but  was  an  imxjostor ;  that 
the  American  government  would  not  permit  its  minister  to  be  hanging  on  the  skirts  of 
the  army  instead  of  going  to  his  post,  especially  as  they  had  a  squadron  in  the  river 
doing  nothing.    That  was  the  talk  there  in  Corrientes. 

Q.  Was  that  conversation  of  any  consequence  ? — A.  It  was  humiliating  to  me ;  that 
was  of  sufficient  consequence  so  far  as  I  was  concerned. 

Q.  Was  there  anything  official  about  it — anything  beyond  the  ordinary  talk  in  the 
streets  ? — A.  I  did  not  go  out  to  inquire  about  that.  I  heard  such  rumors ;  and  this 
state  of  feeling  existed  against  me  most  of  the  time  I  was  there.  And  when  I  got  away 
from  Paraguay  under  the  circumstances  that  I  did,  when  Lopez  had  set  his  plans  to  kill 
me,  as  he  has  killed  everybody  else,  the  allies  and  their  press  set  up  a  howl  against  me. 
It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  them  to  abuse  me,  notwithstanding  I  exposed  the  atroci- 
ties of  Lopez,  whom  they  hated  worse  than  they  did  me.  Besides,  this  newspaper 
abuse  was  caught  up  by  the  newspapers  in  this  country,  and  throughout  the  country 
from  Eastport  to  San  Diego,  in  every  newspaper  I  was  very  severely  censured.  The 
delay  to  which  I  was  subjected  was  the  cause  of  it  all.  I  was  also  censured  by  them 
for  my  conduct  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman.  But  the  fact  is,  Bliss 
and  Masterman  agreed  with  me  that  the  only  possible  way  for  me  to  save  their  live?, 
was  to  do  exactly  as  I  did.  To  show  that  I  represented  the  facts  to  the  State  Depart- 
ment, I  refer  to  my  letter  dated  Corrientes,  July  27,  1866,  addressed  to  Mr.  Seward,  as 
published  in  the  diplomatic  correspondence  of  1866-7,  vol.  2,  page  591 ;  also  to  my  let- 
ters of  August  10,  1866,  and  September  20, 1866,  and  September  24,  1866,  in  the  same 
volume. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  state  that  you  did  not  address  yourself  to  the  commander  of  the  allied 
forces  and  to  the  President  of  the  Argentine  Eepublic,  as  instructed  by  Mr.  Seward, 
beibre  you  applied  to  the  admiral  for  a  vessel  ? — ^A.  No,  I  did  not  do  so. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  do  so  ?— A.  The  circumstances  had  changed  since  I  had  written 
to  Mr.  Seward,  and  the  President  of  the  Argentine  Eepublic  and  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army  had  refused  to  hold  further  correspondence  with  me ;  I  therefore 
thought  it  would  be  worse  than  useless  to  make  that  application.  I  wanted  to  avoid  a 
rupture,  and  I  knew  the  sight  or  presence  of  a  g-unboat  was  the  only  thing  that  would 
prevent  it. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Did  you  take  it  as  an  offensive  termination  ?— A.  No,  not  exactly ;  but  it  was  a 
termination  of  the  correspondence  nevertheless. 


Testimony  of  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  14, 18C9. 
Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon  sworn  and  examined. 

By  the  Chairman  : 
Question.  What  is  yotir  present  official  position  ? — Answer.  I  am  the  commandant  of 
the  New  York  navy  yard,  and  in  1866  I  was  in  command  of  the  Brazilian  or  SoutH 
Atlantic  squadron. 
Q.  When  did  your  command  of  that  squadron  commence  and  terminate  ? — A.  I  sailed 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  65 

from  the  United  States  Juno  21,  1865,  and  I  returned  in  September,  1867 ;  I  was  in  com- 
mand about  two  years,  and  had  the  entire  command. 

Q.  Of  what  did  your  squadron  consist  during  that  time  ?  Please  name  the  vessels  and 
their  character.— A.  Of  but  one  vessel  at  first ;  the  Susquehanna  was  my  flao'-shin. 
My  orders  to  the  Brazils  were,  of  course,  to  cultivate  the  best  relations  between"  those 
countries  and  the  United  States,  and  there  was  a  special  instruction  to  me  to  endeavor 
to  do  away  with  the  unpleasant  impression  that  had  been  produced  by  the  unfortunate 
n flair  of  the  Florida.  I  first  went  to  Bahia,  where  this  affair  took  place,  and  I  was 
tlien  informed  that  the  Juniata  would  be  ordered  fi'om  Charleston,  and  would  meet 
inc.  I  was  told  that  the  Was^i  would  also  be  there  and  follow  me  very  soon,  and  that 
1  he  squadron  would  consist  of  six  vessels.    Eventually  it  did  consist  of  six  vessels. 

Q.  At  what  time? — ^A.  The  Juniata  came  very  shortly  after  I  arrived  there ;  the  Wasp 
ranic  in  November  or  December;  the  Nipsic  also  came,  (a  partly  sailing  steamer;)  the 
Sli:n\  inut  arrived  from  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  Shamokin  came  at  a  time  I  do  not 
rcincmber  now. 

Q.  You  had  command  of  these  six  vessels  during  the  whole  of  the  year  1866  ?— A.  Yes, 
and  nearly  all  of  1867. 

Q.  Where  were  you  principaUy  stationed  during  that  year? — A.  I  commanded  from 
Ca])e  Horn  to  the  equator. 

Q.  Were  you  during  the  time  von  have  mentioned  superseded,  even  temporarily,  by 
any  superior  or  other  officer? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Where  was  your  flag-ship  principally  stationed? — ^A.  My  headquarters  was  at 
Bahia,  about  1,200  miles  to  the  northward,  as  it  was  considered  unhealthy  in  Eio;  but 
I  found  it  was  not  a  central  point,  and  I  afterwards  changed  my  headquarters  to  Rio. 

Q.  You  considered  Rio  then  your  headquarters? — A.  Yes,  it  has  always  been  so  con- 
idered  before,  and  I  considered  it  so.    We  had  our  store-houses  there. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  become  acquainted  with  Minister  Washburn,  and  under  what 
( ircumstances  ? — A.  Mr.  Washbuni  arrived  in  Rio,  as  he  states,  some  time  in  September, 
I  [e  came  in  an  in'cgular  steamer,  the  Montana,  I  think.  When  the  steamer  by  which 
lie  came  arrived,  she  was  ordered  to  be  boarded  by  our  men,  as  was  the  usual  habit. 
The  boat  returned,  and  the  officer  told  me  that  Mr.  Washburn,  the  minister  to  Para- 
nuay  was  on  board,  and  that  ho  had  asked  him  if  there  was  any  man-of-war  there  that 
(Oiild  take  him  to  Buenos  Ayres.  The  boarding  officer  was  a  lieutenant  I  think.  He 
cjime  on  board,  made  his  report  to  my  fleet  captain,  and  my  fleet  captain  told  me  what 
liad  been  said.  I  said  is  the  minister  on  board  ?  Ho  said  ho  was.  I  sent  a  boat  to  the 
vessel  and  offered  Mr.  Washburn  my  services,  and  invited  him  to  come  aboard  my 
si  lip.  The  boat  returned,  and  the  officer  reported  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  left  the 
Montana  and  gone  on  shore,  but  that  Mrs.  Washburn  was  on  board.  I  got  in  my  own 
lH»at  and  Avent  aboard  to  bring  Mrs.  Washburn  on  board  of  my  ship,  as  I  was  told  that 
I  ho  ]\f  out  ana  was  a  small  vessel  and  hud  not  the  best  accommodations.  When  I  arrived 
Mrs.  W'asliliuvn  was  at  dinner,  and  I  waited  on  deck  to  see  her.  In  the  meantime  the 
^ig  of  the  .Susquehanna  came  alongside  bringing  Mr.  W^ashbum  and  Major  Ellison,  a 
i^^eutlemau  from  the  shore  whom  Mr.  Washburn  had  met  on  landing.  This  meeting 
with  Mr.  Washburn  on  the  deck  of  the  Montana,  was  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  him. 
Mrs.  Washburn  soon  afU-r  came  on  deck,  and  we  had  some  conversation,  and  then  Mr. 
Washbuni  asked  me  if  1  had  a  gunboat  that  could  take  him  to  Buenos  Ayres.  I  said 
no,  I  had  not.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  there  is  one,"  pointing  to  the  Nyack.  "  Yes,"  I  replied, 
"  but  she  is  a  miserable  sort  of  thing  for  your  purpose.  Besides,  I  have  no  control  of  her, 
she  belongs  to  the  Pacific  squadron,  and  is  on  her  way  to  the  Pacific.  But  if  the  officer 
commajidiug  her  is  willing  to  take  you  there,  I  shall  not  put  any  objections  in  the 
way.    I  shall  not  withhold  any  penult." 

Q.  Had  you  any  authority  to  command  that  officer?— A.  Yes;  I  had  authority  to  com- 
mand all  under  me;  but  I  had  no  power  to  direct  vessels  belonging  to  another  squadron 
to  my  puiiioses,  except  by  military  power,  which  is  a  dangerous  thing.  till  I  had 
perfect  power  if  I  thought  iiroper  to  do  so. 

Q.  Did  you  confer  with  the  captain  of  the  Nyack?— A.  No,  sir;  I  considered  her  an 
unsuitable  vessel.  _^  ^  _ , 

Q.  Was  Mr.  W^nshburn  willing  to  take  passage  in  the  Nyack?— A.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Washbuni  and  Major  Ellison  came  on  board  my  ship  and  dined  with  me.  After  dnmer 
we  piiUed  alongside  of  the  Nyack  and  looked  at  her,  and  Mr.  Washburn  himsoLt  seemed 
to  think  she  was  not  a  very  suitable  vessel ;  and  the  request  was  not  made.  11  the 
officer  had  volunteered  to  take  him  I  should  not  have  said  anything  agamst  it ;  yet  I 
woidd  not  have  taken  any  responsibility  about  it  at  all  beyond  the  tact  that  1  did  not 
deny  it. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  was  told  that  the  Nyack  was  not  suitable,  and  I  said  substantially 
that  I  did  not  care  to  go  in  her. 

Admiral  GoDOX.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  sending  Mr.  Washburn  to  Buenos  Ayres 
at  all. 

5  P  I 


6Q  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Did  I  ever  claim  that  you  liad  ? — A.  No,  sir. 
By  tlie  Chairm^vn  : 

Q.  What  do  you  consider  the  duties  of  the  commanding  officer  of  a  squadron,  as  you 
were,  \vlien  any  American  minister  asks  of  liim  conveyance  to  his  destination  ? — A.  It 
would  ho  difficult  to  say. 

Q.  I  mean  if  you  had  no  specific  orders  from  the  Navy  Department. — A.  To  illustrate 
I  will  give  an  example:  General  Ashoth  came  to  Rio,  and  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Kirk. 
The  mission  at  Buenos  Ayres  had  been  vacant  for  some  time;  Mr.  Kirk  had  left,  and  there 
was  no  secretary  of  legation  there ;  General  Asbotli  came  at  a  time  when  I  considered 
that  it  was  proper  that  he  should  go  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  a  creditable  way.  I,  therefore, 
told  him  I  would  direct  the  commanding  officer  at  Montevideo  to  take  him  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  informed  my  government  of  tlie  fact  by  letter.  I  give  this  as  an  illustration 
of  an  instance  in  which  I  think  it  would  be  proper.  I  did  it  of  my  own  discretion.  In 
this  case  there  was  no  blockade  to  break,  nor  anything  else  in  the  way;  and  as  General 
Asboth  was  duly  (iccredited  to  the  place,  did  not  speak  the  language,  and  the  mission 
being  vacant,  I  at  once  considered  it  my  duty  to  send  him.  He  did  not  ask  me  to  send 
him  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  From  the  circumstance  you  have  detailed  with  regard  to  General  Asboth,  are  we 
to  consider  that  you  conceive  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  commander  of  a  squadron,  if  he 
has  no  contrary  orders  to  prevent  from  the  head  of  his  department,  to  facilitate  the 
passage  of  an  American  minister  to  his  destination? — A.  Yes,  sir;  I  do. 

Q.  When  was  your  next  interview  with  Mr.  Washburn? — ^A.  We  met  several  times 
afterwards  in  Rio.  The  French  or  English  steamer  left  and  there  was  some  conversation 
whether  he  would  go  in  it  or  not.  My  idea  was,  and  I  turn  back  to  it  now  precisely  as 
my  mind  was  then,  that  when  I  knew  how  matters  stood  up  the  river,  I  would  do  all 
I  could  to  tali^  ]Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay.  'There-  was  a  blockade,  and  there  were 
other  troubles  then  I  did  not  know  all  about.  I  had  only  arrived  in  Bahia  the  previous 
September. 

Q.  I'^ou  say  that  you  tendered  a  passage  to  General  Asbotii  without  his  requesting 
you  to  do  so  ? — ^A.  I  think  he  did  not  even  ask  me.    I  am  not  positive. 

Q.  You  say  you  tendered  a  passage  to  General  Asboth  from  Montevideo  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  because  we  had  no  minister  there,  and  because  you  had  a  vessel  at  your  command. 
Why  didn't  you  make  the  same  tender  to  Mr.  Washburn  when  we  had  no  minister  at 
Paraguay,  and  Avhen  you  had  a  vessel  at  your  command? — ^A.  I  stated  that  Mr.  Kirk  had 
left  the  mission  to  be  tilled  by  a  successor ;  but  JMr.  Washburn  was  the  accredited  minister 
on  leave  of  absence  from  his  post.  General  Asboth  was  a  stranger,  unacquainted  with 
the  country  and  its  language. 

Q.  What  distinction  do  you  make  between  the  two  cases? — ^A.  Mr.  Washburn  had 
left  Paraguay  at  his  own  request,  on  leave  of  absence,  and  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  came  back  and  wanted  to  go  up  there.  I  did  not  send  Mr.  Asboth  from 
Rio,  but  from  Montevideo.  I  saw  that  our  mission  was  left  vacant,  and  General  Asboth 
had  in  his  hands  then  the  very  order  to  ask  these  ministers  there  for  this  passage  of  JVIr. 
Washburn  through  the  Paraguayan  lines. 

By  Jlr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Could  not  General  Asboth  have  got  from  Montevideo  to  Buenos  Ayres  almost  any 
day  on  a  merchant  steamer,  and  was  it  not  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  me  to 
get  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Paraguay  without  the  aid  of  a  gunboat  ? — ^A.  Yes ;  there  was 
a  blockade  in  the  way,  and  the  question  was  totally  different.  In  General  Asboth's  case 
I  could  send  him  up  without  instructions,  and  without  danger  of  involving  the  country 
iu  war,  and  without  resistance ;  and  I  did  what  I  thought  was  right.  But  Mr.  Wash- 
burn asked  me  to  go  to  Buenos  Ayres  from  Rio,  about  1,200  miles.  I  would  have  con- 
sidered, and  offered  afterwards,  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  to  Corrientes  when  it  was  proper 
to  do  so ;  but  not  at  the  time  he  said. 

Q.  Didn't  I  request  that  I  should  have  a  gunboat  furnished  me  to  take  me  from  Bue- 
nos Ayres  to  Paraguay,  while  I  was  in  Rio,  leaving  out  the  question  of  how  I  should  get 
to  Buenos  Ayres  ? — A.  JVIr.  Washburn  repeatedly  spoke  of  getting  up  to  Paraguay.  At 
that  time  (as  I  said  before)  I  was  ignorant  of  the  condition  of  things  there,  but  I  told 
Mr.  Washburn  that  when  I  got  up  there  I  would  see  what  I  could  do.  My  intention 
was  to  take  him  to  Paraguay  if  I  could.  Mr.  Washburn  spoke  of  it,  and  I  spoke  of  it ;  I 
wanted  to  go  myself.  e 

Q.  Did  you  make  that  intention  known  to  Mr.  Washburn  at  that  time  ? — A.  Yes,  sir, 
(certainly  I  did. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  State  what  next  occurred. — A.  I  cannot  recollect  how  long  Mr.  Washburn  remained 
there,  at  Rio.  In  the  meantime  I  had  many  matters  to  attend  to.  There  were  1,200  or  1,500 
tons  of  coal  lying  at  St.  Catharines,  intended  for  the  Alabama,  and  I  went  down  to  look 


PAKAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  67 

Icr  it,  as  well  as  to  exercise  my  guns.    Wlien  I  returned  to  Rio  I  found  Mr.  Washburn 
:11  there.    The  subject  of  his  going  to  Paraguay  came  up  again.    Mr.  Washburn  spoke 
.  mc  about  it,  and  I  felt  perfectly  easy  about  it.    I  thought  when  the  time  came  (when 
;;ot  a  vessel)  that  I  would  probably  bo  able  to  do  this  thing.    Then  the  Wasp  arrived 
lid  she  had  something  to  do ;  and  the  storeship  arrived,  and  I  had  something  to  do  in 
(  ouncction  with  that ;  and  from  one  cause  or  another — I  presume  from  proper  causes 
;.  .r  I  know  of  none  that  were  not  faitliful  causes  in  connection  with  my  duty the  mat- 
er remained  unsettled.    I  had  no  other  feelings  that  governed  me  in  the  matter  but  the 


not  to  involve  the  country  in  a  war,  not  to  do  anything  that  would  lead  to  it,  and  to 
lake  the  responsibility. 

Q.  What  occun-ed  aft«r  your  return  from  St.  Catherines  ?— A.  I  met  Mr.  Washburn  in 
precisely  the  same  way  as  before,  on  friendly  terms,  and  he  remained  in  Rio  possibly 
a  month  or  six  weeks ;  I  cannot  state  positively  what  length  of  time.  The  matter  was 
talked  over,  and  I  often  said  to  him  that  I  would  do  all  I  could  when  I  got  up  there, 
but  that  I  must  see  how  things  were  myself ;  that  I  could  not  leave  at  that  time ;  that 
I  had  no  vessel  to  go  with.  I  think  it  likely  the  Wasp  had  arrived,  but  she  was  not 
suitable.  I  admit  everything  that  5Ir.  Washburn  desires  with  regard  to  his  wishing 
me  to  send  him  there,  and  my  desire  to  help  him  whenever  I  could.  There  were  many 
detentions,  and  1  mention  this  because  I  do  not  recollect  the  times  and  details ;  but  my 
intention  was  to  go  down  at  the  proper  time.  Just  as  I  was  about  to  sail,  however,  the 
storeshij)  arrived^  which  annoyed  me,  because  I  would  have  preferred  being  down  there 
at  the  tnne.  I  did  go,  as  soon  as  I  could  manage  it,  to  Montevideo.  I  was  expecting 
the  Sli.niioldn  and  another  vessel  at  this  time.  The  Shamokiu  was  a  very  nice  river 
\  «'8S('l,  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  taking  Mr.  Washbuni  uiJ  the  river.  She  was  a 
long  time  coming  out.  I  left  the  Juniata  there,  and  had  written  to  establish  myself  at 
headquarters  at  Rio,  and  I  went  down,  stopping  at  St.  Catherines,  to  make  use  of  this 
coal,  and  finally  anived  at  Montevideo.  As  !Mr.  Washburn  says,  he  had  written  me  a 
private  letter  and  followed  it  down  the  next  day.  We  had  a  talk  over  these  matters, 
and  I  foimd,  as  I  £ot  nearer  the  seat  of  action,  a  very  diftercnt  state  of  things  to  that  I 
hiul  been  led  to  oelieve.  I  found  there  was  great  risk  in  this  matter.  There  was  a 
blockade  as  well  as  militaiy  lines.  The  Paraguayans  had  just  been  driven  back  fiom 
Corrieiites,  and  it  had  been  blockaded  by  the  Brazilian  sq^uadron  in  the  river.  The 
proclamation  of  blockade  had  been  issued,  and  it  was  a  contested  point.  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's letter  to  mo  was  a  friendly  one,  and  I  treated  it  as  such,  and  was  glad  to  get  it. 
lie  gave  me  some  information  I  was  glad  to  receive.  He  came  on  board  with  a  Mend, 
and  they  dined  with  me,  and  remained  aboard  all  ni^ht.  The  diflficulty  that  afterwards 
occurred  between  us  was  a  diplomatic  diflference  entirely,  so  far  as  I  know.  At  Monte- 
N  ideo  I  called  on  my  acquaintances,  among  others  the  French  admiral.  I  had  a  talk 
with  them  on  these  subjects.  There  was  a  great  confusion  of  ideas.  The  Fiench,  the 
Italians,  and  the  Spaniards,  were  all  for  breaking  the  blockade.  I  did  not  agi-ee  with 
these  gentlemen ;  there  was  a  diversity  of  opinion.  I  went  up  to  Buenos  Ayres  shortly 
afterwards  by  official  invitation  of  Mr.  Kirk  and  Mr.  Helper,  our  consul,  and  helped 
arrange  some  matters  where  there  had  been  a  difference  of  opinion  between  them. 
While  there  I  visited  Mr.  Washburn,  and  this  matter  was  talked  over  again.  It  was  a 
coustant  subject  of  conversation,  and  it  was  growing  upon  me  very  clearly  now.  jVIr. 
Washburn  talked  about  the  matter  very  urgently,  and  then  I  told  him  my  reasons  about 
Paraguay.  They  were,  that  it  was  a  blockaded  place ;  that  there  were  no  Americans 
there  that  I  knew  of,  and  that  we  had  not  a  straw  of  interest  in  that  country.  I  had 
called  upon  Mr.  Elizalde,  an  influential  man  there,  and  upon  every  American  merchant  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  Mr.  Hale,  a  particular  friend  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  who  would  have 
liked  very  much  to  have  Mi*.  Washburn  go  up.  told  me  there  was  not  a  particle  of  inter- 
est to  us  there  in  any  way.  Mr.  Zimmerman  felt  the  same  way.  I  told  Mr.  Washburn 
all  this.  But  I  would  not  make  up  my  mind  until  I  saw  Tamandard.  He  told  me  the  army 
was  about  to  move  up ;  that  thev  held  Corrientes  in  blockade,  and  hoped  that  I  would 
not  resist  it;  that  the  English, 'the  French,  and  all  the  European  nations  were  very 
anxious  that  the  place  should  be  opened.  I  had  seen  that  the  foreign  naval  command- 
ers there,  the  Italians  especially,  were  all  desirous  of  breaking  the  blockade,  but  none 
of  them  cared  to  run  the  risk.  There  the  matter  stood.  They  hovered  about  Corrien- 
tes, but  they  didn't  care  to  do  it,  and  go  beyond.  The  case  now  was  perfectly  clear  in 
my  mind.  I  had  no  interest  in  breaking  that  blockade,  or  do  anything  that  might 
involve  a  question  of  war  with  the  United  States,  and  I  left  with  the  fuU  deternunatiou 
that  I  would  not  break  that  blockade. 

Q.  Would  the  passage  of  a  war  vessel  of  a  neutral  and  friendly  power  through  that 
blockade  be  regarded,  either  in  law  or  in  fact,  as  the  breaking  of  the  blockade  ?— A.  Yes, 
sir ;  it  would  have  been  in  law  and  in  fact  a  breaking  of  the  blockade,  and  I  considered 

Q.'Wereany  war  vessels  of  any  other  nations  passing  up  and  down  there  at  that 


68  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

time  ? — No,  sir ;  none.  And  I  will  hero  state  that  the  French  three  months  afterwards 
sent  the  Decidd  steamer  np,  and  they  sent  her  hack.  The  Decid6  went  up  there  at  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Becour;  hut  they  stopped  the  vessel  and  the  admiral  had  the 
mortification  of  being  sent  hack.  Ho  returned  to  Eio  and  steamed  around  my  ship, 
lowering  his  flag  to  me  as  he  passed,  because  ho  wanted  to  gain  the  American  interest 
in  his  behalf,  and  he  wanted  me  to  send  vessels  up  there  on  that  accotmt.  Mr.  Wash- 
bui-n  took  question  on  the  subject  of  going  up  as  high  as  CoiTientes — not  to  Paraguay; 
that  part  I  had  dismissed.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  could  not  involve  myself 
in  these  subjects  without  some  more  instructions  than  that.  I  wanted  to  know  some- 
thing more  about  it,  and  that  question  was  then  settled.  But  I  did  say  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burn, that  later  I  would  send  him  u})  in  a  sailing  vessel  to  Corrientes,  and' Mr.  Washburn 
said,  "  If  I  could  get  up  to  Corrientes  I  could  manage  then  j)robably  to  get  over ;"  and 
he  said  on  one  occasion  that  he  would  go  over  in  a  canoe. 

By  Mr.  Washbukn  : 
Q.  Didn't  I  want  a  gunboat  to  take  me  up  that  far,  saying  that  I  believed  that  the 
presence  of  a  gunboat  would,  in  itself,  induce  them  to  let  me  pass  through  in  some  way, 
even  though  they  objected  to  the  gunboat  going  through  ? — A.  I  recollect  nothing  oi 
the  kind.  At  that  time  it  was  unhealthy.  The  Wasp  could  not  go  up  there  and  return 
at  that  time  with  the  coal  she  had.  It  was  the  sickly  season.  Mr.  Washburn  Tirged 
that  it  was  not  sickly,  but  the  heat  was  intense,  and  there  was  actual  sickness  at  the 
time,  and  I  did  not  want  to  send  that  little  vessel  up  to  Corrientes,  as  her  cabin  was 
hardly  larger  than  this  table.  The  distance  was  1,000  or  1,200  miles  up  the  river,  and 
it  would  have  required  the  consumption  of  three,  foiir,  or  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
coal.  The  cabin  of  the  steamer  must  be  taken  from  captain  and  given  to  Mr.  Washburn, 
and  the  men  and  officers  would  have  to  lie  upon  the  deck  of  the  vessel.  .  There  were 
many  reasons  of  that  kind  which  made  it  wrong  for  me  to  send  a  vessel  up  to  Corrientes ; 
I  do 'not  recollect  any  other  special  reasons  now.  I  was  responsible  for  Avhat  I  did,  and 
when  the  thing  was  clear  in  my  mind,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  responsibility.  I 
had,  however,  been  frequently  reminded  that  Mr.  Washburn  belonged  to  an  influential 
family  here  in  the  United  States.  If  I  did  anything  that  was  wrong  I  had  no  .political 
Mends.  This  matter  was  brought  to  my  mind ;  General  Webb  wrote  me  a  note  to  that 
effect  some  time  afterwards.  I  knew  that  was  a  thing  that  would  help  me  a  little  in 
what  I  was  doing.  If  I  got  a  little  wrong,  I  would  be  helped  by  that,  but  if  I  got  a 
good  deal  wrong  I  should  not  be  helped  by  it  at  all.  I  had  to  answer  for  my  own  acts. 
This  I  mention  to  shoAv  that  I  had  rather  the  disposition  to  do  it.  Still  I  decided  I 
could  not,  and  when  my  mind  was  made  up  to  that,  I  determined  not  to.  I  was  a  good 
deal  exercised  to  come  to  a  fair  and  proi)er  conclusion  about  this  matter,  but  when  I 
did  I  went  to  Mr.  Washburn  and  told  him  that  as  to  going  up  to  Paraguay  it  was 
quite  out  of  the  question,  and  going  up  to  Corrientes  is  a  great  inconvenience.  You 
are  here ;  you  could  do  no  good  there,  and  when  the  season  comes  around,  say  in  two 
months,  when  we  can  get  the  southeast  breezes,  and  a  vessel  with  a  better  cabin — the 
Nipsic  or  the  Shawmut — one  of  those  vessels  can  go  up  the  river  to  Corrientes,  sailing 
most  of  the  way,  only  using  steam  to  go  around  the  bends  of  the  river,  at  no  great  cost 
of  coal.  The  officers  and  men  then  can  be  on  deck  withou.t  being  injured  by  the  mos- 
quitoes. There  is  no  haste  in  this  matter ;  and  then.  I  will  send  one  of  those  vessels  up 
to  Corrientes,  and  if  the  officers  are  willing  to  make  these  arrangements  with  you,  I 
shall  be  most  happy  to  oblige  you.  I  said  I  Avould  do  that  in  the  mouth  of  April  or 
May,  as  a  convenience  to  Mr.  Washburn.  That  matter  was  then  understood,  as  I  sup- 
posed. I  said  this  thing  is  an  luicomfortable  thing  to  me  in  every  way,  but  if  things 
remain  as  they  are,  if  I  can  do  this  thing  I  will  do  it — that  is  to  Corrientes ;  beyond  that 
I  could  not  think  of  doing  it.  Mr.  Kirk  then  told  mo  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  about 
to  report  me  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  I  said  I  did  not  see  why  he  should.  He  said 
that  was  what  he  was  doing.  Captain  Taylor  of  the  flag-ship  was  present,  and  Mr. 
Kirk  added  that  he  was  doing  this  because  I  would  not  take  him  up  the  river.  I 
expressed  my  surprise,  and  said,  Mr.  Washburn  knows  perfectly  well  I  cannot  do  it. 
The  thing  is  understood.  I  asked  Mr.  Kirk,  ''  Did  he  say  that  you  were  to  repeat  it  to 
me  ?"  "  Yes,  lie  did ;"  and  he  said  he  had  seen  part  of  the  letter  Mr.  Washburn  had 
written.  I  T^•ent  immediately  around  then  to  see  Mr.  Washburn,  and  said  to  him,  "'  Mr. 
Kkk  has  told  me  you  are  going  to  report,  mo  to  the  State  Department.  I  think  it  a 
very  remarkable  fact  that  you  are  censuring  me  to  the  State  Department."  Mr.  Wash- 
burn replied,  "  I  did  not  say  I  was  going  to  rejm-t  you,"  or  didn't  agree  exactly  to  the 
word  '^  rq)ort." 

M-r.  Washburn.  Was  it  not  that  I  was  going  to  defend  myself,  and  justify  myself 
from  blame  ? — A.  I  don't  discuss  it.  That  is  what  Mr.  Kirk  said,  and  I  referred  to  Cap- 
tain Taylor,  who  was  X)resent.  I  then  said,  "  Mr.  Washburn,  I  had  intended  to  have 
'  done  this  thing  with  the  best  and  kindest  feelings,  but  since  the  mater  is  to  go  to  the 
State  Department,  I  would  i)refer  letting  matters  now  stand  until  I  get  regular  orders 
on  the  subject."    This  occurred  in  the  month  of  Januarj^,  1866,  I  presume. 


PAKAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  69 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  How  long  had  Mr.  Washburn  been  thero  waiting  at  that  time?— A.  Since  about 
the  4th  of  November.  Now,  I  said,  if  I  am  to  bo  reported  at  the  State  Department,  then 
I  will  get  my  orders,  and  I  mil  get  them  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  But  still  I 
did  not  really  believe  that  Mr.  Washburn  would  report  me.  Mr.  Washburn  wanted  to 
discuss  the  question.  I  said  no ;  I  have  given  all  the  reasons  I  possibly  can,  and  I  would 
rather  it  would  stand  in  that  way.  I  had  never  received  one  official  line  from  Mr. 
Kirk,  or  Mr.  Washburn.  I  stood  in  this  matter  simply  as  being  appealed  to  by  Mr. 
Washbipm. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Would  you  have  acted  differently  if  I  had  written  you  officially  ?— A.  I  cannot  tell 
what  I  would  have  done.    I  shall  not  answer  in  that  kind  of  way.    I  would  probably 
have  done  this :  I  would  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  that  letter  have  sent  it  to  the 
United  States,  with  my  reasons,  and  I  would  have  answered  it  immediately. 

By  Mr.  Orth: 

Q.  Did  you  intimate  to  Mr.  Washburn  at  any  time  that  he  should  address  you 
officially  ! — A.  No  sir,  I  never  did. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  make  any  objections  to  Mr.  Washburn  that  his  request  to  you  was 
liot  of  an  official  character  f — A.  No  sir,  never  in  any  way. 

Q.  You  did  not  state  that  you  declined  acting  because  he  did  not  address  you  offici- 
ally ? — ^A.  No,  sir.  If  it  had  come  up  officially  I  would  have  sent  it  to  the  United  States 
with  my  reasons.  I  did  not  write  at  the  time ;  but  Mr.  Kirk  afterwards  came  on  board 
of  my  ship  and  told  mo,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation,  that  it  would  be  well  for  me 
to  look  out  for  myself;  and  I  thought  that  probably  it  would  be  better  at  once  to  let 
the  department  see  how  the  matter  stood,  and  whether  I  was  acting  exactly  as  the 
department  desired.  So  I  gave  my  reasons.  And  then  for  the  first  tmie  commenced 
the  official  correspondence. 

(The  witness  read  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  dated  January  23,  1866,  as 
jtublished  in  Ex.  Doc.  79,  3d  scss.  40th  Cong",  No.  33 ;  and  Mr.  Welles's  rejily  thereto 
dated  March  12,  1866,  published  in  the  same  document.) 

I  have  referred  here  to  the  views  that  Mr.  Washburn  gave  me.  I  wiUnow  state  that 
Mr.  Washburn  urged  upon  me  that  if  he  could  get  to  Paraguay,  he  thought  he 
could  make  peace  with  these  people.  1  knew  those  people  pretty  well,  and  did  not 
agree  with  him.  He  spoke  of  Lopez  in  strong  language,  pretty  much  as  ho  felt  about 
him  ;  that  he  was  a  bad  man  and  he  thought  he  could  not  sustain  himself  there  very 
long ;  that  he  believed  that  if  he  (Washburn)  were  there  he  could  help  matters ;  that 
the  Brazilians  wanted  him  out  of  that  countiy,  and  that  he  would  like  to  have  a  vessel 
there  among  other  things  in  case  that  Lopez  wanted  to  go,  as  it  would  be  a  convenience 
for  him  to  go.  Mr.  Washburn  desired  that  I  should  see  Mr.  Saguier,  a  Paraguayan  who 
had  left  Paraguay  and  was  living  at  Buenos  Ayres.  I  did  not  care  to  see  him.  How- 
ever, Mr.  Washburn  urged  it  upon  me,  stating  he  would  tell  me  a  good  deal  about  Para- 
guay and  Lopez,  and  that  he  would  convince  me  that  Lopez  Avould  like  to  come  away. 
I  told  Mr.  Washburn,  however,  at  that  time  that  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  putting 
myself  in  any  position  of  getting  Lopez  aboard  of  a  man-of-war  in  ray  squadron,  if  I 
could  possibly  help  it ;  that  I  was  out  there  for  American  interests ;  that  I  was  a  neu- 
tral, and  I  was  bound  to  continue  so.  The  very  first  thing  that  came  up  in  my  mind 
then  was,  that  this  business  at  Paraguay  would  be  more  troublesome  than  I  had  any 
idea  of  It  made  me  very  cautious  how  I  was  going  to  act  in  these  matters.  I  went  to 
see  Mr.  Saguier,  as  I  thought  it  likely  I  might  hear  something  of  the  country ;  but  I 
did  not  see  him  until  he  called  at  my  house— at  my  headquarters.  I  do  not  recollect 
whether  he  came  with  Mr.  Washburii  or  not.  I  found  him  a  gentleman  of  intelligence 
and  education,  speaking  both  Spanish  and  French.  We  spoke  in  Spanish  I  think,  and 
conversed  on  this  subject.  I  found  that  Mr.  Saguier  had  come  to  me  to  persuade  me  to 
do  this  thing  of  going  up  the  river,  and  to  be  convenient  that  Lopez  could  come  away 
in  the  vessel.  Among  other  things  I  remember  his  using  the  expression  that  Lopez  was 
a  coward.  I  said  he  had  not  shown  it ;  that  he  stood  up  to  his  work  amazingly  well. 
But  still  he  urged  this  thing  and  it  became  rather  offensive  to  me.  I  saw  I  was  to  be 
argued  into  doing  this  thing,  and  finallv  in  his  warm  and  excited  manner,  forgetting 
himself,  he  addressed  me  as  "commodore."  I  had  been  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
let  him  see  that  he  was  mistaken  in  acting  in  that  particular  way ;  and  I  said  to  him, 
"  One  moment ;  vou  have  addressed  me  outside  of  my  rank  which  has  been  conlerred 
upon  me  by  the  government ;  I  desire  you  to  know  that  I  am  an  admiral,  and  one  who 
is  not  to  be  influenced."  I  did  it  to  check  him.  His  conversation  was  not  an  a^^reeable 
one  towards  the  close ;  and  I  soon  after  left  him.  Mr.  Washburn  said  to  me.  What  kma 
of  an  impression  did  he  make  upon  vou?"  and  I  said  ho  did  not  make  an  agreeable 
imi)ression  upon  me  at  all.  I  left  him'  with  the  impression  that  this  was  a  matter  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with,  and  that  I  must  not  commit  myself  in  those  matters.  1  tjid  nou 
allude  to  this  conversation  in  my  letters ;  I  did  not  think  it  proper  to  do  so.    1  did  not 


70  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

think  it  was  the  proper  view  to  take  of  it,  and  it  made  me  cautious.  Still  I  got  this 
letter  from  the  Secrctaiy  of  the  Navj-,  and  I  felt  that  thus  far  I  had  done  riftht.  Wlieu 
this  letter  was  received  I  was  at  Montevideo.  I  had  gone  to  work  immediately  after 
leaving  Buenos  Ayres,  to  fit  up  the  Wasp  with  something  like  a  cabin  on  deck/wliich 
would  give  a  great  deal  more  space,  and  I  had  hunkers  made  holding  from  40  to  50  tons 
of  coal.  She  was  very  awkward  for  man-of-war  xmrposes,  and  A^ery  inconvenient  for 
carrying  passengers  until  I  fitted  her  up  for  that  purpose.  In  the  mean  time  I  went  iip 
Ihe  Uruguay  river,  and  on  my  return  to  Buenos  Ayres  I  was  invited  ])y  Mr.  Octaviano, 
the  si)ecial  envoy  representing  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  in  the  conferences  of  the  allied 
powers,  to  an  inter\dew.  I  wrote  to  the  government  from  Montevideo,  ifCay  18, 
1866,  informing  it  of  the  result  of  that  interview. 

Perhaps  I  should  say,  in  explanation  of  this  letter,  that  I  had  a  difference  of  opinion 
with  Mr.  Kirk  about  my  visiting  General  Urquiza.  Mr.  Kirk  did  not  want  me  to  go 
and  visit  Urquiza,  who  was  an  influential  man,  but  not  holding  a  position  in  the  gos*- 
ernment.  I  thought  that  Urquiza  would  be  the  great  man  of  the  country,  and  that 
there  was  no  reason  why  I  should  not  go  and  see  a  man  of  his  immense  influence. 
But  ]Mr.  Kirk  seemed  to  think  it  would  not  bo  pleasant  and  agreeable  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  wrote  me  a  note  to  that  effect.  I  differed  from  him  entirely,  and  I  wrote  an 
answer,  in  which  I  stated  that  I  guessed  he  (Kirk)  would  find  that  I  scarcely  needed  a 
dry  nurse.  I  did  not  go  because  of  this  little  mishap.  But  I  afterwards  did  go  and 
have  an  interview  with  him,  as  I  felt  that  it  was  my  duty  to  pay  my  respects  to  him. 

In  my  interview  with  Mr.  Octaviano,  at  Buenos  Ayres,  Captain  Mp,rvin  and  Captain 
Kirkland  were  both  present,  and  I  heard  exactly  what  Admiral  Tamandard  had  said. 
Mr.  Octaviano  received  me  without  formaUty,  and  came  up  to  me  and  inunediately 
began  to  speak  about  what  Admiral  Tamandar6  had  said :  that  Admiral  Tamandare 
had  said  that  I  had  told  him  that  if  one  passed  ihe  military  lines,  anybody  could  go. 
Those  were  his  words  as  I  understood  him.  My  remark  was, ''  If  Admiral  Tamandai-6  has 
said  that,  he  has  made  a  great  error;"  and  Mr.  Octaviano  remarked,  "Admiral  Taman- 
dar<5  is  not  in  the  habit  of  making  errors."  I  said,  "  I  hojie  I  have  not  come  here,  at 
your  invitation,  to  discuss  the  habits  of  Admu'al  Tamandare ;  I  do  not  know  what  they 
are ;  but  if  he  has  said  that,  he  has  made  a  very  grave  mistake.  I  said  to  !Admiral 
Tamandard  that  when  that  blockade  is  established  at  Tres  Bocas,  I  will  acknowledge 
it.  I  did  acknowledge  the  blockade  there ;  but,  sir,  if  you  allow  one  vessel  to  j)as8  that 
blockade,  it  is  gone."  "  Why,"  said  he,  "that  is  what  I  said."  "No,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  you 
said  if  one  person  was  to  pass.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  military  lines ;  my  action 
was  entirely  in  reference  to  Admiral  Tamandare.  I  told  him  I  woidd  acknowledge 
that  blockade,  that  I  could  not  resist  it ;  and  I  told  him  more,  that  Avliatever  part  he 
conquered,  I  would  acknowledge  the  blockade  there,  but  that  he  must  conquer  it." 
My  interview  was  not  an  agreeable  one  at  first.  I  was  annoyed.  He  immediately 
apologized  and  then  went  on  to  say  something  about  Corrientes.  I  suggested  to  him 
that,  while  they  might  have  the  right  to  prevent  their  passing  thi'ough  the  military 
ImeS,  I  considered  not  granting  it  was  neither  amiable  nor  friendly,  and  might  lead  to 
results.  But  I  did  not  claim  the  right  to  have  Mr.  Washburn  go  through.  I  did  not 
mention  his  name  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  military  lines;  that  was  a  subject 
for  Mr.  Kirk  to  attend  to.  I  was  cautious  not  to  touch  that  point.  I  then  left.  Mr. 
Washburn  was  at  Corrientes,  and  I  would  have  been  pleased  to  hear  from  him, 
but,  unfortunately,  oTir  friendly  relations  had  ceased.  As  I  was  placed  in  the  position 
of  having  done  wrong,  I  wanted  my  authority  from  the  head.  Neither  Mr.  Washburn 
nor  Mr.  Kirk  wrote  to  me ;  but  I  knew  when  the  i^roper  time  came  the  government 
would  send  orders  about  the  matter.  I  then  went  to  Rio,  where  I  received  the  first 
letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  connection  with  anything  like  an  order ;  that 
letter  is  dated  April  26, 1866. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  from  that  letter  that  in  the  event  of  their  not  permitting  Mr. 
Washburn  to  return  to  Asuncion,  you  should  furnish  him  with  a  vessel  and  escort,  and 
force  the  blockade?— A.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  a  war  measure,  and  I  could  have  acted  with- 
out any  mistake. 

By  the  Chairm.vx  : 

Q.  You  stated  in'  your  letter  of  July  6,  1866,  detailing  the  interview  you  had  with 
the  oflicers  of  the  Argentine  Republic:  "The  conversations  were  entirely  unofficial, 
altliough  very  plain  on  my  part ;  and  it  is  distinctly  understood  by  them  that  unless 
our  minister  is  permitted  to  x^roceed  at  once  to  his  destination,  I  will  place  him  there 
without  further  delay."  Why  didn't  you  proceed  to  place  him  at  his  destination  Avith- 
out  further  delay  prior  to  July  6,  1866,  when  you  wrote  this  letter?— A.  Because  I  had 
no  orders  to  do  it. 

Q.  Did  you,  in  this  interview,  inform  him  that  you  had  received  those  orders? — A.  I 
did  not.  What  I  did  say  is  contained  in  the  same  letter,  in  these  words :  "  That  our 
right  was  so  perfect  to  send  a  minister  to  Paraguay,  with  which  country  we  w.ere  on 
tenns  of  friendship,  that  doubtless  the  government  of  the  United  States  would  claim 
an  explanation  for  the  delay  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  that  I  had  already  received  instruc- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  71 

tions  how  to  act."  I  said  perhaps  more  than  I  had  a  right  to  say  to  the  minister;  hut 
I  told  him  tills  unofficially:  "If  anything  h^s  escaped  me,  I  hope  you  will  consider 
it  due  to  a  foreign  langnage."    I  was  not  a  diplomatic  agent,  and  could  not  act  as  one. 

By  Mr.  Willakd  : 

Q.  You  understood  that  the  Brazilian  government  had  sent  forward  instructions? — 
A.  They  told  me  they  were  very  anxious  to.  They  found  now  that  I  was  going  to 
move  very  fast  in  this  matter,  for  if  the  demands  were  made,  and  I  heard  that  they  had 
1)een  rcfiased  again,  I  should  have  had  nothing  more  to  doahout  it;  and  I  was  extremely 
anxious  that  they  would  send  their  instructions. 

Mr.  Washburn  mentioned  in  the  course  of  his  evidence  that  I  had  gone  north 
on  one  occasion,  instead  of  going  south.  Mr.  Webb,  in  his  correspondence,  states 
so  too.  I  did  go  north,  but  I  had  two  object?  in  view ;  one  was,  to  give  them  time  to 
send  these  instnictions  down  there,  that  there  might  be  no  complication;  and  the  other 
A\'as  to  proceed  to  Bahia,  by  order  of  the  government,  fire  a  salute  on  account  of  the 
I'loiida  afiair,  and  endeavor  to  renew  a  good  state  of  feeling.  As  Mr.  Washburn  has 
seen  fit  to  allude  to  this,  I  mention  it  to  show  the  committee  that  my  going  north  was 
sitccially  official;  and  you  will  iind,  I  think,  when  that  conversation  is  seen,  that  the 
;i(hiiii:il  said  to  me,  "Now  we  have  had  this  talk  over  and  settled  these  things,  don't  go 
down  south,  don't  do  anything  yet ;  give  us  all  the  chance  you  can." 

By  Mr.  Wasiibukx: 

Q.  When  did  you  first  leam  that  they  had  not  sent  these  instructions?— A.  I  never 
heard  they  had  not  sent  them. 

Q.  Didn't.  Captain  Crosby  tell  you? — A.  I  never  heard  they  didn't  send  them,  nor 
were  any  instructions  ever  sent,  to  my  knowledge,  for  a  vessel  to  pass  the  blockading 
squadroii,  and  I  do  not  know  that  they  have  ever  been  given  to  this  day.  The  military 
lines  was  the  only  question  at  issue.  I  never  was  asked  to  ask  a  passage  through  the 
Ijlockading  squadron.    I  was  told  to  go. 

Q.  Didn't  the  blockade  constitute  a  part  of  the  military  lines?— A.  No,  sii-;  my  ships 
cannot  pass  through  a  military  line. 

By  the  Chaiknian: 

Q.  At  what  time  did  this  blockade  cofaimence?— A.  It  was  established  at  the  time  I 
arrived  there,  in  January,  1866. 

Q.  How  long  did  it  continue  ?— A.  It  was  broken  by  the  allies  after  the  gunboats  went 
lip  above  Humaita. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  1866,  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  to  me  inclosing  a  copy  of  the  dis- 
Itatch  sent  to  him  by  the  Secretaiy  of  State.  In  referring  to  this  dispatch,  Mi-.  Wash- 
1  )nm  says :  "  By  the  last  mail  from  the  United  States,  being  then  at  Corrientes,  I  received 
a  dispatch  from  the  Secretaiy  of  State,  in  which  ho  informs  me  that  "  the  President  is 
irnj  much  surprised  at  the  course  of  the  allied  commanders  in  detaining  me,  as  it  is  a 
l)ioceeding  both  discourteous  and  illegal."  By  referring  p^Jhis  dispatch,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  words  used  are,  "the  President  is  suqmsed,"  a,  J^'is  deemed  not  altogether 
courteous,"  instead  of  the  words  he  uses.  '^ 

Now,  I  want  to  state  that  with  both  these  docmnents  before  me,  and  both  of  them 
official,  what  was  I  to  do— to  take  the  words  of  the  minister,  or  the  words  of  the  Secre- 
tary? That  letter  was  ordered  to  be  sent  to  me,  and  I  had  to  view  the  instructions  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  precisely  as  I  read  them,  that  the  President  was  surprised  at  the 
delay  in  allowing  a  passage  tlrrough  the  military  lines,  and  it  was  deemed  "not  alto- 
gether courteous."  There  was  nothing  "illegal"  about  it,  and  it  comported  precisely 
with  my  ideas.  While  that  dispatch  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  April  16,  1866,  was 
being  written  in  the  United  States,  (and  which  only  reached  me  in  the  following  June,) 
I  was  stating  to  Mr.  Octaviano  ahnost  the  exact  words  that  the  Secretary  was  using  in 
regard  to  this  affiiir :  "  Sir,  my  government  may  perhaps  say  to  you  that  that  is  not  an 
amiable  or  friendly  act."  But  I  did  not  say  to  him  that  it  was  "illegal,"  because  1 
thought  they  had  the  right  to  do  so  if  they  thought  proper.  Still  I  am  told  by  the 
minister  that  it  was  an  illegal  act,  though  the  Secretary  simply  says  that  "it  is  deemed 
not  altogether  courteous."  With  that  difference  ftf  opinion  between  the  Secretary  of 
State  and  Mr.  Washburn  I  was  compelled  to  write  to  him  and  give  him  my  honest 
view  of  what  Secretary  Seward  did  say.  And  that  drew  from  Mr.  Washburn  a  letter 
in  Avhich  I  am  told  that  I  was  imprudent,  or  something,  because  I  took  a  different  view 
from  him,  and  that  I  was  to  put  no  construction  on  the  dispatch.  In  my  view  I  was 
compelled  to  put  my  construction  upon  it,  and  to  act  accordingly,  or  else  why  was  a 
copy  of  the  dispatch  sent  me — a  very  unusual  measure  ? 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  you,  or  did  you  not,  think  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  no 
interests  that  required  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  up  there  at  aU?    Did  you  entertain  that 
Klea?— A.  I  kncAV  that  there  was  no  American  interest  there  at  all,  nor  any  mercantile 
interests,  so  far  as  the  American  merchants  were  concerned. 


72  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Did  that  knowledge  influence  your  action  at  all  in  this  matter. — A.  Very  much  in 
connection  with  the  blockade ;  that  was  the  point  in  my  mind. 

Q.  Did  you  think,  as  a  naval  officer,  it  was  your  business  to  judge  whether  the  United 
States  government  had  interests  there  that  made  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  pro- 
ceed there  ? — A.  Yes ;  I  knew  there  Avere  no  interests  there. 

Q.  But  the  government  having  appointed  Mr.  Washburn  minister  to  ParagTiay,  and 
he  having  reached  your  squadron  on  his  way  there,  did  you  regard  it  as  your  province 
as  a  naval  officer  to  say  whether  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  go  up  there,  or  not, 
as  an  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Would  you  not  think  it  was  Mr.  Washburn's  province  to  determine  that  question, 
whether  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  up,  or  not,  rather  than  the  admiral's  ? — A.  I  think 
so ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Yet  I  see  by  the  testimony  of  Goveijnor  Kirk,  that  you  gave  as  a  reason  for  your 
course  that  you  did  not  think  it  was  necessary  that  the  United  States  should  have  any 
minister  up  there. — A.  I  had  the  view  that  it  was  my  business  to  judge  about  taking 
him,  not  about  his  going  there.    I  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  going  there. 

Q.  If  you  had,  in  your  official  capacity,  thought  it  was  necessary  for  the  interests  of 
the  United  States  that  he  should  be  taken  up  there,  would  you  have  regarded  it  as  your 
duty  to  have  detailed  a  vessel  for  the  i)urpose  of  taking  him  up  there,  and  even  to  have 
broken  the  blockade,  if  necessary,  that  the  government  should  have  a  minister  there; 
would  you  have  detailed  a  vessel  to  help  him  through  ? — ^A.  I  would  not  have  broken  a 
blockade  because  there  might  be  particular  interests  there,  without  I  knew  what  those 
interests  were. 

Q.  But  if  you  had  regarded  it  for  the  interests  of  the  United  States? — A.  I  could  not 
have  broken  the  blockade  under  those  circumstances.  It  invoh^ed  a  great  many  ques- 
tions. I  should  have  been  very  careful  about  taking  action  unless  my  mind  was  very 
clear  that  the  interests  were  equal  to  bringing  on  a  war. 

Q.  You  think,  then,  that  it  becomes  your  i)rovince  to  determine  the  question  of  the 
propriety  of  sending  the  minister  there  ? — A.  I  would  have  to  determine  it.  I  could  not 
receive  an  order  from  the  minister.  I  must  be  impressed,  and  my  self-conviction  must 
be  positive  on  the  subject  that  I  am  going  to  do  a  thing  that  is  right,  as  my  commission 
and  my  honor  is  at  stake,  unless  I  have  positive  orders.  The  minister,  in  making  me 
the  suggestion  as  to  what  I  ought  to  do,  did  not  take  the  responsibility  of  my  action 
away  n-om  me.  His  view  might  help  me  in  coming  to  a  decision  about  the  matter,  but 
he  had  no  right  to  control  me.  But  I  wish  to  state,  and  have  it  fully  understood,  that 
whatever  I  did  I  was  governed  by  a  simple  sense  of  my  convictions  at  that  time,  and 
influenced  by  no  other  feelings  whatever. 

Washington,  D.  C,  A^ril  15, 1869. 
Examination  of  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon  continued. 

By  Iklr.  Orth:        /^^  ^ 
Question.  Will  you  ijleaseonroceed  with  your  narrative  from  where  you  left  off  on  yes- 
terday ? — Answer.  I  would  like  to  refer  to  a  letter  of  General  Webb,  dated  September 
16^  1866.    It  is  as  follows  : 

"Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  Petropolis,  September  16,  1866. 
"  Sir  :  In  reply  to  your  official  note  of  yesterday,  received  at  7  p.  m.  this  evening,  I 
have  the  pleasure  to  communicate,  for  your  information,  that  on  the  22d  of  August  I 
advised  Mr.  Washburn  officially  that  all  obstructions  on  the  x)art  of  the  allied  fleet  to 
his  repairing  to  his  post  of  duty  had  been  removed. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB. 
"  Acting  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

"  Commanding  JJ.  S.  South  American.  Squadron." 

I  then  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  tlie  Navy,  under  date  of  October  8, 1866,  to  inform  him 
that  I  had  sent  orders  to  Captain  Crosby  to  convey  Mr.  Washburn,  minister  to  Paraguay, 
to  his  post  at  Asuncion,  assuming  that  by  the  time  he  would  reach  Buenos  Ayres  his 
instructions  would  have  been  coniplied  with,  and  that  he  would  have  received  the  per- 
mission which  had  akeady  been  sent  from  Brazil,  and  that  there  would  bo  no  difficulty 
about  his  going  up  the  river,  so  far  as  the  allies  were  concerned.  At  the  same  time  I 
stated  in  my  letter  that  Captain  Crosby  was  not  to  receive  on  board  any  Paraguayans, 
either  Loi)ez  or  any  other.  And  I  gave  my  reason  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  giv- 
ing this  sijccific  order  to  Captain  Crosby.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  that 
letter : 

"I  have  given,  as  the  department  will  perceive, distinct  orrTorsto  Commander  Crosby 
not  to  afford  a  passage  to  General  Lopez,  or  to  any  Paraguayans.  I  should  not  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  do  so  under  ordhiary  circumstances,  as  the  usual  hard  common 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  73 

Rcn«c  of  11  navy  officer  would  have  pointed  out  to  him  the  impropriety  of  such  a  course 
])ut  Mr.  Washburn  so  earnestly  urged  upon  me  the  advantage  it  would  be  to  General 
Lopez  to  have  one  of  oirr  men-of-war  convenient  to  bring  him  away  from  Parao-uay  if 
lie  so  desired,  and  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  such  a  good  reason  for  giving  hun  (Mr. 
W.)  a  vessel  of  war  to  go  up  to  Asuncion,  that  I  deemed  it  proper  to  make  the  order 
clear  and  unmistakable  on  that  point." 

That  referred  to  my  first  orders  to  Commander  Crosby.  Those  orders  were  modified 
afterwards,  in  relation  to  torpedoes,  and  a  rise  in  the  river. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  What  is  the  date  of  the  letter  modifying  those  instructions  to  Captain  Crosby  ?— 
A.  It  was  dated  October  21,  and  is  as  foUows : 

"United  States  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 
^  "Flag-ship  Brooklyn,  (2d  rate,) 

"Eio  de  Janeiro,  October  21,  1866. 

"Sir:  In  my  instructions  to  you  to  proceed  to  Astmcion,  on  application  in  writing 

from  Mr.  Washburn,  I  did  not  allude  to  any  difficulties  you  might  meet  with  for  want 

of  water,  nor  from  torjiedoes  or  other  obstructions  in  the  river  placed  by  Paraguayans. 

"  You  will  not  proceed  at  all  until  you  know  the  water  is  high  enough  to  allow  you 

to  go  up  without  inconvenience. 

"  If  toi-pedoes  or  other  difficulties  offer,  you  will  then  land  the  minister  at  Curupaiti 
by  boats  or  at  some  convenient  landing  within  the  Paraguayan  lines  to  which  the  allies 
will  have  no  objection,  or  you  may  bo  obliged  to  avail  yourself  of  the  means  which  will 
be  placed  at  your  disposal  to  pass  the  minister  through  the  allied  lines  to  those  of  Gen- 
eral Lopez. 

"  Respectfully, 

"S.  W.  GODON, 
" Bear- Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 
"Commander  Peirce  Crosby,  U.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Shamokin." 

1  also  sent  that  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  My  object  in  writing  that  mod- 
ification was  simply  because  my  former  orders  to  him  were  peremptory,  and  I  Avished 
to  allow  him  some  discretion,  as  ho  would  be  responsible  to  a  certain  extent.  I  gave 
the  order  to  Captain  Crosby  as  far  back  as  October  o,  to  go  up  tJie  river  when  he  was 
applied  to  by  Mr.  Washburn.  I  had  written  to  Mr.  Washl)urn  that  after  ho  had  made 
his  appeal,  or  rather  had  sent  the  letter  which  the  .Secretary  of  State  required  him  to 
send,  and  had  received  his  answer  to  it,  ho  would  apply  to  Captain  Crosby,  Avho  would 
caiTy  him  up  the  river.  In  the  meantime.  General  Asboth  had  gone  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  was  under  instructions  to  demand  from  the  officials  there  the  pei*mission  for  Mr. 
Washburn  to  pass,  which  permission,  it  seems,  had  never  been  asked  for  by  Mr.  Kirk, 
nor  had  Mr.  Washburn  applied  to  Mr.  Kirk  for  it,  although  Mr.  Kirk  was  the  represent- 
ative at  the  jilace  where  the  authorities  were  who  had  the  power  to  grant  it.  Still,  I 
felt  that  I  would  not  revoke  my  order  to  Captain  Crosby,  although  Mr.  Washburn  had 
written  to  me  that  he  would  not  make  the  demand  upon  the  President.  His  letter  is 
dated  October  1.  My  order  to  Captain  Crosby  was  sent  October  5,  under  the  conviction 
that  Mr.  Washburn  would  apply  for  this  permission,  as  he  was  directed  to  do  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  a  copy  of  which  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  State  was  in  my 
possession  when  I  received  his  letter  of  October  1. 

Q.  Had  you  revoked  the  order  to  Captain  Crosby,  would  it  have  reached  him  in 
time  ? — A.  It  seems  not ;  but  I  am  stating  facts,  I  do  not  care  to  state  conjectures.  I 
would  rather  not  be  interrupted  unless  it  is  in  regard  to  facts.  I  do  not  know  whell)er 
it  would  have  reached  him  or  not ;  I  have  not  thought  of  this  matter  at  all ;  it  might 
or  might  not  have  reached  him ;  it  has  no  bearing  upon  my  mind  at  all.  I  did  not 
revoke  the  order  from  the  fact  that  General  Webb  had  written  to  me  that  permission 
had  been  granted  from  Brazil,  which  was  the  ruling  power,  and  General  Asboth  had 
gone  to  Buenos  Ayres  to  get  permission  granted  or  the  hinderance  removed ;  and  I  knew 
the  permission  woiild  bo  given,  or  believed  it  would — I  cannot  say  that  I  knew  it.  I 
believed  permission  would  have  come  from  the  proper  source,  so  that  whether  Mr. 
Washburn  obeyed  his  portion  of  the  instructions  or  not,  I  felt  relieved  in  dping  what  I 
did ;  so  the  order  continued  in  force.  My  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn  mentioned  that  I  Avas 
officially  informed  by  General  Webb,  our  minister  to  Brazil,  that  permission  had  been 
granted  for  him  to  pass  through  the  military  lines  of  the  allies  into  Paraguay ;  and  th^^t 
(General  Webb  had  so  informed  Mr.  Washburn.  I  also  wrote  him  that  I  had  instructed 
Captain  Crosby,  of  the  Shamokin,  to  receive  him  and  his  family,  on  his  requesting  it  m 
writing,  and  to  convey  him  to  his  post.  When  I  gave  that  order  I  knew  I  was  gomg 
beyond  my  instructions.  My  instructions  merely  directed  me  to  take  Jlr.  Washbu^  ji  up 
the  river  in  case  of  a  renewed  refusal. 


74  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Swaxn'  : 
Q.  You  acted  upou  tlio  basis  of  General  Webb's  letter  to  yon? — A.  I  acted  upon  tlie 
fact  tbat  General  Webb  bad  made  this  statement  to  me.  I  understood  it  was  a  settled 
fact  so  far  as  the  military  lines  Avere  concerned.  My.going  beyond  my  instructions  in 
taking  ]Mr.  AVasliburn  up  beyond  tbe  blockade  as  bigli  as  be  could  go  was  an  act  of  my 
own  for  wbicli  I  held  myself  responsible  to  the  government.  I  thought  it  possible 
that  the  slightest  difficulty  occurring  there  would  place  me  in  a  very  uncomfortable 
position.  But  that  contingency  never  arose ;  Mr.  Washburn  never  was  refused  again. 
The  reason  I  did  so  was  this :  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  there  a  very  long  time.  I  knevv- 
he  had  written  to  this  government  and  complained  of  his  detention.  The  letter  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  gi"\dng  me  instructions  under  the  circumstances,  stated  that  the 
Secretary  of  State  desired  that  Mr.  Washburn  should  i^roceed  to  his  post.  I  thought 
that,  under  all  the  circumstances,  the  difficulties  and  annoyances  that  he  had  had, 
if  he  undertook  to  pass  the  military  lines  there  might  be  something  done  which  might 
incommode  him  and  his  wife.  Therefore  I  thought  I  would  not  exi)ose  him  to  that,  but 
would  take  him  up  the  river  in  a  gunboat.  That  was  the  sole  reason  that  governed 
me  in  going  beyond  my  instructions.  I  8ui)posed  I  could  make  this  clear  to  my  govern- 
ment, ^particularly  as  I  had  told  the  minister  that  the  allies  never  did  grant  the  permis- 
sion to  pass  the  blockade.  Still  I  believed  that  the  Brazilians  were  very  friendly 
disx)osed,  and  I  did  not  think  they  had  the  slightest  feeling  in  the  matter  against  Mr. 
Washbtmi.  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  w^ere  anxious  that  he  should  not  go  up,  as  his 
proceeding  to  his  post  would  give  a  moral  support  to  the  Paraguayans.  But  I  said  to 
the  Brazilian  minister  of  foreign  affairs :  "  This  thing  has  been  prolonged  so  that  I  shall 
send  a  vessel  up  with  Mr.  Washburn."  tie  said  it  might  be  a  very  serious  matter,  and 
insisted  upon  it  that  it  would  be  a  subject  that  might  turn  up  very  much  against  him. 
I  said:  "Well,  I  cannot  helj)  that;  I  think  that  the  time  must  come  when  I  shall  do 
this."  My  interview  at  that  time  with  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  was  official  and 
is  on  record  at  the  State  Department.  Some  little  discussion  took  place  in  which  the 
minister  seemed  to  think  I  had  perhaps  used  some  stronger  language  than  I  ought  to 
have  done.  He  afterwards  said  to  the  French  minister,  and  his  statement  was  repeated 
to  me  by  the  French  admiral,  that  the  reason  he  yielded  to  me  in  the  slightest  degree 
was  that  I  held  a  knife  to  his  throat ;  those  were  his  words.  I  never  considered  I  had 
gone  anything  like  so  far  as  that.  My  letter  will  show  the  extent  of  what  I  did ;  that 
it  was  a  plain  conversation.  After  that  letter  had  been  written  I  went  up  to  Eio  and 
called  upon  General  Webb.  I  had  not  seen  General  Webb ;  all  the  communication  I 
had  had  with  him  was  the  official  note  which  I  got  while  I  was  writing.  When  I  told 
General  Webb  what  had  transpired  he  was  very  much  surprised,  and  said :  "  Why,  I 
have  not  only  written  that,  but  I  have  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  ask 
of  this  government  permission  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  through  the  military  lines,  and 
if  they  refuse  it  I  have  instructions  to  demand  my  passports  in  from  six  to  eight  days." 
He  also  said  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  orders  to  retm-n  home ;  that  General  Asboth  or 
Mr.  Kirk,  whoever  was  then  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  was  also  required  to  ask  for  his 
passports.  I  saw  at  once  that  I  had  gone  beyond  my  instructions  in  every  way ; 
because  these  gentlemen  were  all  to  be  recalled,  diplomatic  relations  were  to  ceaae 
with  these  people  unless  from  some  act  of  the  allies  the  obstructions  were  removed. 
The  whole  question  resolved  itself  into  this  ;  the  moment  Mr.  Seward  found  that  I  was 
going  up  through  and  break  the  blockade  if  Mr.  Washburn  did  not  receive  permission 
to  go  up,  orders  were  immediately  sent  out,  not  to  me,  but  to  these  gentlemen,  to 
demand  their  passports  and  return  home  if  x^ermission  Avas  again  refused. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Will  you  state  the  difference  of  time  between  those  two  dispatches? — ^A.  I  do  not 
know  anything  about  that ;  I  was  not  in  Rio  when  the  dispatch  was  received. 

Q.  Were  they  not  within  30  days  of  each  other? — A.  I  have  not  the  slightest  ideaj  I 
do  not  know  that  I  have  ever  seen  them  myself;  I  can  refer  only  to  that  portion  which 
is  contained  in  Mr.  Washburn's  own  letter. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  What  was  the  date  of  that  letter  and  on  what  page  of  this  document  is  it? — A.  It 
is  dated  October  1,  and  commences  page  18  of  the  document. 

Mr.  Washburn.  The  first  is  dated  April  21 ;  the  next,  June  27,  about  two  months 
apart. 

Admiral  Godon.  That  is  not  the  one  to  which  1  refer.  His  instmctions  also  were  to 
return  to  the  United  States  if  the  hinderance  alluded  to  had  not  been  removed  by  some 
proceeding  on  the  part  of  the  allied  powers.  I  found  that  if  they  had  actually  refused 
to  pass  him  through  the  lines,  and  I  had  sent  jNIr.  Washburn  up  in  a  vessel,  I  would 
not  only  have  disobeyed  my  orders,  but  he  would  be  disobeying  his  orders,  and  instead 
of  returning  home  would  go  up  to  Paraguay.  ^\Tien  this  letter  of  Mr.  Waslibuiii  was 
received  by  me  the  vessel  had  gone  and  the  letter  did  not  change  my  views  in  the 
slightest  degree,  although  I  saw  that  there  was  something  like  breakers  ahead  if  things 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATIOX.  75 

went  wrong.  But  I  hoped  for  the  best  as  I  had  acted  for  the  best.  I  did  not  answer 
that  letter,  I  simply  acknowledged  its  receipt.  General  Webb  was  on  board  the  13a"-- 
h<hip  when  that  letter  came.  He  \yas  my  guest ;  he  had  remained  with  me  six  or  seven 
(lays;  ho  came  down  just  about  the  time  the  mail  would  arrive.  I  read  this  letter  to 
him.  There  were  some  parts  of  it  which  made  me  very  indignant ;  that  part  which 
stated  that  nothing  had  been  done  by  the  allies  toward  removing  the  obstructions  and 
allowing  air.  Washburn  to  go  up,  made  me  very  angry,  because  IMr.  Webb  had  written 
officially  to  me  that  the  Brazilian  government  had  given  orders  for  him  to  pass. 
General  W^ebb  felt  that  he  had  a  right  to  be  very  much  aggrieved ;  the  Brazilian  wv- 
emmeut  was  one  of  the  allies  and  the  important  one.  The  statement  wixs  made  a°ain 
and  again  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  that  nothing  had  been  done.  ° 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Had  anything  been  done  ?— A.  Mr.  W^ebb  stated,  to  me  officially  that  there  had 
been;  audi  had  sent  a  vessel  up  because  I  believed  that  something  had  been  done. 
Notliingliad  passed  between  me  and  the  government  to  that  effect;  but  the  charg6 
d'aHains  liad  told  me  the  same  thin^.  I  knew  from  conversations  I  had  had  with  people 
there  that  they  were  willing  to  let  Mr.  Washburn  go  through  the  lines;  and  Mr.  Webb 
had  so  infonned  me  officially.  If  ho  had  stated  what  was  not  true  it  was  not  my  busi- 
ness. It  was  an  official  letter  and  I  would  have  acted  on  it  under  any  circumstances 
until  it  was  shown  to  mo  that  it  was  inconect.  You  can  judge  better  how  to  take 
letters  liom  the  general;  but  I  had  to  take  it  for  its  face  when  it  was  marked  official. 

By  Mr.  Outh  :  *  . 

Q.  What  was  the  next  step?— A.  As  I  state,  Mr.  Webb  was  on  my  flag-ship  at  the  time 
I  received  this  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  which  I  read  to  liim.  General  Webb  wrote  in 
my  cabin  a  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn.  It  was  a  very  long  letter.  It  was  a  very  offensive 
letter.  I  mention  it  especially  because  ak-.  Washburn  has  stated  that  I  did  not  answer 
his  letter,  but  allowed  General  Webb  to  answer  it.  God  help  the  mark,  at  my  time 
of  life,  with  my  education  and  my  experience,  and  I  will  say  with  my  vanity,  that  I 
should  have  got  General  Webb  to  answer  a  letter  which  I  had  received. 

By  Mr.  Washburn: 
Q.  You  say  General  Webb  wrote  the  letter  in  your  cabin?— A.  It  was  written  in  my 
cabin,  in  my  after-cabin,  gTeatly  to  my  annoyance.  I  did  not  care  so  much  about 
the  letter,  but  I  did  not  want  it  written  there.  I  earnestly  asked  General  Webb  not 
to  send  that  letter.  I  told  him  that  letter  was  addressed  to  me;  it  was  my  affair;  I 
would  write  to  the  Navy  Department ;  that  I  did  not  want  to  discuss  it,  but  that  I 
would  attend  to  my  matters.  I  am  supposed  to  be  considerably  vain ;  so  I  am  told.  No 
man  lia^  ever  written  a  letter  for  me,  or  at  least  not  for  a  very  long  time.  I  am  not  in 
the  habit  of  getting  people  to  write  letters  for  mo.  It  is  my  habit  to  take  that  kind 
of  responsibility  upon  myself,  for  I  know  what  I  have  to  say.  I  do  not  allow  my  sec- 
retary to  M-rite  for  me,  except  upon  indifferent  matters.  There  is  no  letter  of  the 
slightest  consequence  that  is  not  written  by  myself.  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  have 
it  thought  that  I  desired  General  Webb  to  write  a  letter  for  me,  and  especially  to  sign 
it  for  me.  Even  if  I  had  got  an  amanuensis  to  do  the  writing  of  the  letter  I  should  have 
signed  it  myself.  I  did  not  want  him  to  write  the  letter  and  did  not  desire  him  to  do 
it.  The  letter  is  his,  not  mine.  Anybody  who  will  read  the  correspondence  here,  who 
will  read  my  letters,  and  his,  will  see  that  there  is  nothing  in  that  letter  of  my  character. 

By  Mr.  B.vnks  : 

Q.  That  letter  is  one  we  have  called  for  ? — A.  It  is ;  these  are  matters  of  investigation. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Y'our  testimony  is  that  you  did  not  authorize  General  Webb  to  write  that  letter  ? — 
A.  Certainly  I  did  not,  by  any  means.  I  regretted  the  letter;  I  did  not  think  it  was  a 
.proper  one,  and  I  told  him  so.  He  told  me  the  letter  had  to  go.  He  said,  "I  write  this 
letter  because  I  am  going  to  write  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  this  letter  goes  with 
it ;  we  are  obliged  to  send  all  our  correspondence  to  the  State  Department." 

Q.  Will  you  please  state  such  other  facts  as  you  desire  to  have  stated? — A.  There  is 
one  point  to  which  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee,  especially  as  Captain 
Crosby  seems  to  have  argued  it  all  the  way  through  in  his  testimony.  After  Captain 
Crosby  had  got  through  the  blockade  quietly,  a  certain  distance  above  the  allies,  and 
Mr.  Washburn  had  landed,  and  the  proper  ceremonies  had  been  performed,  Mr.  Wash- 
bum  went  up  to  Asuncion,  or  Ilumaita,  and  an  officer  was  sent  to  accompany  him. 

Q.  That  was  Lieutenant  Pendleton,  was  it  not? — A.  Yes,  sir;  ho  accompanied  Mr. 
Washburn  to  Humaita.  Captain  Crosby  then  dropped  down  below  the  blockade,  and 
anchored  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Brazilian  lines,  leaving  this  officer  in  Paraguay. 
Now  there  had  been  a  contention  about  passing  the  military  lines.  Admiral  Tauiau- 
dar<5  had  been  disobliged  by  our  vessel  going  up  through  the  blockade,  to  say  the  least 
of  it ;  he  had  protested  against  it.    Captain  Crosby  di'ops  down  with  his  vessel,  leaving 


76  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

an  officer  insido  the  Paraguayan  lines.  Here  was  a  chance,  when  that  officer  was  to 
return,  for  the  same  difficulty  to  occur  about  going  through  the  blockade.  When  this 
matter  came  up,  and  I  found  that  with  all  my  care,  trusting  to  tlie  intelligence  of  the 
officer,  he  had  placed  matters  just  where  it  was  possible  some  serious  trouble  might  take 
place,  that  he  had,  without  the  knowledge  of  Admiral  Tamandar6,  left  an  officer  in  the 
Paraguayan  lines.  I  saw  at  gnce  that  Captain  Crosby  had  committed  a  grave  error ; 
that  just  exactly  what  I  wanted  to  avoid  had  unfortunately  taken  place.  I  had  not  let 
Mr.  Washburn  go  through  the  military  lines  lest  some  trouble  might  occur  with  regard 
to  him,  but  had  taken  upon  myself  to  send  a  vessel  through  the  blockade  in  order  to 
avoid  annoyance.  This  officer  Avho  had  been  left  was  stopped  when  he  undertook  to 
return,  just  as  I  anticipated.  Finally,  Admiral  Tamandard  very  courteously  did  what 
was  to  be  done ;  protested  against  this  being  done  without  his  permission.  I  feared  at 
first  that  there  would  be  some  difficulty. 

Q.  Still,  Lieutenant  Pendleton  came  back? — A.  Yes,  sir;  but  I  allude  to  this  to  show 
that  Captain  Crosby  did  not  do  what  I  thought  he  should  have  done ;  it  did  not  satisfy 
me,  and  I  told  him  so.  He  had  placed  me  in  a  situation  that  might  have  annoyed  me 
very  much.  But  after  awhile,  when  I  savr  there  was  no  trouble,  that  nothing  had  come 
from  it,  I  read  these  papers  more  carefully ;  I  had  merely  glanced  over  them  before. 
And  rather  than  complain  of  Captain  Crosby ;  rather  than  show  to  the  department  that 
he  had  not  acted  with  the  intelligence  which  I  had  anticipated,  I  waived  the  entire 
subject,  except  to  mention  that  Admiral  Taraandar6  had  protested. 

Q.  Do  you  know  for  what  purpose  Lieutenant  Pendleton  was  left  behind  ? — A.  I  do 
not,  except  that  he  had  gone  up  Avith  Mr.  Washburn  in  order  to  bring  down  some  dis- 
patches from  him. 

Q.  Your  instructions  to  Captain  Crosby  were  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  up  there,  and 
then  to  return  without  unnecessary  delay  ? — A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Were  you  not  informed  that  the  object  of  leaving  Lieutenant  Pendleton  was  to 
enable  Captain  Crosby  to  return  without  unnecessary  delay,  and  to  enable  the  Lieuten- 
ant to  bring  down  dispatches  from  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  I  understand  all  that.  Captain 
Crosby  went  beyond  the  lines,  and  instead  of  staying  there,  where  he  Avas  out  of  the 
way  of  harm,  went  four,  or  five,  or  ten  miles  above  the  blockading  squadi'on. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Do  you  assert  that  he  was  out  of  the  way  of  harm ;  that  he  was  not  right  between 
the  lines,  and  exposed  to  fire  from  both  sides  ? — A.  I  so  state  the  fact.  He  could  have 
gone  higher  up  if  necessary. 

Q.  He  was  told  that  the  river  was  full  of  torpedoes  higher  up  ? — A.  He  could  have 
gone  a  little  higher  up,  out  of  the  way  of  the  Brazilians,  instead  of  returning  and  leaA^ing 
an  officer  there.  It  was  not  that  he  had  left  an  officer  with  Mr.  Washburn  if  he  had 
staid  there.  It  was  that  he  had  left  the  officer  without  informing  Admiral  Tamandard 
that  he  had  left  him,  and  that  the  officer  was  to  return  through  the  lines,  for  which 
permission  had  to  bo  obtained. 

Q.  Did  he  not  anuouncc  that  to  Admiral  Tamandar6  immediately  on  his  return  ? — A. 
I  do  not  know  anything  about  that. 

Mr.  Washburn.    Well,  he  does. 

Admiral  Godon.  You  are  stating  the  evidence.  Let  us  see  if  he  does.  Hero  is  Admiral 
Tamandar6's  letter  on  the  subject : 

"  And  if  I  did  i>rotest  in  the  name  of  the  government  against  the  going  up  of  the 
Shamokin,  disregarding  the  friendly  means  that  I  proposed,  it  was  foreseeing  the  con- 
sequence of  this  act. 

^'  In  these  consequences,  notwithstanding  I  could  not  foresee  that  an  officer  of  the 
Shamokin  (should  or)  might  remain  in  Paraguayan  territory  Avithout  right  for  so  doing 
nor  permission  equal  to  the  one  granted  to  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family,  the  Avhich 
constitutes  an  often se  to  the  right  which  my  nation  and  their  allies  have,  of  impeding 
the  x)assage  of  jiny  neutral  agent  to  the  enemy's  territory,  and  anew  (de  novo)  it  com- 
pels mo  to  protest  against  those  Avho  ordered  that  act,  as  I  protest  solemnly,  and  in  this 
manner  I  reply  to  your  above-mentioned  note." 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Do  you  doubt  the  complete  right  of  the  United  States  to  have  taken  her  minister 
up  through  that  blockade  ;  and  having  done  so,  do  you  doubt  their  right  to  i^ermit  one 
of  their  officers  to  remain  in  Paraguay,  a  nation  with  Avhich  we  were  on  friendly  terms  ? — 
A.  I  have  stated  in  one  of  my  letters  that  we  had  a  perfect  right  to  take  our  minister 
into  Paraguay. 

Q.  And  a  perfect  right  to  take  him  up  throiigh  the  blockade? — A.  According  to  our 
naval  ideas,  I  doubt  very  much  the  right  to  take  a  minister  through  a  blockade  when 
resisted. 

Q.  Still  you  had  positive  instnictions  from  your  government  to  do  it  ? — A.  I  had, 
provided  tlioy  did  not  grant  permission. 

Q.  \Vhen  those  instructions  reached  you  the  passage  had  already  been  refused  to  Mr. 
Washburn,  and  the  contingency  alluded  to  by  the  State  Department  had  arisen  ? — A. 
My  orders  vrcro  to  take  him  up  provided  ho  had  a  renewed  denial. 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  77 

By  Mr.  Wasiibuiix  : 

Q.  Where  do  you  find  that  word  "renewed"  in  the  instructions ?— A.  We  will  see. 
By  :Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  seem  to  place  some  stress  upon  the  protest  of  Admiral  Tamandar6  ?— A.  I 
mention  it  merely  because  Captain  Crosby  seemed  to  think  that  I  had  not  approved  his 
conduct;  that  I  had  not  said  at  once  that  he  had  done  very  well.  I  thought  he  had 
not  done  very  well ;  that  was  my  opinion,  and  it  is  so  still. 

Q.  Do  you  admit  the  perfect  right  of  the  United  States  to  take  their  minister  up 
through  the  blockade,  and  having  gone  through,  to  permit  one  or  a  dozen  of  their  offi- 
cers to  remain  there  without  the  consent  of  their  allies  ? — A.  Then  they  could  only 
come  back  the  same  way  they  went. 

Q.  If  it  was  necessaiy  for  the  oflScer  to  come  back  he  could  run  the  blockade  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir ;  and  if  that  had  been  done  there  would  not  have  been  any  com]daint. 

Q.  And  then,  if  war  had  ensued,  it  was  an  act  of  our  government  and  not  of  yours 
particularly  ? — A.  Wo  must  construe  our  instructions  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  have  war 
result,  if  we  can  do  so  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  intelligence. 

Q.  Were  you  not  informed  by  Captain  Crosby  that  ho  permitted  Lieutenant  Pendle- 
ton to  remain  there  for  the  i)uq)oso  of  becoming  bearer  of  dispatches  from  Mr.  Wash- 
burn ? — A.  That  was  so. 

Q.  You  did  not  doubt  the  complete  right  of  our  minister  to  send  dispatches? — A.  I 
did  not. 

Q.  But  you  attach  importance  to  the  protest  of  Admiral  Tamandard  ? — ^A.  I  attach 
importance  to  Captain  Crosby  having  done  that  which  led  to  the  protest. 

Q.  It  was  a  legal  right  for  him  to  do  so  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  it  was  a  legal  right  for 
him  to  return  from  that  place  and  leave  an  oflScer  behind.  I  consider  it  a  great  indis- 
cretion— I  consider  it  so  now — so  long  as  ho  could  have  held  the  i)laco  there  until  Mr. 
Wasjiburn  could  have  written  his  dispatches. 

Mr.  Wasiibukx.  He  could  not  have  held  it  two  hours. 

Admiral  Godox.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  that. 

Mr.  Wasiibuux.  I  do ;  I  know. 

Admiral  Godon.  As  this  is  my  evidence,  I  would  like  to  have  my  own  statement 
recorded.  Captain  Crosby  held  his  place  there  for  a  time ;  I  think  he  could  have  held 
it  a  little  Ipnger.  Whether  I  was  wrong  as  to  the  law  or  not,  a  thing  had  been  done 
involving  another  protest,  whether  the  protest  v/as  good  or  not.  I  was  not  satisfied; 
I  am  not  now.  But  the  matter  did  not  result  in  anything;  there  were  no  consequences 
♦  xcept  this  protest.  I  saw  it  was  an  amiable  sort  of  thing;  it  was  kindly  done ;  it  was 
evidently  not  a  fierce  afl:air;  it  was  only  a  little  grievance  more.  I  was  going  beyond 
my  orders. 

By  Mr.  OnxH : 

Q.  In  Avhat  way  ? — A.  I  was  sending  Mr.  Washburn  up  through  the  blockade ;  posi- 
tively beyond  my  orders.    The  contingency  had  not  amved  when  I  was  to  send  him  up. 

Q.  You  do  not  then  regard  the  fij-st  refusal  of  the  allies  to  permit  him  to  go  as  giving 
you  that  right  ? — A.  I  could  not. 

Q.  You  had  been  informed  of  that  refusal  by  Mr.  Washbiirn ;  you  knew  he  had  been 
refiised  ? — A.  I  had  nothing  but  my  own  instructions  to  go  upon. 

Q.  Were  you  not  informed  by  Mr.  Washburn  that  he  had  been  refused  permission  to 
go  up  ? — A.  Yes,  sir* ;  but  my  orders  were 

Q.  You  had  that  information  from  Mr.  Washburn,  had  you  not  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Ba^s'KS.  The  admiral  seems  to  act  upon  this  idea  that  the  refusal  was  to  be  re- 
newed before  he  acted. 

Mr.  Orth.  But  instructions  were  sent  from  the  Navy  and  State  Departments  here  long 
before  they  were  iiiibi-med  of  any  refusal.  And  when  they  reached  Mr.  Washburn  the 
refusal  had  already  occurred. 

Mr.  Willard.  I  understand  the  instructions  were  sent  after  the  State  Department 
had  been  informed  of  the  refusal.  The  letter  was  dated  April  29,  That  was  m  answer 
to  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  informing  the  State  Department  that  he  could  not  go  up. 

The  W^iTXESS.  I  will  read  from  the  letter  of  Secretary  Welles  of  April  26,  as  follows : 

"  The  hindering  and  delaying  of  Mr.  Washburn  on  his  return  to  Asuncion,  of  which 
you  are  doubtless  fuUy  advised,  is  considered  an  erroneous  and  unfriendly  proceeding 
on  the  part  of  the  allies  at  war  with  Paraguay;  explanations  from  them  are  regarded 
as  due  to  the  United  States,  and  they  have  accordingly  been  informed  that  if  m  futm-e 
they  should  refuse  to  Mr.  Washbuni  the  facilities  necessary  for  the  promotion  of  his 
ioui-ney,  an  occasion  will  have  occm-red  in  which  the  dignity  of  his  government  must 
be  consulted,  so  far  as  to  furnish  the  minister  the  conveyance  and  convoy  necessary, 
though  possibly,  at  some  cost  and  inconvenience.  I  am  assm-ed  by  the  Secretary  of 
State  that  you  are  in  no  danger  of  being  misapprehended  by  him." 

I  had  such  orders  that  I  was  required  to  really  kuoAv  what  I  was  about.  I  am  dis- 
tinctly informed  in  this  letter  that  the  delay  is  inconvenient,  but  that  the  President 
does  not  desire  to  consider  it  an  unfriendly  proceeding.    I  knew  nothing  of  what  Mr. 


78  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Washbiu-n  had  said  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  ho  never  wrote  one  line  to 
me.  But  ho  tolls  mo  that  he  had  been  refused  a  number  of  times.  I  knew  that  from 
Mr.  Welles's  instructions  to  me.  But  now  Mr.  Washburn  is  told  exactly  Avhat  to  do,  not 
to  write  a  long  letter,  but  simply  and  definitely  what  to  do.  And  minute  instructions 
are  given  to  me.  I  road  them,  and  as  they  were  very  plain  and  simple,  I  understood 
them  perfectly.  I  look  at  the  whole  business  this  way,  here  are  minute  instructions. 
I  do  not  know  what  Mr.  Washburn  has  ^vritten  to  the  State  Department.  His  letters 
might  have  been  diffuse  and  long.  But  here  he  was  told  to  go  and  say  so  much,  and 
that  if  they  then  refused  we  will  break  the  blockade.  Now  I  want  no  instnictions 
more  clear  than  that,  and  I  will  venture  my  reputation  acting  upon  such  instructions, 
because  they  are  clear  and  safe.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  they  are  not  such  as  are  gen- 
erally given  to  naval  officers.  We  are  generally  left  in  great  doubt.  But  here  the 
instructions  were  definite  and  clear.  I  never  any  more  dreamed  that  I  would  have  to 
explain  away  this  thing  than  I  dreamed  of  anything  else.  A  navy  man  is  brought  up 
to  obey  orders  in  a  certain  way,  with  a  certain  something  in  the  matter  of  taking  re- 
sponsibilities ;  some  take  none,  others  take  a  little  more,  so  we  go  on. 

By  Mr.  Banks  :  , 

Q.  In  your  letter  to  Mr.  Welles  you  quote  certain  Avords  "  in  a  certain  contingency," 
what  do  you  quote  from  ? — A.  From  Secretary  Welles's  letter.  It  is  on  that  account 
when  the  thing  was  done  and  had  reached  a  certain  point,  and  I  had  gone  beyond  my 
instructions,  for  I  had  a^jplied'  to  my  government  for  it,  it  is  upon  that  account  that  I 
I)ress  l"Liis  thing. 

By  Mr.  Oktii  : 

Q.  That  is  a  responsibility  incident  to  imblic  service  ? — A.  Certainly.  But  Captain 
Crosby  did  not  act  upon  his  orders.  Now,  while  he  attribu.ted  a  little  feeling  to  me, 
I  thought  he  had  not  acted  intelligently.  And  when  I  had  occasion  to  send  up  there 
again,  I  took  good  care  to  send  the  Wasp,  Captain  Kirkland.  I  was  very  cautious  how 
I  trusted  him ;  there  was  no  trouble  with  Captain  Kirkland. 

Q.  You  had  no  trouble  about  the  other  ? — ^A.  I  had  that  protest,  which  was  always 
upon  my  mind,  until  I  sent  it  home,  and  knew  what  they  were  going  to  say  there ;  that 
was  all.  I  did  not  Snow  what  Mr.  Seward  or  Mr.  Welles  might  say.  Mr.  Washburn 
says  in  his  letter  to  me  dated  Buenos  Ayres,  August  8,  1866,  as  follows : 

"  By  the  last  mail  from  the  United  States,  being  then  at  Corrientes,  I  received  a  dis- 
patch from  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  he  informs  me  that  the  President  is  very 
much  surprised  at  the  course  of  the  allied  commanders  in  detaining  me,  as  it  is  a  j)ro- 
ceeding  both  discourteous  and  illegal.  He  also  sent  me  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  the 
Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had  addressed  to  you,  in  which  you  are 
instructed  to  furnish  me  with  a  war  vessel  and  such  convoy  as  might  be  necessary  to 
take  me  to  Paraguay.    Copies  of  these  two  letters  are  inclosed  herewith. 

''  I  had  already  anticipated  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  had  requested 
of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  armies  a  passage  through  their  military  lines 
for  myself  and  family.  But  it  has  been  persistently  refused,  and  I  therefore  request 
you  to  provide  me  with  a  war  vessel  and  the  necessary  convoy,  in  accordance  with  the 
instructions  of  the  government." 

Mr.  Washbubn.  Allow  me  to  read  an  extract  from  my  letter  of  October  1,  1868 : 

"  I  will  add  that  after  President  Mitre  had  closed  his  correspondence  with  me  and 
referred  all  further  discussion  in  regard  to  my  detention  to  his  government  and  its  allies, 
I  had,  on  my  return  to  this  city,  an  interview  with  Seiior  Elizalde,  the  minister  for 
foreign  affairs,  and  verbally  represented  to  him  the  view  taken  in  the  matter  by  our 
government,  and  I  afterwards  sent  him  a  copy  of  my  protest  to  President  Mitre,  accom- 
panied by  a  brief  note,  saying  that  such  protest  was  reasserted  and  reiterated.  Senor 
Elizalde,  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  note  and  the  protest,  said  he  would  sub- 
mit them  to  the  allies  of  his  government,  since  when  I  have  received  nothing,  official 
or  otherwise,  from  any  of  the  allied  authorities,  so  that  you  will  see  I  have  literally 
complied  with  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in  the  dispatch  before  men- 
tioned, as  far  as  it  Avas  possible  for  me  to  do  so." 

The  Witness.  That  was  after  Mr.  Washburn  had  received  my  letter  in  which  I  said, 
-'  You  have  not  complied  with  your  instructions."  I  sent  the  gunboat  on  the  5th ;  I 
had  not  then  received  his  letter.  On  the  8tli  he  writes  to  me  and  tells  me  just  what  he 
has  been  repeating,  and  goes  on,  "  I  will  add  that  after  President  Mitre  had  closed  his 
correspondence  with  me  and  referred  all  further  discussion  in  regard  to  my  detention 
to  his  government  and  its  allies,  I  had,  on  my  return  to  this  city" — that  was  after 
receiving  these  very  instructions. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  What  instructions  ? — A.  To  make  another  demand.  And  then  he  first  tells  me  he 
had  complied  with  his  instructions. 

Q.  Was  I  instructed  to  inform  you  how  I  had  complied  with  my  instructions  ? — A. 
No.    After  all  this  matter  was  gone  through  Avith,  I  sent  all  these  papers  home,  and 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION  79 

then  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navj^,  in  -^hich  he  informs  me  that  I 
was  all  right.    His  letter  is  as  follows : 

"Navy  Department, 
"  Washington,  December  26,  1866. 
"  Sir  :  The  Secretary  of  State  has  submitted  to  me  for  my  information  a  copy  of  a 
correspondence  wliich  has  lately  taken  place  between  Mr.  AVashbum  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  on  the  subject  of  our  position  with  regard  to  the  war  between  the  allied 
powers  and  Paraguay. 

"  Youi-  coui'se  in  regard  to  Mr.  Washburn  meets  the  approbation  of  this  department 
and  your  instructions  to  Commander  Crosby  not  to  receive  and  transport  on  the  Sha- 
luokin  President  Lopez  or  any  other  Paraguayan  were  correct. 

"  I  inclose  a  copy  of  the  dispatch  dated  the'l5th  instant  from  the  Secretary  of  State 
to  Mr.  Washburn. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"G.  WELLES, 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
"  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron,  liio  de  Janeiro." 
The  following  is  the  dispatch  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  Washburn : 

"No.  59. J  "  Department  of  State, 

"  Washington,  I).  C,  Decemler  15,  1866. 
"  Sir  :  Your  dispatch  of  the  22d  of  October,  No.  74,  has  been  received.  Your  deter- 
mination to  proceed  to  Asuncion  in  the  manner  therein  mentioned  is  approved.  The 
President  sanctions  the  direction  which  was  given  by  Admiral  Godon  to  Commander 
Crosby  of  the  Shamokin,  not  to  convey  or  take  on  board  any  Paraguayan  on  his  voyage 
to  or  from  Asuncion.  This  government  owes  it  to  the  belligerents,  as  well  as  to  its  own 
dignity,  to  abstain  from  everything  which  could  be,  or  could  even  appear  to  be,  a 
departure  from  neutrality  in  the  unhappy  contest  which  is  going  on  between  Paraguay 
and  her  allied  enemies.  You  will  bo  expected  to  conform  your  proceedings  rigidly  to 
the  principle  of  non-interference. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"AVILLIAM  H.  SEWAED. 
"  Charles  A.  Washburn,  Esq.,  <f'c.,  <f c,  ^c,  Asuncion." 

I  had  written  to  Mr.  Welles  and  asked  him  to  give  me  his  opinion  as  to  whether  I 
had  acted  properly. 

By  Mr.  Banks: 

Q.  There  is  no  question  about  the  correctness  of  your  instructions  to  Captain  Crosby 
not  to  allow  Paraguayan  officers  to  go  up  or  down.  But  the  point  is  that  you  did  not 
as  early  as  you  ought,  and  when  you  ought,  make  efforts  to  transport  Mr.  Washburn  to 
his  post.  What  is  your  reason  for  that  I  As  I  understand  it  your  reason  was  that  your 
orders  directed  you  to  act  upon  a  certain  contingency  which  had  not  occuiTcd  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir ;  that  was  my  reason,  and  here  is  the  letter  which  closed  the  correspondence 
that  I  had  with  the  department  on  the  whole  subject : 

"  Navy  Department, 
"  Washington,  February  I,  1867. 

"  Sir  :  Your  No.  132,  dated  the  10th  of  December  last,  with  its  several  inclosuies,  has 
been  Received. 

"  The  department  congratulates  you  on  being  finally  relieved  of  the  long,  annoying 
trouble  attending  the  passage  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  his  destination.  Your  proceedings, 
views,  and  course  pursued,  imder  circumstances  trying  in  many  respects,  are  approved 
throughout,  and  have  been  creditable  to  you  and  the  service.  Your  dispatches  have 
been  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  Mr.  Washburn  has  frequently  appealed. 
.  and  that  gentleman  has  sent  to  the  department  an  approving  and  complimentary  letter, 
a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  transmitted. 
"Very  respectfully, 


"  Rear-Admiral  Godon, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron,  Bio  Janeiro." 


"G.  WELLES, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


And  this  is  the  letter  from  Mr.  Seward  to  Mr.  WeUes,  a  copy  of  which  I  received : 

"Department  of  State, 

"  Washington,  January  28,  1867. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  ackr.o-ledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  25th  ijistant, 
accompanied  by  dispatch  No.  132,  of  the  10th  of  Deceinl)er  last,  from  Rear-Admiral  b. 


80  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

W.  Godon,  commanding  the  Sontli  Atlantic  squadron,  upon  tlie  subject  of  tlie  convey- 
ance of  Mr.  Wasliburn,  minister  to  Paraguay,  in  the  United  States  steamer  Shamokin. 
'•  In  comi)liance  with  your  request  for  an  expression  of  my  views  in  regard  to  tlio 
course  of  Rear- Admiral  Godon  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  I  have  the  honorto  state 
that,  after  a  careful  perusal  of  his  dispatch  and  the  accompanying  papers,  it  seems  to 
me  that  ho  executed  the  peculiarly  delicate  duty  confided  to  him  with  firmness,  j^ru- 
dence,  and  courtesy. 

"  The  admiral's  despatch  is  herewith  returned. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"WILLIMI  H.  SEWARD. 
"  Hon.  Gii>EON  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

And  now  I  desire  to  say  a  word  with  reference  to  Minister  Asboth.  I  would  refer  to 
his  letter  dated  February  7, 1867 ;  it  is  as  follows : 

"Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  Buenos  Ayres,  February  7,  1867. 
"  Sir  :  In  obedience  to  instructions  received  from  our  government,  I  have  addressed 
an  official  note  to  Senor  Dr.  Don  Rufino  de  Elizaldo,  the  Argentine  minister  for  foreign 
affairs,  relative  t-o  the  good  offices  offered  by  the  United  States  government  toward  the 
termination  of  the  war  which  is  waging  between  Paraguay  on  the  one  side,  and  Brazil, 
with  the  Argentine  Republic  and  Uruguay,  on  the  other ;  and  as  the  government  of 
the  United  States  has  no  diplomatic  representative  near  the  government  of  the  Uruguay 
republic,  I  beg  herewith  to  inclose  a  duplicate  of  the  note  above  alluded  to,  with  the 
request  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  hand  it  to  the  UriTguay  minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
for  the  information  and  friendly  consideration  of  the  Uruguay  republic — a  republic  » 
whose  interests  are  regarded  by  the  people  and  government  of  the  United  States  with 
the  same  sisterly  affection  as  those  of  the  Argentine  confederation. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

"A.  ASBOTH. 
"Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godox,  U.  S.  N. 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

As  soon  as  I  received  this  letter  I  took  it  for  granted  that  it  was  all  right.  Mr. 
Asboth  was  accredited  to  the  Argentine  government.  This  was  a  communication  to 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  of  the  Uruguayan  government.  There  was  a  little  sensi- 
tiveness on  the  xiart  of  the  Uruguayan  government  because  we  did  not  recognize  Gen- 
eral Flores  as  the  President  of  Uruguay.  I  read  the  letter,  and  sent  it  to  the  govern- 
ment of  Uruguay.  I  did  not  receive  any  answer  to  it,  at  which  I  felt  a  great  deal 
annoyed,  and  wa«  somewhat  afraid  that  I  had  committed  some  indiscretion  or  other  in 
sending  it  in  that  way.  These  offers  of  mediation  to  Brazil,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Para- 
guay were  sent  through  regularly  accredited  ministers.  I  let  the  government  of  Uru- 
guay understand — I  sent  word,  or  made  some  remark  on  the  subject  so  that  the  foreign 
minister  should  hear — that  I  didn't  feel  comfortable  at  this  ignoring  of  my  letter. 
Some  time  afterwards  I  was  invited  to  the  house  of  a  gentleman,  where  I  met  the  sec- 
retary of  state  of  Uruguay,  who  exjiressed  his  regret  at  not  having  answered  my  com- 
munication. He  stated  that  they  were  prei)aring  a  letter  to  Mr.  Seward,  from  whom 
they  had  received  direct  these  offers  of  mediation.  I  found  that  I  had  been  doing  that 
which  Mr.  Seward  had  done  himseK.  Soon  afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Asboth,  asking  me  to  send  a  vessel  to  Paraguay  with  dispatches  from  the  government, 
in  which  vessel  he  was  to  go.  I  read  my  letter  to  the  Navy  Department  on  that  sub- 
ject: 

"No.  159.  ,  "South  Atlantic  Squadron, 

"United  States  Flag-ship  Brooklyn,  (2d  rate,) 

"  Harbor  of  Montevideo,  Uruguay,  February  28,  1867. 

"  Sir  :  On  the  12th  instant  I  received  a  letter  from  General  Asboth,  our  minister  to 
Buenos  Ayres,  inclosing  a  copy  of  the  communication  he  had  been  directed  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  to  address  to  the  Argentine  government,  and  requesting  me  to  forward 
it  to 'Mr.  Flangini,  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  for  the  information  of  this  govern- 
ment. 

"  The  matter  seemed  a  delicate  one,  but  presuming  that  General  Asboth  had  some 
direct  instructions  on  the  subject  from  Mr.  Seward,  I  sent  the  document  as  desired, 
with  a  letter  from  myself  to  Mr.  Flangini. 

"  The  receipt  of  that  letter  with  its  inclosure  has  not  yet  been  officially  acknowl- 
edged, but  I  ha^x  been  informed  by  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs  that  he  would  reply 
to  my  communication,  inclosing  me  a  copy  of  his  proposed  answer  to  Mr.  Seward,  with 
whom  he  was  in  direct  communication,  on  the  same  subject. 

"I  confess  I  felt  some  embarrassment  upon  anaking  this  discovery,  but  was  glad  to 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  81 

leam  that  my  letter  inclosing  the  document  from  General  Asboth  had  been  received 
■with  pleaeiue. 

"  On  the  18th  I  received  another  communication  from  General  Ashoth,  askino-  for  a 
mau-of-war  to  be  placed  more  or  less  at  his  disposal  in  order  to  send  dispatches  to 
Mr.  Washburn,  and  to  permit  him  (General  A.)  to  proceed  up  the  river  for  the  pur- 
I>08e  of  holdin^i;  a  personal  conference  with  Mr.  SVashbum. 

"  I  at  once  went  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  had  an  interview  with  General  Asboth.  He 
had  received  no  instructions  from  our  govenam<'nt  on  the  subject,  and  I  was  not  able 
to  see  any  <;ood  result  to  be  attained  by  placmg  liini  in  Paraguay. 

"  I  felt  that  whatever  iutluence  he  might  have  with  the  Argentine  government  would 
be  materially  lessened  by  his  making  a  visit  at  this  time  to  ^e  enemy's  country. 

"  I  have  ottered,  however,  to  send  a  vessel  up  the  river  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
allied  armies,  with  a  bearer  of  dispatches  from  General  Asboth  to  Mr.  Washburn. 
J  licse  dis])atches  liad  not  arrived  from  Washington  at  the  time  General  Asboth 
received  his  instructions  upon  the  subject  of  the  proposed  mediation  of  the  United 
States. 

"  This  arrangement  will  not  be  objectionable  to  the  allies,  but  I  beheve  Mr.  Asboth's 
visit  would  be  looked  upon  unfavorably. 

"  I  am  hourly  expecting  the  mail  from  the  United  States,  and  should  I  receive  no- 
thing by  it  to  alter  my  determination  I  will  send  the  Wa.sp  up  the  river  to-morrow. 

"  Dunng  my  stay  of  three  days  in  Buenos  Ayres,  I  found  that  the  friendly  offers 
made  by  our  government  to  the  belligerents  for  the  settlement  of  this  unfortunate  war 
()((nj)iod  the  i)ublic  mind  quite  as  much  as  it  does  here,  although  it  is  difficult  to  know 
Avluit  direction  things  will  take. 

'Peace  is  greatly  desired  by  the  people,  if  not  by  the  government  authorities. 
"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"S.  W.  GODON, 
"  liear-Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

"Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C." 

I  wont  up  to  Buenos  Ayres  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  General  Asboth's  letter 
and  there  I  saw  him.  I  told  him  that,  while  I  would  send  a  vessel  with  the  dispatches 
J  did  not  ^vish  him  to  go  up  in  it,  that  I  did  not  wish  to  take  him  out  of  his  jurisdiction 
into  an  enemy's  country.  We  had  a  long  conversation  upon  the  subject;  he  did  not 
srcui  to  think  it  was  wrong  to  go.  To  be  sure,  he  was  going  beyond  liis  jurisdiction,  as 
lie  admitted,  but  still  he  did  not  tliink  that  was  wrong. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  He  was  going  under  direction  of  the  resolution  of  Congress  in  regard  to  media- 
tion?— A.  He  was  going,  as  he  said,  to  confer  with  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Under  instructions  based  upon  that  resolution  ?— A.  There  were  no  instructions,  he 
told  me.  Mr.  Asboth  had  no  instructions  whatever  from  the  government  to  go  to  Para- 
guay;  ho  was  very  frank  in  saying  so;  that  his  instructions  were  to  present  the  resolu- 
tions of  Congress  to  the  Argentine  government.  We  differed,  but  we  differed  amicably, 
as  far  as  that  was  concerned.  I  left  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  I  would  send 
a  vessel  as  soon  as  I  could.  I  asked  him  whom  he  would  like  to  send  as  bearer  of  dis- 
patches ;  he  said  ho  did  not  care.  I  told  him  I  preferred  that  an  officer  should  go  rather 
than  a  civilian.  He  said  that  was  a  matter  of  indifference.  I  selected  Captain  Kirk- 
land  to  go  and  take  the  dispatches.  I  then  wrote  to  the  department  on  the  subject  as 
follows : 
"No.  163.1  "  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 

"United  States  Flag-ship  Brooklyn,  (2d  rate,) 

^^  Harbor  of  Montevideo,  March  9, 1867. 

"  Sir:  In  my  letter  No.  159,  dated  February  28,  I  informed  the  department  that  I  had 
received  a  communication  from  General  Asboth,  (a  copy  of  which.  No.  1,  is  herewith 
inclosed,)  asking  for  a  vessel  to  be  placed  at  his  disposal  in  order  to  proceed  up  the  river 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  personal  conference  with  Mr.  Washburn. 

"  I  replied  to  the  general's  letter  by  stating  that  I  would  send  the  Wasp  with  an  olhcer 
of  the  squadron  as  bearer  of  dispatches  from  the  government,  as  weU  as  any  be  might 
have  to  transmit,  but  I  did  not  answer  his  communication  in  detail.      ,        ,    , 

"  On  the  1st  iuftant,  I  sent  the  above-named  vessel,  with  such  instructions  to  her  com- 
manding officer.  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirldand,  as  will  cover  the  object  m  view.  A 
copv  of  these  orders,  No.  2,  I  herewith  inclose.  ,  . 

"As  I  have  not  compUed  with  the  request  of  a  public  minister,  and  the  general  (.as 
appears  in  his  letter  to  me)  has  informed  the  State  Department  that  he  was  about  to 
make  the  application  above  referred  to,  I  deem  it  proper  to  acquamt  the  department 
with  my  reasons  for  declining.  ,     ^,       „.  i     „^ 

"  The  friendly  offers  of  mediation  made  by  the  United  States  to  the  allies  were  placed 
by  our  government  hi  the  distinct  form  of  propositions  which  were  to  be  presented  to 

6pi 


82  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Brazil,  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  Paraguay,  by  the  various  ministers  accredited  to 
those  respective  governments.  They  were  also  sent,  it  seems,  in  due  form  to  the  Republic 
of  Uruguay  by  Mr.  Seward  himself,  as  we  have  no  minister  near  this  provisional  govern- 
ment. 

"  1  could  see  no  object  to  be  gained  by  sending  our  minister  at  the  Argentine  Republic 
to  Paraguay,  and  I  knew  the  suspicious  character  of  these  riparian  state  governments 
well  enough  to  feel  assured  tliat  such  a  mission  would  be  injxu'ious  to  any  hope  of  good 
results  from  our  offer  of  mediation. 

"  Another  reason  which  influenced-  me  in  my  action  was  the  feeling  I  had  that  I  mighiy 
be  called  upon,  with  equal  j)ropriety  by  our  minister  at  Rio  to  take  him  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
or  after  General  Asboth  had  tinished  his  visit  to  Paraguay,  the  resident  minister  at 
Asuncion  might  find  that  he  wanted  to  confer  with  General  Webb,  at  Rio,  and  would 
also  need  a  man-of-war  for  the  pm^pose;  neither  of  which  requests  could  be  graciously 
refused,  if  the  precedent  were  established  in  the  case  of  General  Asboth. 

"  When  General  Asboth  asked  to  be  taken  to  Paraguay  to  confer  with  Mr.  Washburn, 
he  had  not  even  received  a  reply  to  the  proj)ositions  made  by  the  United  States  to  the 
Argentine  government. 

*•  Each  state  can,  of  course,  decline  or  accept  the  offers  of  our  government,  and  if  Para- 
guay and  the  allies  reject  them,  I  cannot  conceive  that  our  minister  can  do  more  than 
simply  transmit  such  rejection  to  Washington. 

''  The  moment  General  Asboth  should  have  left  his  official  post,  his  rights  and  protec- 
tion as  minister  would  have  ended,  and  he  would  have  been  liable  to  annoyances  which, 
in  his  position,  might  have  seemed  like  indignities.  I  therefore  thought  it  far  better  to 
send  an  officer  from  the  squadron  to  bear  the  dispatches,  if  the  matter  was  reduced  to 
that,  simply. 

''These  are  some  of  the  reasons  that  induced  me  not  to  permit  the  Wasp  to  take  Gen- 
eral Asboth  to  Paraguay,  as  he  desired. 

"  It  is  never  pleasant  to  decline  co-operation  with  our  diplomatic  agents,  but  I  feel 
that  my  own  judgment  should  govern  me  when  it  is  at  variance  with  that  of  any  other 
public  officer. 

"  My  intercourse  with  General  Asboth  has  always  been  very  pleasant,  and  if  we  have 
disagreed  on  tlris  point,  the  difference  has  in  no  way  altered  our  friendly  relations^ 
"  I  am,  sii",  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  S.  W.  GODON, 
"Bear-Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

"  Hon.  GroEON  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C." 

By  Mr.  Banks:. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  conversation  with  the  Brazilian  minister  in  regard  to 
General  Asboth  visiting  that  government  ? — A.  Before  this  ? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. — A.  I  mentioned  in  a  previous  letter  that  I  had  called  upon  the  Brazilian 
minister.  When  I  was  talking  with  General  Asboth  on  this  subject  I  said  to  him  that 
I  had  not  seen  the  minister,  and  did  not  know  anything  about  him.  When  I  decided 
that  under  my  ideas  of  propriety  Mr.  Asboth  could  not  go,  I  said  to  him,  "  General,  I 
wish  you  would  see  the  Brazilian  minister,  and  mention  to  him  that  this  vessel  is  going 
up  with  dispatches ;  and  I  think  they  will  render  us  all  the  assistance  we  can  j)Ossibly 
want."  General  Asboth  said  he  had  never  met  the  minister.  I  said,  "  He  is  here,  I 
know,  and  I  will  go  around  and  see  him,  and  tell  him  of  these  dispatches  being  sent 
up ;  but  you  had  better  do  it  yourself,  and  also  tell  the  Argentine  government  here  that 
we  are  going,  and  they  may  send  something  up ;  at  all  events,  it  will  be  pleasant  to  have 
them  understand  it."  He  asked  me  to  see  the  Brazilian  minister.  I  intended  to  have 
gone  anyljow.  I  saw  the  minister  and  told  him  that  I  was  going  to  send  up  a  vessel 
with  dispatches.  He  said  at  once,  "  Why,  admiral,  we  will  send  up  your  dispatches." 
I  answered  that  we  wanted  them  to  go  up  at  once,  and  that  there  had  been  some  delays 
in  these  matters.  He  seemed  rather  to  j)refer  that  the  vessel  should  not  go  up,  and 
urged  that  I  should  not  send  it.    I  said  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  send  the  vessel. 

Q.  Had  you  any  conversation  with  him  about  General  Asboth's  going  up? — A.  No, 
sir;  I  do  not  remember  that  that  subject  came  up  at  all.  The  conversation  which  took 
place  with  General  Asboth  took  place  in  his  dining  room ;  there  were  two  or  tln-ee  per- 
sons present — his  secretary,  who  was  an  Englishman,  and  some  other  persons ;  I  had  no 
conversation  on  the  subject.  He  knew  perfectly  well  before  I  went  up  there  what  I 
thought  about  it.  It  possibly  may  have  been  mentioned  that  he  was  going  up,  but  I 
have  no  recollection  of  any  conversation  of  that  kind  taking  place.  I  wanted  to  make 
a  pleasant  impression  upon  his  mind  in  regard  to  the  vessel  going  up,  in  order  that  he 
might  assist  me  in  what  I  was  going  to  do.  General  Mitre  had  been  withdrawn  from 
the  command  of  the  allies,  and  a  Brazilian  was  in  command  there.  He  assured  me  that 
he  would  be  very  happy  at  all  times  to  take  any  of  these  dispatches.  I  said  I  was  very 
much  obliged  and  should  "  avail  myself  of  your  offers  in  the  future."  The  vessel  was 
sent  up.    The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  order  I  gave  to  Captain  Kirkland : 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  83 

u  T.,    "United  States  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 
lUug-ship  Brooklyn,  Harlor  of  Montevideo,  March  1, 1867. 

"  Sm :  Proceed  -with  the  Wasp  under  your  command  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

*'  You  will  at  once  inform  our  miuisterj  General  Asboth,  of  vour  arrival  there  and 
band  him  the  inclosed  letter.  General  Asboth  will  place  in  your  charge  dispatches  for 
the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn,  our  resident  minister  at  Asuncion,  in  Parao-uay 

'>  Having  received  these  dispatches,  you  wiU  at  once  make  the  best  of  your  way  up 
th(5  Parana  to  Tuyuti,  the  present  headquarters  of  the  allied  armies.  There,  or  at  any 
oiher  point  named  to  you  by  the  commander  of  the  blockading  squadron,  you  will  coni- 
irumicute  with  the  commanding  general  of  the  allies,  acquainting  him  with  your  mission 
and  requesting  him  to  give  you,  as  bearer  of  dispatches  from  the  government  of  the 
Uuited  States  to  ito  mirdster  in  Paraguay,  a  Iree  passage  and  a  proper  escort  through 
his  lines. 

"On  reaching  Mr.  Washburn  you  wiU  deliver  to  him  the  dispatches  intrusted  to  you, 
and  infoi-m  him  that  you  will  remain  a  reasonable  time  to  receive  any  communication 
That  he  may  have  to  send  to  our  government  or  to  General  Asboth.  It  would  be  well 
to  keep  always  in  mind  that  the  presence  of  a  neutral  vessel  of  war  is  never  agreeable 
to  belligerents  in  the  midst  of  active  war  operations,  and  your  good  sense  must  be 
exercised  in  remaining  beyond  what  might  be  considered  a  reasonable  time  to  obtain 
any  return  coniniunicatious. 

"Impress  ui)()u  the  coniinander  of  the  allied  armies  in  the  field  that  it  is  my  wish  and 
orders  that  you  remain  the  shortest  possible  time  at  Tuyuti;  and  at  all  events,  before 
leaving,  obtain  from  him  assurances  that  he  will  forward  any  dispatches  to  our  minister 
at  Biienos  Ajtcs,  brought  from  Mr.  W.  by  flag  of  trace,  as  early  as  possible. 

"  I  need  hardly  say  to  you  how  important  it  is  that  you  should  observe  the  most  rigid 
neutrality  in  all  yoiu'  acts  and  movements.    Receive  no  one  on  board  going  or  returning. 

'*I  wish  you  would  call  on  Mr.  Brito,  the  ambassador  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  and 
<  >fler  yoiu-  services  to  take  up  anything  ho  has  to  send  to  General  Caxias.  This  you  had 
better  do  through  General  Asboth. 

"  Duties  such  as  you  are  about  to  perform  are  always  delicate,  and  require  prudence. 
It  is  because  I  have  this  confidence  in  you  that  I  send  youi*  vessel. 

"I  wish  you  a  pleasant  time,  and  hope  to  see  you  back  soon. 
"  Respectfully, 

"S.  W.  GODON, 
^^ Rear- Admiral,  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

"Lieut.  Com.  W.  A.  KiRKLAND,  U.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Wasp." 

Q.  In  General  Asboth's  letter  dat€d  March  23,  he  says  that  on  the  2d  of  March  he 
wrote  to  Minister  Elizalde  for  a  safe-conduct  for  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirkland  to 
go  up  to  Paraguay,  and  that  on  the  8th  instant  he  received  it.  Then  he  says:  "I 
at  once  informed  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirkland  of  this  residt,  but  as  it  was  my 
original  intention,  besides  the  exchange  of  official  dispatches  with  Mr.  Washburn, 
to  have  also  a  personal  interview  with  him,  and  as  neither  of  the  three  letters  received 
from  you  contained  any  direct  answer  touching  this  my  desire,  I  deemed  it  proper  to 
request  Commander  Kirkland  to  inform  me  whether  his  special  instructions  from  you 
were  in  any  way  conflicting  with  my  intention  to  meet  Mr.  Washburn  in  person.  Com- 
mander Kirkland  in  his  reply,  received  on  the  9th  instant,  stated  that '  his  instructions 
only  require  him  to  carry  dispatches.' "  Why  did  you  not  communicate  with  General 
Asboth  by  letter  ? — ^A.  I  had  seen  hun  and  told  him  what  I  would  do. 

Q.  He  says  your  letters  did  not  ^ve  him  any  direct  answer. — ^A.  I  do  not  know  any- 
thing about  that.  It  seems  that  I  did  not  answer  him  in  a  letter,  but  I  distinctly  informed 
him  that  he  was  not  to  go  in  the  A^essel. 

Q.  In  a  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  Mr.  Seward,  dated  March  12,  1867,  he  writes  as  fol- 
lows :  "  One  of  my  first  inquiries  of  the  Marquis  de  Caxias  was  for  news  from  the  United 
States,  as  I  had  had  nothing  later  than  October.  But  I  learned  that  nothing  for  me  had 
been  sent  here  since  December.  The  marquis  told  me,  however,  that  he  had  received 
a  letter  from  Buenos  Ayres  saying  that  General  Asboth  had  made  an  effort  to  communi- 
cate with  me,  and  had  proposed  to  come  up  the  river  on  a  man-of-war,  but  that  they, 
(the  authors  of  the  letter,)  after  a  confidential  understanding  with  Admiral  Godon,  had 
80  arranged  it  that  he  was  not  to  come,  but  instead  of  him  an  ensign  from  the  squadron  was 
to  be  sent.  I  will  make  no  comment  on  these  confidential  interviews  of  the  admiral."— 
A.  That  is  not  true ;  there  was  no  confidential  interview  with  him  at  all,  it  was  a  plain 
statement  of  facts,  and  everybody  knew  that  Mr.  Asboth  was  not  going  up,  that  I  had 
told  him  so  on  my  -first  interview  with  him.  On  landing  I  went  straight  to  General 
Asboth  and  told  him  distinctly  that  I  could  not  take  him  up,  and  gave  him  my  reasons. 
And  I  will  state  here  one  of  the  reasons  I  gave  him  at  the  time;  I  had  seen  nobody 
aboTit  it.  I  went  up,  I  think,  the  day  after  I  received  his  letter  and  told  him  positively 
that  he  was  not  to  go.  We  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation  upon  the  matter,  and 
he  seemed  to  think  that  he  would  like  to  go;  he  said  he  thought  he  coidd  do  a  great. 


84  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

• 

deal  of  good.  I  said,  "  General,  I  know  about  these  things,  I  tliink,  as  well  as  you ;  I 
know  of  no  conference  that  ever  took  place  between  accredited  ministers  to  foreign 
countries  on  subjects  wbicli  belonged  to  belligerents,  except  one,  and  that  was  the  con- 
ference of  Ostend,  and  Ave  know  perlectly  well  what  was  the  result  of  that.  Mr.  Buchanan, 
Mt.  Sou16,  and  Mr.  Mason  were  found  in  the  ranks  of  our  enemies  when  the  rebellion 
took  place."  That  was  the  reply  I  made  to  him  when  he  urged  me  to  let  him  go  up. 
Now  conferences  between  ministers  are  subjects  that  I  do  not  Avant  to  meddle  Avith. 

Q.  Do  you  suppose  if  a  minister  in  London  Avanted  to  consult  with  our  minister  in 
Paris,  a  naA'al  officer  Avould  have  the  right  to  refuse  any  accommodation  to  them  for  that 
purpose?  Is  a  naval  officer  responsible  for  that?— A.  As  I  was  to  take  the  responsibility 
of  sending  Mr.  Asboth  out  of  liis  jurisdiction  in  a  man-of-war,  I  considered  that  I  had 
the  right  to  judge  something  of  the  matter. 

Q.  In  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  from  which  I  haAX  just  read,  reference  is  made  to 
confidential  iuterA'iews  Avhicli  you  had  Avith  officers  out  there  and  a  confidential  under- 
standing. You  say  there  Avas  no  confidential  understanding? — A.  None  at  all.  I  saw 
General  Asboth  and  settled  that  matter. 

Q.  It  is  not  with  General  Asboth,  but  with  other  parties  that  this  confidential  under- 
standing Avas  supposed  to  haA^e  been  had? — A.  I  saw  General  Asboth  on  that  day  and 
proposed  to  him  to  see  Mr.  Brito,  the  Brazilian  minister.  After  settling  with  Mr. 
Asboth  that  he  was  not  to  go,  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Brito  not  only  with  the  knowledge  of 
General  Asboth,  but  at  his  request.  In  that  conversation  I  told  him  I  was  going  to 
send  the  Wasj). 

Q.  That  is  not  an  answer  to  the  question.  On  the  23d  of  March  General  Asboth  says 
that  he  had  had  three  letters  from  you  and  had  received  no  answer  to  his  request;  then, 
that  he  asked  Commander  Kirkland,  who  replied  that  his  instructions  only  required 
him  to  carry  dispatches.  On  the  12th  of  March  Mr.  Washburn  writes  to  Mr.  Seward 
that  the  Marquis  de  Caxias  had  told  him  that  you  had  had  confidential  interviews  with 
him  on  that  subject? — A.  That  is  not  true;  it  is  false  in  every  respect.  I  never  had 
a  confidential  communication  Avith  Mr.  Brito  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Or  any  other  person  ? — A.  I  mean  anybody  or  any  person. 

Q.  General  Webb  says  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Seward  dated  August  24,1866:  "The  conver- 
sation terminated  in  his  placing  in  my  hands  the  inclosed  letter,  marked  B,  which  is  as 
follows: 

'Private.]  'Rio  de  Janeiro,  August  21,  1866. 

'  My  Dear  General  :  I  am  sorry  to  see  by  your  letter  of  yesterday  that  you  are  still 
unwell,  and  hope  that  you  may  soon  recover. 

'  With  regard  to  Mr.  Washburn's  case,  I  must  inform  you  that  intervicAvs  which  took 
place  between  Admiral  Godon,  Mr.  LidgerAVood,  Mr.  Saraiva,  and  myself,  were  expressly 
understood  to  be  entirely  private  and  confidential.'" 

A.  I  am  referring  to  a  year  afterwards. 

Q.  General  Asboth  at  the  close  of  his  letter  of  March  23,  1867,  writes  as  follows:  "In 
conclusion,  I  beg  leave  to  inform  you  that  my  report  to  the  State  Department,  relative 
to  the  above  subject,  was  concluded  as  foUoAvs:  'Although  I  feel  well  assured  that  the 
admiral  is  actuated,  as  I  am,  by  the  same  sincere  desire  to  promote  the  best  interests 
of  our  government,  ncA^ertheless  I  deem  it  proper,  Avhile  submitting  without  further 
comment  our  conflicting  vieAvs  to  your  decision,  to  request  at  the  same  time  that  you 
may  be  pleased  to  define,  for  my  future  guidance,  the  reciprocal  duties  and  obligations 
incumbent  on  ministers  resident  and  admirals  abroad  under  similar  circumstances.' " — 
Did  you  understand  that  this  extract  which  he  sent  to  you  was  sent  for  the  pur- 
pose of  informing  you  that  you  did  not  understand  your  business  ? — A.  I  understood  it 
exactly  as  I  stated,  that  General  Asboth  had  informed  me  first  that  he  had  written  to 
the  department  and  had  sent  me  that  extract,  which  was  about  the  same  as  telling  me 
that  I  did  not  knoAV  my  business. 

Q.  Would  you  under  any  circumstances  have  made  that  reply  to  General  Asboth  that 
the  information  was  sent  to  you  for  the  purpose  of  informing  you  that  in  his  opinion  you 
did  not  know  your  business  ? — A.  I  did  not  make  that  reply. 

Q.  Would  you  have  made  it  under  any  circumstances  ? — A.  After  the  conversation 
had  taken  place  in  which  I  had  said  to  him  that  I  knew  my  own  responsibilities  and 
that  he  had  his  responsibilities,  I  considered  his  sending  me  that  extract  without 
sending  me  the  Avhole  letter  Avas  simply  equivalent  to  letting  me  know  that  at  all 
events  he  had  no  confidence  Avhatever  in  my  understanding  my  position  there.  He 
came  out  to  the  country  on  the  Sunday  after  I  told  him  ho  could  not  go  and  urged  me 
again.  He  said, "  Admiral,  I  Avill  take  all  the  responsibility."  I  said  to  liim,  "  General, 
'  do  you  wish  me  to  understand  that  your  making  this  request  implies  some  order,  some- 
thing that  I  must  do?"  "No,"  he  said,  he  did  not  mean  that.  "Then,"  said  I,  "where  is 
the  relief  from  responsibility  on  my  part  ?  If  you  lay  the  matter  before  mo  and  I  am 
to  judge  of  it,  then  you  cannot  relieve  my  responsibility  in  the  matter.  If  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  request  that  conveys  an  order  to  me,  then  I  must  do  it  and  my  responsi- 
bility is  relieved." 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  8^ 

Q.  What  was  the  business  of  a  fleet  there  in  time  of  peace?— A.  To  protect  our  com- 
merce, to  render  assistance  to  our  merchants,  to  aid  our  ministers,  and  to  do  all  that 
possibly  could  be  done  in  every  way  where  our  judgment  led  us  to  suppose  auvthine- 
could  be  done.  "^        ^ 

Q.  Here  the  minister  makes  a  specific  request  to  you  which  you  refuse  or  decline? 

A.  I  declined  to  do  it  positively,  and  I  gave  my  reasons. 

Q.  Those  reasons  do  not  appear  in  this  correspondence  ?— A.  I  did  not  write  them.  I 
told  him  what  my  reason  was. 

Q.  It  appears  Irom  these  documents  that  Mr.  Asboth  had  received  three  letters  from 
you  in  which  there  was  no  allusion  to  his  request;  that  he  obtained  an  answer  from  your 
subordinate  ofiieer?— A.  No,  sir;  he  got  it  from  me  in  a  very  emphatic  manner ;  that 
was  when  he  hrst  asked  it.  He  wrote  to  me  and  I  immediately  went  up  without  delay 
and  told  him  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  that  be  could  not  go.  And  I  wrote  to  the 
government  here  that  I  had  refused  this  request  of  Mr.  Asboth. 

Q.  Does  it  not  require  some  explanation  that  the  Marquis  de  Caxias  should  have  said 
on  the  12th  of  March  that  this  aiTaugemcut  by  which  General  Asboth  was  refused  a 
passage  up  the  river,  and  an  ensign  from  the  squadron  sent  in  his  jdace,  should  have 
been  known  to  the  people  there ;  and  that  on  the  23d  of  March,  eleven  days  after,  Gen- 
eral Asboth  should  write  to  you  saying  that  he  had  never  haard  from  you  upon  thig 
subject  ?— A,  No,  sir ;  because  on  the  28th  of  February  I  had  seen  Mr.  Asboth  and  had 
declined  to  let  him  go.  I  at  once  went  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  had  an  interview  with 
General  Asboth.  It  was  well  known  in  March  that  he  was  not  to  go ;  there  was  no 
doubt  at  all  in  General  Asboth's  mind  upon  that  subject ;  it  was*known  everywhere. 
I  did  not  send  an  ensign.  I  asked  Mr.  Asboth  whom  he  wanted  me  to  send,  and  said 
that  I  would  be  afraid  to  send  a  civilian.  Ho  said,  send  anybody.  I  sent  Captain 
Kirkland,  not  an  ensign. 

Q.  Mr.  Asboth  says  lie  received  information  of  your  determination  fit)m  Lieutenant 
Commander  Kirkland  ?— A.  I  told  him  exactly  what  I  would  do.  I  told  him  distinctly 
this,  "  I  will  send  the  Wasj)  up,  and  Captain  Kirkland,  who  speaks  the  language,  will 
bear  the  dispatches."  The  matter  was  settled  some  time  in  February ;  I  do  not  know 
what  day.  But  there  is  certainly  a  letter  written  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  why  it  is  ^ot 
here  among  these  documents  I  do  not  know.  It  is  a  letter  to  General  Asboth,  iuwMch 
I  told  him  positively  that  I  would  not  write  on  Sunday,  but  gave  him  to  understand 
that  I  would  send  the  Wasp  and  a  bearer  of  dispatches. 

Q.  Do  you  regard  that  as  important  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  not  at  all ;  only  as  saying  that 
there  was  a  letter.  It  is  of  no  importance  beyond  the  fact  that  the  letter  was  sent,  and 
that  ho  understood  my  views  distinctly  that  he  was  not  to  go.  After  that  I  saw  the 
Brazilian  minister  and  told  him  that  I  was  going  to  send  a  vessel. 

Q.  You  would  make  it  appear  that  j'ou  were  under  no  obligation  to  him  as  a  foreign 
minister? — ^A.  I  said -distinctly,  "  It  is  never  pleasant  to  decline  co-operation  with  our 
diplomatic  agents;  but  I  feel  that  my  own  judgment  should  govern  me  when  it  is  at 
variance  with  that  of  any  other  public  officer." 

Q.  That  confirms  the  idea.  You  write  to  the  Navy  Department,  you  had  no  connec- 
tion with  any  other  department  of  the  government  and  are  under  no  obligation  to 
accommodate  any  officer  of  the  government,  even  iuthat  distant  part  of  the  world?— 
A.  I  do  not  say  that. 

Q.  I  know  you  do  not  say  that. — A.  I  say  that  where  our  judgments  are  at  variance, 
we  are  both  to  act  on  our  individual  responsibilities.  K I  believe  what  he  wants  me 
to  do  is  not  a  proper  thing  for  me  to  do  I  will  act  entirely  on  my  own  responsibility ; 
and  I  am  as  liable  to  censure  for  the  failure  of  my  judgment  in  that  respect  as  in  any 
other. 

Q.  It  does  not  matter  to  us  whether  your  action  is  approved  or  disapproved  by  the  gov- 
ernment ;  what  we  want  to  know  is  that  you  were  right. — A.  What  I  say  is  this :  If  the 
request  of  the  minister  conveyed  to  me  information  of  a  fact  upon  which  I  was  author- 
ized to  act,  I  must  act  upon  it.  If  there  was  no  minister  there,  and  I  obtained 
information  of  that  fact,  I  would  act  upon  it  just  the  same;  if  there  is  a  minister 
there,  I  do  not  think  it  relieved  me  from  the  responsibility. 

Q.  That  is,  you  were  under  no  obligation  to  consider  the  request  of  a  minister  any 
more  than  of  any  other  citizen  of  the  United  States  ?— A.  His  official  position  would  always 
have  certain  influence  with  me. 

Q.  Very  slight,  apparently.— A.  Not  at  all;  supposing  the  minister  was  a  ™ianin 
whose  judgment  I  had  confidence.  Now,  if  Mr.  Adams,  or  any  man  like  him,  should, 
as  a  minister,  make  a  request  of  me,  I  should  probably  act  upon  it ;  but,  unfortunately, 
all  our  ministers  are  not  like  Mr.  Adams. 

Q.  You  say  that  you  would  do  the  same  for  any  other  person  that  you  would  for 
him  ?— A.  I  would  act  upon  a  credible  fact  that  came  to  my  knowledge,  whether  from 
a  minister  or  any  other  person ;  anything  that  I  could  really  believe  was  right  I  would 
do.  A  minister  can  have  his  interest  and  his  biases,  and  I  hope  I  do  not  say  anything 
disrespectful  when  I  sav  that  a  minister  may  err  in  judgment.    I  am  responsible  for 


86  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

anything  that  I  take  upon  the  judgment  of  a  minister ;  I  would  hold  myself  in  no  man- 
ner relieved  from  responsibility  because  the  matter  had  come  from  a  minister. 

Q.  What  wo  want  to  know  is  as  regards  the  other  departments  of  the  government  ? — 
A.  If  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Adams  were  to  put  a  question  of  this  kind  before  me  I  should 
be  very  doubtful  as  to  going  contrary  to  his  opinion.  If  Mr.  Seward  was  a  minister 
there,  I  should  be  very  cautious  in  diftering  with  him,  or  with  any  one  in  whom  I  had 
confidence  as  to  his  judgment  of  what  I  was  going  to  undertake.  I  think  it  is  about 
what  we  do  in  all  responsible  positions.  I  consider  that  my  responsibilities  are  very 
serious.  I  have  a  great  deal  of  confidence  in  my  own  judgment,  after  I  have  deliber- 
ated upon  a  question,  and  where  I  was  to  bo  entirely  responsible  for  my  own  acts  I 
would  rather  trust  to  my  judgement.  This  matter  has  been  before  the  department ;  I 
wrote  to  them  and  stated  that  I  considered  that  I  was  responsible  myself  for  my  action 
in  that  case. 

Q.  And  the  department  approved  your  action? — A.  More  than  that;  Mr.  Seward 
wrote  a  letter  of  instructions  on  the  subject. 

Q.  Is  that  letter  here  ? — A.  I  do  not  find  it. 

Q.  It  would  bo  very  strange  if  the  Secretary  of  State  instructed  a  minister  that  he 
had  no  right  to  call  on  a  naval  officer  for  assistance. — A.  Hero  is  a  letter  of  Secretary 
Welles,  in  which  reference  is  made  to  that  letter,  and  from  that  you  may  get  some  idea : 

*'  NA\nr  Department, 

"  W(ishingt07i,  May  25,  1867. 
"Sir:  Your  dispatches  170  and  174,  under  date  of  April  1st  and  April  4th,  respect- 
ively, have  been  received,  with  the  copies  of  the  correspondence  with  Minister  Asboth. 
The' course  pursued  by  you  in  declining  to  furnish  that  gentleman  a  passage  on  the 
Wasp,  to  visit  Mr.  Washburn,  is  entirely  approved.  His  request  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  of  which  ho  furnished  you  a  cojyj,  to  be  informed  as  to  the  reciprocal  duties  and 
obligations  incumbent  on  ministers  resident  and  admirals  abroad,  has  been  complied 
with,  and  he  informed  that  while  it  is  important  that  the  civil  and  naval  rei)resenta- 
tives  of  the  government  abroad  should  cultivate  and  maintain  social  and  friendly  rela- 
tions, and  that  they  mutually  aid  and  assist  each  other  in  all  matters  which,  relate  to  the 
intef  est  of  the  government,  neither  has  authority  to  control  or  direct  the  other.  He 
and  other  ministers  receive  their  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  while  the  naval 
officers  derive  theirs  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

"  This  letter  of  the  Secretary'  of  State  will  doubtless  correct  certain  erroneous  opin- 
ions which  ax)pear  to  have  prevailed  among  some  of  the  officials  within  the  limits  of 
the  South  Atlantic  squadron  who  have  labored  under  the  impression  that  naval  officers 
are  subject  to  their  orders  and  that  naval  vessels  are  to  be  used  for  their  convenience. 
"  The  department  embraces  the  occasion  to  express  its  gratification  with  the  cour- 
tesy and  intelligence,  as  well  as  firmness,  you  have  exhibited  in  the  management  and 
disposition  of  these  singular  but  mistaken  demands  upon  you. 
"  Yery  respectfully, 

"GIDEON  WELLES, 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
"  Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

Q.  General  Asboth  declined  to  give  you  any  order  ? — ^A.  Certainly ;  he  said  he  would 
take  the  responsibility.  But  if  a  minister  cannot  give  me  an  order  I  must  take  the 
responsibility  on  my  own  shoulders. 

Q.  I  will  read  you  what  Mr.  Seward  says  in  reply  to  General  Asboth's  inquiry : 
"  I  think  proper,  therefore,  to  say  on  this  occasion  "that,  in  regard  to  so  distant  a 
theater  as  that  in  wliich  the  Paraguayan  war  is  carried  on,  it  is  not  possible  for  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  foresee  distinctly  at  any  time  the  future  course  of 
military  and  political  events,  and  so  to  anticijoate  possible  emergencies.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  iuconvenient  to  give  specific  instructions  for  the  government  of  either  its 
political  representatives  or  its  naval  agents  in  regard  to  merely  possible  contingencies. 
Powers  concerrdng  political  questions,  as  distinguished  from  naval  affairs,  are  intrusted 
to  the  care  of  the  ministers  of  the  United  States,  and  the  President's  instructions  are 
communicated  by  this  department.  Responsibilities  of  a  peculiar  character  are 
devolved  upon  the  commander  of  the  squadron,  and  the  President's  instructions  are 
conveyed  through  the  Navy  Department.  It  seldom  happens  that  political  and  naval 
instructions,  which  may  bear  upon  such  mere  contingencies,  are  in  fact  or  practically 
can  be  harmonized  between  the  two  departments,  each  of  which  generally  holds  under 
survey  a  peculiar  and  limited  field  and  knows  of  no  special  occasion  to  look  beyond 
that  lield.  If  in  any  case  it  is  foreseen  that  co-operation  between  a  minister  and  a 
naval  commander  would  be  practicable  and  useful,  that  co-operation  is  distinctly  com- 
manded by  the  President.  If,  however,  it  is  not  foreseen  that  such  co-oi)eration  would 
be  practicable  and  necessary,  or  useful,  the  agent  of  each  class  is  necessarily  left  to 
proceed  according  to  his  own  discretion,  within  the  range  of  the  general  mstructions 
he  has  received  from  the  department  under  which  he  is  employed.    It  is  expected  that, 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  87 

in  the  absence  of  instructions,  the  agents  of  the  two  classes,  if  practicable  will  confer 
togetlier  and  agree  in  any  unforeseen  emergencies  which  may  arise,  and  in  regard  to 
which  no  specific  instructions  for  the  common  direction  of  both  may  have  been  eiven 
by  the  President."— A.  "Will  you  please  read  a  little  further  on  in  that  letter 

Mr.  Banks  read  as  follows : 

"  There  is  no  subordination  of  the  minister  to  the  commander  of  a  squadron  and  no 
subordination  of  the  commander  of  a  squadron  to  a  minister.  It  is  always  unfortunate 
that  agents  of  the  two  classes  are  not  able  to  agree  upon  a  course  to  be  adopted  in  an 
unforeseen  emergency.  But  that  inconvenience  is  less  than  the  inconveniences  which 
must  result  from  giving  authority  to  a  minister  in  one  state  to  control  the  proceedings 
of  a  fleet,  of  whoso  condition  ho  is  not  necessarily  well  infoi-med,  and  whose  prescribe! 
services  are  required  to  be  performed,  not  only  in  the  vicinity  of  the  minister,  but  also 
in  distant  fields  over  which  he  has  no  supervision.  Nor  would  it  be  more  expedient  to 
give  a  general  authority  to  the  commanding  officer  of  a  squadron  to  control  or  super- 
sede the  proceedings  of  political  representatives  of  the  United  States  in  the  several 
states  which  he  might  have  occasion  to  visit. 

"  You  have  no  special  instructions  from  this  department  to  seek  or  hold  an  interview 
with  the  minister  at  Paraguay.  Such  a  proceeding  would  have  been  exceptional,  and 
Admiral  Godon  seems  to  have  regarded  it  in  that  light.  Your  effort,  however,  is 
regarded  as  judicious  and  is  approved  as  an  exceptional  proceeding,  not  within  the 
customary  range  of  your  diplomatic  duties,  but  altogether  outside  of  that  range.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  President  sees  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Admiral  Godon's  proceeding, 
in  declining  to  favor  such  a  personal  inter\'iew,  was  loyal  and  patriotic ;  nor  does  ho 
perceive  any  reason  for  thinking  it  injudicious  or  unwise  on  his  part,  before  deciding 
upon  that  matter,  to  confer  with  the  Brazilian  agents  at  Buenos  Ayres." 

The  Witness.  No,  I  did  not  confer  with  them.  That  letter  was  written  to  General 
Asboth  and  Mr.  Washburn  because  they  had  reported  these  things. 

Q.  I  will  read  on ;  the  letter  proceeds  as  follows : 

"  It  is  not  every  sinister  misconstruction  of  a  j)ublic  oflBcer's  proceedings  that  is  to  be 
received  and  entertained  by  the  government.  It  is  even  now  impossible,  ^vith  all  the 
Information  of  which  the  government  is  possessed,  to  determine  which  party — your- 
self or  the  admiral — practiced  the  wisest  and  soundest  discretion  in  the  matter  referred 
to.    Meantime  the  emergency  has  passed,  and  the  question  has  become  an  abstraction. 

"While,  therefore,  your  o^^^l  proceedings  are  approved,  those  of  Admiral  Godon  are 
not  disapproved.  In  all  such  cases  it  is  eminently  desirable  that  mutual  confidence 
shall  be  raaiutaiued  between  the  ministers  and  the  naval  authorities,  that  they  co-ope- 
rate where  they  can  agree,  and  that  they  sufler  no  difference  of  honest  and  loyal  judg- 
ment to  produce  alienation. 

"  I  have  now  to  inform  you  that,  without  any  reference  to  the  subject  which  I  have 
thus  considered,  Rear-Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis  has  been  heretofore  ordered  to  sail 
from  Boston  in  the  Guerriere,  to  relievo  Rear-Admiral  Godon  in  command  of  the  South 
Athmtic  squadron.  The  Guerriere  is  expected  to  sail  on  the  1st  of  June,  or  within  a 
few  days  thereafter,  and  the  transfer  of  nags  will  be  made  at  Rio  early  in  July.  Rear- 
Admiral  Godon  will  return  to  the  United  Stat-es  in  the  Brooklyn,  his  present  flag-ship. 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

"Alexander  Asboth,  Esq.,  ^c,  ^-c,  ^-c." 

Now,  in  a  question  arising  in  South  America,  concerning  political  matters  and 
distinguished  entirely  from  naval  affairs,  the  political  matters  being  intrusted  entirely 
to  ministers,  and  the  President's  instructions  being  conveyed  to  them  through  the 
Department  of  State,  you  considered  yourself  authorized  to  pass  judgment  upon  those 
political  matters  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  This  was  a  political  matter  and  you  declined  to  act  as  the  minister  desired,  and 
because  you  did  not  think  it  wise  for  him  to  go  ? — A.  Because  he  was  to  go  in  a  man- 
of-war. 

Q.  You  did  not  think  it  proper  to  assist  him  ?— A.  The  only  thing  I  wished  was,  not 
to  take  a  minister  from  the  government  to  which  he  was  accredited  and  place  him  in 
another  country  where  he  might  find  himself  in  great  difficulties  and  where  I  could  not 
offer  him  any  protection.  I  would  have  to  take  the  responsibility  on  myself  of  send- 
ing him  up  there  in  a  man-of-war  without  any  authority.  Of  course  he  could  go  as  he 
pleased ;  I  had  no  influence  upon  that.  But  the  government  dispatches  were  things 
which  were  to  be  carried,  and  I  would  do  all  that  I  could  to  have  them  carried.  And 
I  thought  those  people  there  would  be  pleased  by  my  going  to  see  the  Braziliau 
minister;  and  as  this  thing  might  be  occurring  often  I  went  to  him  and  offered  to  carry 
up  his  dispatches,  as  I  might  have  to  ask  the  same  thing  of  him  some  time.  I  do  not 
think  they  are  generally  sent  that  way ;  I  never  sent  them  so  at  any  other  time.  It  is 
to  be  remarked  in  this  connection  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  excitement  there. 
Those  people  were  indignant  at  some  things.  Mr.  Asboth  was  considered  as  pressmg 
the  resolutions  of  Congress  very  much.  Instead  of  taking  the  answer  of  the  gojern- 
ments  he  persisted  in  urging  it,  and  I  know  that  eventually  they  became  offended.  I 
saw  a  letter  of  the  minister  in  which  he  said  that  he  considered  their  sovereignty  had 


88  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

been  interfered  witli  by  his  urging  this  tiling  beyond  the  bounds  of  projiriety.  Tliere- 
foro,  while  I  bad  my  own  notions  and  my  own  ideas,  the  moment  the  matter  came  fairly 
before  me  and  I  was  to  act,  I  followed  my  own  judgment  in  the  matter. 

Q.  You  did  not  decide  upon  it  as  a  naval  question,  but  as  a  political  question  ? — A. 
No,  sir. 

Q.  You  say  in  your  letter  "  I  felt  that  whatever  influence  he  might  have  with  the 
Argentine  government  would  bo  materially  lessened  by  his  making  a  visit  at  this  time 
to  the  enemy's  country  ?" — A.  That  is  one  of  my  reasons. 

Q.  You  were  deciding  political  questions  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  cannot  control  the  way  I 
think. 

Q.  But  you  were  thinking  there  in  the  line  of  the  State  Department  ? — A.  I  thought 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  service  whether  naval  or  otherwise.  As  naval  officers,  edu- 
cated in  a  certain  way  with  our  minds  turned  in  a  certain  direction,  we  must,  of  course, 
form  our  o^vn  opinions,  and  they  will  at  times  bo  at  variance  with  others. 

Q.  This  is  the  only  reason  you  have  given'  that  his  influence  with  the  Argentine  gov- 
ernment would  be  lessened  by  his  making  a  visit  to  the  enemy's  country.  And  you 
say  "  this  arrangement"-*-that  is,  sending  a  bearer  of  dispatches — "  this  arrangement 
will  not  be  objectionable  to  the  allies,  but  I  believe  Mr.  Asboth's  visit  would  be  looked 
upon  unfavorably  ?" — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Does  not  that  confirm  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  of  the  4th  of  March? — A.  I  told 
Mr.  Asboth  that  the  moment  I  saw  him ;  that  I  believed  it  would  be  looked  upon  with 
suspicion,  and  that  when  he  came  back  his  exequatur  would  be  granted. 

Q.  That  was  purely  political  ? — A.  Well,  I  had  to  send  a  vessel. 

Q.  In  this  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  you  did  not  make  any  allusion  to  its 
efiect  upon  the  squadron,  but  your  reason  was  wholly  political.  And  Mr.  Welles  says 
that  he  ex^Dects  i^olitical  questions  will  be  decided  by  the  ministers  ? — A.  They  are 
pretty  well  mixed  sometimes. 

Mr.  W11.LAED.  As  I  understand  it  the  Secretary  says  that  he  finds  no  fault  with  the 
conduct  of  Admiral  Godon. 

The  Witness.  You  are  reasoning  this  as  lawyers.  I  am  a  naval  officer  and  proud 
to  be  one.    I  reason  this  as  a  naval  man  educated  in  his  profession. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  That  is  what  we  complain  of.  If  you  had  said  this,  the  squadron  cannot  be  put 
to  this  use,  or  it  is  not  safe  for  a  vessel  to  go  there,  or  had  given  any  reason  pertaining 
to  the  naval  situation,  that  would  have  been  right.  But  here  you  went  into  the  line 
of  the  State  Deparfment. — A.  I  was  not  writing  thi8  to  the  State  Department  but  to 
the  Navy  Department.  Here  is  a  passage  in  Mr.  Seward's  letter  which  I  trust  you  will 
not  overlook  in  judging  of  my  views  of  the  matter;  he  writes  to  Mr.  Asboth,  "you  had 
no  special  instructions  from  this  department  to  seek  or  hold  an  interview  with  the 
minister  at  Paraguay." 

Q.  That  is  understood. — ^A.  Then  if  he  had  no  instructions  to  do  that,  and  was  going 
beyond  his  instructions,  and  I  was  to  aid  him  in  going  beyond  those  instructions,  then 
I  was  to  reason  upon  the  matter  also.  Mr.  Seward  says  "  such  a  proceeding  would  have 
been  exceptional,  and  Admiral  Godon  seems  to  have  regarded  it  in  that  light."  Noav 
how  was  the  minister  to  go  beyond  his  instructions  ?  He  was  to  do  so  by  calling  upon 
another  man  to  put  him  in  a  vessel  of  war  and  to  send  him  into  another  jurisdiction. 
Now  I  was  to  be  responsible  altogether  for  any  trouble  that  might  arise  in  consequence 
of  that. 

Q.  That  is  what  we  complain  of,  that  the  Navy  Department  assumes  to  be  the  gov- 
ernment, and  declines  to  grant  aid  to  any  other  department  of  the  government  in  doing 
anything  ? — A.  They  will  if  no  trouble  results  from  it.  There  is  another  part  of  Mr. 
Seward's  letter  to  which  I  would  call  the  attention  of  the  committee.  Eeferring  to  this 
very  matter  of  Brazilian  agents,  he  states  distinctly  "  it  is  not  every  sinister  miscon- 
struction of  a  xmblic  officer's  proceedings  that  is  to  be  received  and  entertained  by  the 
government."  That  Avas  in  connection  with  this  very  observation  which  was  thrown 
out  at  random,  and  where  I  think  a  great  injustice  was  done  mo  by  both  ministers. 
Mr.  Asboth  should  have  informed  me  of  that  part  of  his  communication.  And  when  he 
did  not  inform  me  of  that,  but  sim]ily  sent  me  a  little  note  that  he  had  asked  what  my 
instructions  were  and  what  our  positions  were,  I  thought  he  was  taking  a  very  quiet 
diplomatic  but  unmistakable  way  of  telling  me  that  I  did  not  know  much  about  wliat 
my  business  was.    That  is  the  only  unkind  passage  between  Iklr.  Asboth  and  myself. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Is  there  any  further  statement  which  you  desire  to  make  ? — A.  There  is  a  passage 
in  a  letter  from  General  Webb,  where  he  was  pleased  to  drag  me  in.  Here  is  a  letter 
from  the  minister  of  foreign  aftairs  to  General  Webb,  when  they  were  urging  the  second 
time  a  passage  of  the  Wasp  up  through  the  line.  It  seems  they  had  offered  to  let 
him  go  through  the  military  lines,  the  same  offer  tliat  liad  b'Lii  made  before,  but  they 
objected  to  a  vessel  being  sent  up  to  take  him  down,  because  it  would  break  the  block- 
ade, and  he  makes  this  remark : 

"Those  reasonable  means,  which  would  have  reconciled,  in  a  most  dignified  and 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  89 

effective  manner,  the  rights  of  the  allies  with  the  wishes  of  both  Messrs.  Washburn  and 
Kirkland,  were  rejected  by  those  gentlemen,  who  continue  to  insist  in  exacting  a  per- 
mission offensive  to  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  said  allies. 

"  One  of  the  least  of  the  inconveniences  which  would  happen  through  satisfying  the 
request  of  Lieutenant  Kirkland  and  Mr.  Washburn  would  evidently  be  the  nullification 
of  the  whole  of  the  blockade  established  in  Faraway  by  the  allies,  who  would  be  laying 
themselves  open  to  the  reception  of  similar  exactions  from  any  other  nation  which  mit^ht, 
under  any  pretext,  demand  a  like  privilege  for  its  ships.  ° 

^"  So  true  is  this,  and  so  worthy  of  consideration  in  view  of  the  consequences,  on  the 
part  of  Iriendly  powers,  that  Admiral  Godon  himself,  in  1866,  when  the  passage  of  Mr. 
Washburn  to  Paraguay  was  in  treaty,  was  the  first  to  admit,  merely  begging  in  his 
request  for  the  permitting  of  the  passage  up  the  river  to  Asuncion  of  the  said  Minister 
Washburn,  that  it  should  be  done  in  any  way  which  would  harmonize  with  the  dignity 
of  the  United  States  and  have  been  most  convenient  to  Brazil  and  its  allies ;  ftirther 
desiring  that  Mr.  Washburn  might  bo  helped  forward  to  his  destination  either  by  land 
or  by  water  without  placing  any  obstacle  in  hia  way." 

By  Mr.  BiVNKS : 

Q.  That  is  undoul)tedly  a  reason  for  thorn? — A.  Yes,  sir,  and  a  very  good  one.    It  is 


the  law  that  one  vessel  going  up  through  a  blockade  would  break  the  blockade,  as  it 

els  to  go 
Q.  What  I  speak  about  is  a  naval  officer  setMing  these  matters. — A.  That  has  no  rela- 


would  give  a  reason  for  all  vessels  to  go  up. 


tion  to  this  subject  now ;  I  merely  f|uote  this  passage  where  he  said  I  had  admitted  that 
such  was  the  case.    Mr.  Webl)  jil'tciwurds  writes  to  Mr.  Souza  as  follows : 

"Your  excellency  next  quotes  Kcar- Admiral  Godon,  then  commanding  the  United 
States  South  Atlantic  squadron,  as  fuUy  justifying  the  action  of  the  allies  in  1868.  So 
correct  is  this,  says  your  excellency,  *  that  Admiral  Godon  himself,  in  1866,  when  the 
])assage  of  Mi\  Washburn  to  Paraguay  was  in  treaty,  was  the  first  to  admit  it,  merely 
begghi''  ill  his  request  the  passage  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  that  ho  might  bo  helped 
forward  to  liis  destination  cither  by  land  or  by  xcater^  without  placing  any  obstacle  in  his 
way.  This  is  just  what  the  Marquis  do  Caxias  desired  to  effect  in  the  present  instance, 
had  he  not  been  denied  the  option.' 

"It  is  no  news  to  the  undersigned  that  in  1866  Admiral  Godon,  having  quarrelled 
with  the  three  United  States  ministers,  in  the  river  Plate — General  Asbotli,  Mr.  Wash- 
burn, and  Governor  Kirk — and  with  the  consuls  of  the  United  States  at  Buenos  Ayres 
and  Montevideo,  instead  of  simply  obeying  orders  and  famishing  the  United  States 
vessel,  which  Mr.  Washburn  was  authorized  to  demand,  to  take  him  to  Asuncion,  did 
all  in  his  power  to  prevent  Mr.  Washburn's  having  such  conveyance,  and  on  one  occa- 
sion actually  went  north  from  this  port  instead  of  south,  apparently  to  avoid  receiving 
the  contemplated  application." 

Now,  it  is  not  true  that  I  had  quarrelled  with  three  United  States  ministers,  and  the 
consuls  of  the  United  States  were  my  friends.  I  said  that  it  should  be  done  in  a  way 
that  should  harmonize  with  i^ie  dignity  of  the  United  States,  and  be  most  convenient 
to  the  Brazilian  government  and  its  allies. 

Q.  It  is  perfectly  just  for  those  people  to  maintain  that  blockade.  But  the  question 
comes  whether  you  are  to  decide  whether  any  matter  proposed  by  the  ministers  of  this 
government  will  affect  that  blockade.  They  give  your  authority  for  it.— A.  The  reason 
was  this 

Q.  It  is  not  a  naval  question.— A.  Allow  me  to  give  the  direction  to  what  I  wish  to 
say.  ^Vhen,  in  1866, 1  saw  Admiral  Tamandard,  it  was  an  admitted  fact  that  the  block- 
ade was  established.    I  had  no  objection  to  it;  I  could  not  resist  it. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Wlio  admitted  it  ?— A.  I  did. 
Q.  Did  the  other  officers  admit  it  ? — A.  I  know  I  did. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  It  was  only  a  question  whether  the  ministers  should  pass.— A.  That  was  not  the 
question  then.  The  blockade  was  established,  and  of  course  I  saw  it  was  estabhshed; 
therefore  I  could  not  take  a  minister  through  without  authority.  But  what  I  want  to 
get  at  is,  that  Mr.  Webb  misquotes  this  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  and  then  turns 
around  and  abuses  me  most  offensively  in  a  letter  to  a  foreign  minister,  and  that  letter 
is  published  in  this  correspondence.  That  is  what  I  want  to  refer  to.  I  said  that  it 
should  be  done  in  a  way  which  should  harmonize  with  the  dignity  of  the  United 
States,  and  be  most  convenient  to  the  Brazilians  and  their  allies.  That  was  the  doc- 
trine I  held.  I  said,  "  I  will  break  the  blockade  if  you  do  not  go  through  the  military 
lines ;  and  now  you  shall  choose  between  the  two,  and  I  will  act  so  as  to  harmonize  with 
the  dignitv  of  the  United  States."    Mr.  Webb  throws  out  the  whole  of  that  and  says : 

'^  But  it  "is  news  to  him  that  the  then  commanding  officer  of  the  United  States  squad- 
ron in  this  station  should  have  pei-mitted  his  feelings  of  hostility  to  Mr.  Washburn  to 
render  him  so  forgetful  of  his  duty  to  his  country  as  to  indorse  and  justify  and  advise 


90  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  Brazilian  government  in  its  assumption  that  it  might  safely,  and  with  great  pro- 
priety, refuse  to  permit  one  of  our  national  vessels  to  pass  its  linos  with  our  minister  on 
board,  provided  the  minister  '  was  helped  forward  to  his  destination,  either  by  land  or 
hy  tvattr,  without  placing  any  ohstacles  in  his  way.' " 

This  is  the  American  envoy  extraordinary  to  Brazil  writing  to  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs  of  Brazil,  and  misquoting  the  passage,  entirely  emasculating  it  from  the  strong 
point  that  it  was  for  the  dignity  of  the  United  States.  This  is  an  American  minister 
speaking  of  an  American  admiral.  I  refer  to  this  because  these  matters  are  before  the 
committee.  In  connection  with  that  very  matter  I  would  like  to  read  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Seward  to  General  Webb  on  that  very  subject.  I  do  not  see  it  published  here,  but  I 
have  a  copy  of  the  letter. 

So  that  while  an  American  minister  was  writing  in  that  way  to  a  foreign  minister 
about  an  American  admiral,  he  knew  that  the  conduct  of  that  admiral  had  been 
approved.  And  Mr.  Webb  himself,  six  months  after  the  correspondence  took  place, 
approved  the  action  that  I  took.  But  here,  in  1868,  when  it  suits  his  convenience,  he 
goes  out  of  the  way  and  misquotes  a  passage  in  order  to  drag  me  into  the  controversy. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Apnl  16, 1869. 

Examination  of  Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon  continued. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  Proceed  witn  your  statements  it  you  please. — Answer.  I  have  read  some  of 
this  correspondence  for  the  first  time  since  it  was  printed,  and  new  matters  present 
themselves  to  my  mind  as  I  read  it.  Here  is  a  passage  in  a  letter  dated  October  1, 
1866,  from  Mr.  Washburn  to  me.  I  had  up  to  that  time  never  received  any  letter  inform- 
ing- me  in  any  way  what  had  taken  place.  This  letter  was  in  reply  to  one  that  I  had 
written ;  but  gives  nothing  but  an  extract  from  the  letter  of  President  Mitre.  If  I  had 
had  the  whole  of  President  Mitre's  letter,  I  could  have  judged  of  the  matter.  In  this 
letter  Mr.  Washbimi  says :  "  I  will  add  that  after  President  Mitre  had  closed  his  cor- 
respondence with  me,  and  referred  all  further  discussion  in  regard  to  my  detention  to 
his  government  and  its  allies — "  that  was  just  precisely  what  President  Mitre  had  to 
do ;  to  write  to  his  government,  if  he  was  the  President  he  would  not  have  had  to  do 
that.  While  he  is  called  President  Mitre  he  is  literally  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
allies. 

Q.  The  Vice-President  was  discharging  the  civil  duties  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  President 
Mitre  was  never  addressed  as  the  government. 

Q.  Hence  any  correspondence  with  him  would  be  purely  military  ? — ^A.  Purely  military, 
which  character  of  correspondence  I  had  a  right  to  hold  with  him.  I  had  no  right  to 
hold  correspondence  with  the  President.  K  the  whole  of  that  correspondence  had  been 
placed  before  me  in  my  naval  capacity,  I  would  then  have  been  obliged  to  write  to 
General  Mitre  and  tell  him  that  this  thing  is  so  and  so ;  I  had  no  right  in  a  military 
line,  as  I  have  said.  But  I  never  was  referred  to  at  all  in  the  capacity  of  a  naval  com- 
mander where  I  could  have  used  what  General  Banks  seemed  to  limit  my  authority  to — 
my  naval  judgment,  and  not  diplomatic. 

Q.  Are  there  any  additional  facts  you  desire  to  lay  before  the  committee  ? — A.  No, 
sir ;  I  think  not ;  I  do  not  call  to  mind  any  now.  There  are  a  great  many  that  I  could 
mention,  but  I  do  not  think  they  are  important. 

Mr.  Orth.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  to  propound  some  question  to  you. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  wish  to  state  something  in  regard  to  the  distinction  which  the 
admiral  has  made  between  the  military  lines  and  the  blockade. 

Mr.  Orth.  You  state  that  as  testimony  ? 

Mr.  Washburn.  Yes,  sir.  I  never  understood,  I  never  heard  anybody  suggest,  either 
while  I  was  at  headquarters  with  President  Mitre,  or  at  Buenos  Ayres  conferring  with 
the  different  ministers,  Argentine  or  Brazilian,  that  there  was  any  difference  between 
the  military  lines  and  the  blockade.  I  find  by  referring  to  the  correspondence  that 
neither  General  Webb  nor  the  Brazilian  minister  made  any  such  distinction,  as  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  see.  I  read  this  extract  from  the  letter  of  the  Brazilian  secretary  of 
foreign  affairs : 

"  It  is  tme  that  I  asked  Admiral  Godon  whether  he  was  going  to  send  a  steamer  and 
his  instructions  to  the  river  Plate  immediately.  On  his  asking  the  reason  of  my  inquir- 
ing it,  I  said  frankly,  and  of  course  in  a  private  and  confidential  way,  that  it  might  be 
convenient  that  the  Brazilian  government's  instructions  should  reach  their  agents  before 
any  step  was  taken  in  the  river  Plate  to  effect  Mr.  Washburn's  passage  across  the 
blockade." 

Then  General  Webb  in  his  letter  to  me  says : 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 
•<  "  Eio  de  Janeiro,  August  22,  1866. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  instructions  have  been  issued  by  the  Bra- 
zilian government  to  their  representatives  in  the  river  Plate  and  its  vicinity,  withdraw- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  91 

ing  all  obstructions  to  your  passing  their  line  of  blockade  to  your  post  of  duty,  -wlienever 
it  shall  be  your  pleasun?  to  repair  thereto.    A  simple  protest  against  your  paasino- 
through  the  blockading  fleet  will  be  made,  but  of  that  you  need  not  take  any  notice.  '^ 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

''J.  WATSON  WEBR 
"His  Excellency  Charij^s  A.  Washburx, 

'*  United  States  Minister  liesident  to  Paraguay" 

Then  General  Webb,  in  his  letter  to  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  and  counsellor  to 
his  imperial  majesty,  uses  the  following  language : 

"The  dispatch  referred  to  otters  in  defense  of  an  act  so  unfi-iendly  to  the  United 
States,  and  so  utterly  at  variance;  with  a  well  understood  principle  of  international  law, 
a  letter  addressed  by  the  President  of  the  Ai-gentine  Republic  to  the  United  States 
minister  to  Paraguay,  in  which  he  peremptorily  refuses  to  permit  the  United  States 
minister  to  pass  the  ])lockade  of  the  Paraguay  river  established  by  Brazil  and  the  repub- 
lics of  Uruguay  and  the  Argentin*',  in  their  war  with  Paraguay." 

Also  the  following  I  read  from  the  same  letter : 

"  Under  the  circumstances  and  in  pursuance  of  his  instructions  in  such  a  contingency, 
the  undersigned  renews,  in  the  most  formal  and  urgent  manner  of  which  he  is  capable, 
his  demand  for  an  explanation  o£  Mr.  Washburn's  treatment  by  the  agents  and  repre- 
sentatives of  Brazil  in  the  river  Plate  and  its  vicinity ;  and  also,  he  is  instructed  defi- 
nitively to  inquire,  and  to  insist  upon  an  early  answer  to  the  inquiry,  whether  it  is  or  is 
not  the  intention  of  Brazil  to  persist  in  rcfusinjj  Mr.  Washburn  pei-mission  to  pass  the 
blockading  squadron  of  the  allies  near  the  mouth  of  the  Paraguay." 

It  never  occurred  to  mo  that  it  made  any  difterence  whether  I  passed  through  the 
blockade  or  through  the  lines  held  by  the  army.  I  do  not  snp])ose  our  government  had 
any  thought  upon  the  matter,  or  that  it  mattered  in  the  least,  if  I  only  got  through  com- 
fortably, and  tliey  showed  such  respect  as  was  duo  to  a  minister,  they  did  not  care 
whether  I  went  by  land  or  through  the  blockade.  I  understood  that  blockading  the 
river  was  essential  to  establish  a  military  line ;  General  Banks  being  a  military  man, 
could  of  course  tell  that  technically  better  than  I  can. 

General  Banks.    It  is  tho^same  precisely. 

Mr.  Washburn.  But  the  admiral  seems  to  have  made  a  great  distinction  between 
the  two. 

Admiral  GoDOX.  Allow  me  to  read  some  of  this  letter,  for  I  think  it  explains  the  sub- 
ject referred  to.  It  is  the  letter  dated  July  2,  186C,  from  Mr.  Lidgerwood  to  ]VIr.  Sew- 
ard.    It  shows  that  the  government  did  see'^it  precisely  in  the  light  I  did : 

"I  desired  to  learn  if  reference  to  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  made  since  the  allied  forces 
moved  forward  across  the  Parana  river,  as  I  understood  that  thereafter  all  objections 
to  Mr.  Washburn's  passing  the  lines  would  then  bo  removed.  He  replied,  'None  that 
he  was  aware  of;'  and  also  expressed  the  desire  to  avoid  the  approach  to  any  uni)lea- 
santness  of  feeling,  remarking  that  diplomatic  questions,  often  easy  of  satisfactory 
arrangement,  were  frequently  made  difficult  by  the  improper  manner  in  which  they 
were  presented,  and  in  this  case  much  depended  upon  how  it  was  presented  there, 
(meaning  the  river  Plate.)  I  replied  that  as  j^et  the  subject  could  not  have  been  pre- 
sented there,  and  that  to  prevent  and  anticipate  an  official  presentation,  with  the 
kindest  intentions,  and  with  frankness,  acting  with  the  concurrence  and  advice  of  the 
admiral,  who  i)articipates  in  my  feeliuos^  and  to  whom  instructions  had  been  sent  by 
our  government  on  the  subject,  and  feeling  confident  that  I  would  be  met  in  the  same 
spirit,  I  had  called  to  see  the  minister,  and  now  requested  that  he  should  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  position  of  the  case,  and  that  ho  should  appoint  an  hour  when  he 
would  be  pleased  to  confer  with  the  admiral  and  myself  upon  the  subject. 

"  He  answered  that  he  would  have  a  reply  sent  to  me  at  my  residence ;  then,  appa- 
rently remembering  something,  he  withdrew,  as  he  said,  to  examine  a  document  which, 
when  brought  by  him,  was  marked  on  the  inclosing  wrapper  '  June  8 ;  receipt  only  to 
be  acknowledged,  not  answered,  in  cabinet.'  He  said  it  was  private  correspondence  to 
the  minister,  Saraiva,  accompanying  Avhicli  were  copies  of  letters  from  Viscount  Tamau- 
dar6  (commanding  the  Brazilian  squadron)  and  from  President  JNIitre  to  Mr.  Washburn. 
The  latter  I  requested  to  bo  read.  The  subjects  of  same  were  the  reasons  why  it  is  at 
present  (April)  not  advisable  fox  Mr.  W^ashburn  to  go  through  the  lines ;  sympathy  for 
the  great  republic,  &c.  He  said  he  would  inclose  the  papers  to  Minister  Saraiva  for 
his  examination  at  once,  and  that  Conselheii'o  Saraiva  had,  unfortunately,  allowed  thorn 
to  be  overlooked  upon  his  table.  At  8  in  the  evening  I  received  a  note  from  the  minis- 
ter appointing  11  a.  m.  of  the  ensuing  day,  at  his  residence,  for  an  interview. 

"  I  immediately  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  flag-ship  to  the  admiral  to  that  effect. 
On  the  29th  the  admiral  and  myself  were  received  by  the  minister  of  foreign  aflairs, 
Conselheiro  Saraiva,  at  the  appointed  time  and  place. 

"I  informed  liim  that  the  order  for  the  special  salute  at  Bahia  had  finally  been 
received,  the  delay  having  been  caused  by  its  having  been  sent  to  Valparaiso  through 


92  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

srror;  to  which  Conselheiro  Saraiva  replied,  that  as  the  United  States  had  recognized 
the  violation  of  theh'  rights,  as  committed  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia,  and  had  agreed  to 
the  restitution  of  the  Florida,  (which  by  a  casualty  was  rendered  impossible,)  also  to 
the  punishment  of  the  offending  commander,  a  fact  which  the  Brazilian  government 
had  dispensed  with,  not  desiring  the  pmiishment  of  individuals,  therefore  the  govern- 
ment had  felt  it  necessary  to  insist  that  the  only  remaining  act  of  settlement  agreed 
upon  should  be  performed,  in  order  to  justify  itself  before  the  nation. 

"The  admiral  replied  that  he,  personally,  did  not  consid  r  the  mere  burning  of  pow- 
der or  saluting  of  much  importance,  and  especially  as  he  had  fired  several  salutes  at 
Bahia,  still,  as  a  matter  between  nations,  it  was  diiferent,  and  he  had  therefore  written 
for  instructions  on  the  subject,  which,  though  miscarried  in  the  first  instance,  he  had 
now  received,  and  then  inquired  if  any  communication  had  been  received  from  Senor 
Octaviano  concerning  the  United  States  minister  to  Paraguay,  Mr.  Washburn,  and  was 
answered  only  unofiacially,  when  the  admiral  stated  that  Senor  Octaviano  had  desired 
an  interview  with  him,  which  took  place,  and  at  which  he,  the  admiral,  informed  him 
that  he  considered  the  blockade  at  Corrientes,  being  in  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
one  of  the  allied  powers,  as  of  no  effect,  but  that  if  in  waters  conquered  from  Paraguay 
it  would  be  a  proper  blockade." 

Mr.  Washburn.    Who  said  so  ? 

Admiral  GODON.  I  said  so.  It  was  on  the  subject  of  the  blockade  at  Corrientes, 
which  I  did  not  admit  until  after  it  was  retaken  by  the  Brazilians. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Was  it  not  retaken  from  the  Brazilians  at  the  time  I  asked  you  to 
send  me  up  ? 

Admiral  Godon.  Yes,  sir ;  and  therefore  I  did  not  admit  it  was  a  blockade.  How- 
ever, this  is  an  incidental  remark.    I  read  further  from  this  letter : 

"  He,  however,  also  added  that  th«  refusal  by  the  allied  forces  to  permit  the  Ameri- 
can minister  to  Paraguay  to  pass  their  lines,  although  they  might  have  the  right, 
would  still  be  considered  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  as  an  act  neither 
fiiendly  nor  amiable,  and  that  this  conversation  should  have  been  placed  before  the 
Brazilian  government  by  Senor  Octaviano,  and  desired  to  know  if  he  had  done  so. 
Conselheiro  Saraiva  replied  that  it  had  not  been.  The  admiral,  continuing,  said  that 
without  entering  upon  the  question  of  the  rights  of  the  allies  to  prevent  the  passage 
of  a  minister  of  a  friendly  power  to  his  place  of  duty  in  Paraguay,  still,  the  United 
States  government  had  also  the  right  to  send  their  representative  to  a  nation  with 
whom  they  are  on  terms  of  friendship,  and  asked  the  Conselheiro  Saraiva  if  that  was 
not  Ills  opinion ;  he  bowed  assent.  The  admiral  stated  further  that  he  had  received 
orders  from  his  government  to  send  a  vessel,  if  necessary,  to  convey  the  American 
minister  to  Paraguay  to  his  place  of  destination,  and  that  he  would  do  so  ;  but  that,  to 
avoid  a  clash  of  conffictiug  views  which  might  arise  therefrom,  with  all  frankness  and 
with  sentiments  of  friendship  he  desired  that  the  allies  should  give  immediate  orders 
that  a  safe-conduct  through  their  lines  should  be  given  to  oVIr.  Wasjiburn,  and  desired 
the  minister  to  give  an  answer  at  once." 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  you  are  not  aware  that  a  safe-conduct  through  their  lines 
into  Paraguay  was  hardly  possible  except  by  the  river  ?— A.  If  you  landed  at  the  pass 
La  Patria  which  was  below  the  blockade. 

Q.  Below  the  blockade  ? — A.  Well,  wherever  the  blockade  was ;  if  they  allowed  you 
to  land.  And  the  question  was  whether  General  Mitre  would  allow  you  to  go  through 
the  military  lines,  for  if  he  did  not  I  said  I  would  take  you  up  myself.  I  read  from  the 
letter  again : 

"  He  said  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  an  answer  on  that  point  without  previously 
consulting  his  colleagues,  but  that  it  should  be  given  before  the  sailing  of  the  steamer 
to  the  river  Plate  on  the  4th  instant. 

"  The  object  of  oirr  visit,  to  prevent  any  misunderstanding,  was  appreciated  by  the 
minister,  and  the  earnest  and  straightforward  remarks  made  by  the  admiral  received 
his  serious  and  anxious  attention." 

Mr.  Seward  had  no  doubt  about  this,  because  in  reply  to  this  very  letter  Mr.  Seward 
says: 

"  Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  dispatch  No.  12  of  Mr.  Linderwood,  of 
the  2d  of  July.  It  contains  an  account  of  certain  conversations  which  took  place 
between  himself,  joined  with  acting  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  and  the  Brazilian  minister 
for  foreign  affairs,  on  the  subject  of  the  obstruction,  by  the  allies,  of  the  passage  of 
the  United  States  minister  (Mr.  Washburn)  to  Paraguay. 

"  The  conversation  which  has  thus  been  reported  to  this  department  as  maintained, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  in  those  interviews,  by  Mr.  Linderwood  and  the 
admiral,  is  approved  by  the  President. 

"  We  wait  with  serious  interest  for  information  of  the  decision  of  the  Brazilian  gov- 
ernment upon  the  subject  discussed." 

Necessarily  so,  for  if  they  did  not  give  way  through  the  lines  I  had  but  the  alterna- 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  93 

tive  under  my  orders  to  take  him  through  the  blockade.  I  talk  of  military  lines  only 
as  lines  over  which  I  had  no  control ;  and  of  the  blockade  as  of  the  only  place  where 
I  could  act.  My  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  says  that  if  Mr.  Washburn  did 
not  go  through  the  military  lines  I  would  take  him  through  the  blockade.  After  that 
letter  was  received  Mr.  Seward  wrote  to  General  Webb,  minister  at  Brazil,  Mr.  Wash- 
burn, minister  to  Paraguay,  and  Mr.  Kirk,  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  that  if  the 
obstructions  did  not  cease  they  were  to  return  to  the  United  States.  Now,  what  was  to 
be  done  ?  I  had  gone  too  far ;  I  had  ordered  the  vessel  to  go  up.  My  orders  to  go  iip  the 
river  were  plain  ;  that  was  a  thing  I  could  do.  If  the  allies  did  not  give  a  permit  to 
go  tlirough  the  lines  I  was  to  take  him  up  through  the  blockade. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  had  no  more  doubt  about  the  matter  then  than  I  have  now ;  but 
if  I  got  through  the  lines  by  the  river  it  was  the  same  thing  to  the  government  as 
though  I  had  got  through  by  laud. 

Admiral  Godox.  So  it  was ;  but  the  question  was  not  that ;  it  was  who  could  take 
you  up,  war  or  no  war ;  it  was  a  matter  of  great  consequence  to  me. 

Mr.  WASHBUitx.  If  I  am  giving  my  testimony  I  will  proceed.  I  wish  to  state  over 
again  perhaps  a  little  more  fully  in  regard  to  my  situation  there  at  the  time  at  Cor- 
ricutes,  when  I  received  these  instructions,  and  to  call  attention  to  the  amount  of  cor- 
respondence and  the  repeated  eflbrts  I  had  made  to  get  through  the  lines  by  land. 
Here  will  be  fbund  three  letters  from  mo  to  President  Mitre  before  I  made  my  final 
l)r()test ;  I  do  not  know  but  there  were  more.  I  Avent  to  see  him  at  three  different 
tiuH's;  he  always  had  some  excuse  for  not  giving  me  a  definite  answer.  One  time  he 
must  consult  his  government ;  at  another  tune  the  circumstances  were  changed  and  he 
must  consult  his  government  again.  But  haheld  out  the  idea  that  I  should  be  allowed 
to  pass  through.  Ho  kept  me  in  that  very  disagreeable  place  for  five  months,  and  only 
when  I  made  a  very  strong  protest  against  his  duplicity  and  against  his  acting  in  that 
matter  did  I  get  a  refusal.  I  could  not  go  below,  for  I  might  expect  an  answer  any  day 
giving  me  permission  to  go,  and  I  did  not  want  it  said  that  if  I  had  waited  a  day  longer 
it  would  have  avoided  difficulty.  I  therefore  remained  until  I  got  these  instructions. 
I  also  got  the  same  day,  if  I  recollect  aright,  the  letter  from  President  Mitre  closing  up 
the  correspondence  on  his  part.,  saying  he  must  remit  it  to  his  government.  Therefore 
I  considered  it  would  be  not  only  useless  but  much  worse  than  tiseless  for  me  to  write 
another  letter  to  him ;  for  if  I  had  after  he  had  written  that  letter  I  was  commenting  upon, 
I  should  receive  a  renewed  denial,  and  then  the  case  would  be  very  much  complicated. 
Therefore  I  did  not  write  to  him,  but  as  soon  as  I  could  get  ready  I  returned  to  Buenos 
Ayres  again.  After  I  got  to  Buenos  Ayres  I  went  to  see  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
with  the  secretary,  who  talked  Spanish  better  than  I  did,  and  made  the  interview  ofli- 
cial.  In  that  interview  I  stated  the  whole  circumstances  of  the  case.  In  fact  it  was 
notorious  and  it  was  published  in  the  papers,  that  Admiral  Godon  had  received  orders 
to  send  me  through  the  blockade.  I  wish  to  state  here  that  it  was  published  and  known 
in  Buenos  Ayres  before  I  came  down  the  river,  and  they  could  not  by  any  i)0ssibility 
have  got  this  information  from  me.  I  state  this  from  the  fact  that  I  imderstood  cer- 
tain otficers  were  censured  for  having  given  this  information.  I  do  not  know  anything 
about  that ;  I  stated  the  circumstances  fully  to  Minister  Elizalde  and  spoke  of  my  in- 
structions that  I  must  go  through.  We  had  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  it,  but  as  I  was 
not  the  acrcdited  minister  there,  it  was  not  for  mo  to  hold  official  communication  with 
him  if  I  could  possibly  avoid  it.  I,  therefore,  did  not  write  to  him  any  more  than  I 
could  possibly  help.  There  is  one  brief  letter  in  answer  to  his,  I  think ;  I  do  not  know 
that  there  is  any  letter.  But  I  was  all  the  time  expecting  General  Asboth.  I  had  been 
expecting  him  lor  months  before  to  take  Mr.  Kirk's  place  as  minister.  I  felt  it  was 
not  my  duty  to  do  anything  of  my  own  accord  to  bring  this  to  a  crisis  until  General 
Asboth  had  come.  But  I  had  presented  all  these  matters  officially  to  the  foreign  min- 
ister in  a  former  official  inter\-iew.  And,  as  I  said  in  my  letter  to  Admiral  Godon,  I  had 
this  interview  and  fully  complied  literally  or  nearly  so  with  my  instructions. 

Admiral  Godox.  When  did  you  write  that  letter? 

Mr.  Washbukx.  October  1st. 

Admiral  Godon.  In  the  meantime  the  Shamokin  had  received  orders  to  go  up. 

Mr.  WASimuiix.  But  I  wish  to  say  this,  that  I  had  complied  almost  if  not  quite 
literally  Avith  my  instructions.  I  did  not  inform  Admiral  Godon  before  I  wrote  this 
letter  askuig  for  a  gunboat  of  what  I  had  done.  I  supposed  Mr.  Seward  had  sufficient 
confidence  in  me  that  what  I  did  would  be  accepted  by  the  admiral,  and  that  1  had 
acted  in  conformity  with  my  duty.  I  had  received  no  instructions  to  tell  him  how  1 
performed  my  duty.  I  considered  that  I  was  the  interpreter  of  my  own  instructions, 
and  that  when  I  had  done  what  I  considered  necessary,  and  called  upon  the  admiral 
for  a  gunboat,  ho  would  send  it.  I  confess  I  was  never  more  suiT)nsed  than  when  1 
received  his  letter  in  which  he  undertook  to  tell  me  what  I  ought  to  do,  and  to  say  that 
he  should  not  send  a  gunboat  until  I  did  so.  However,  he  did  send  a  gunboat  before  I 
did  any  more  than  I  had  done  at  that  time.  I  do  not  know  but  what  that  concludes 
what  -I  have  to  say  in  regard  to  the  matter. 


94  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

Questions  by  Admiral  Godon  addressed  to  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn  : 

Q.  I  desire  to  ask  this  question.  You  liavo  alluded  to  these  instructions  having  been 
published ;  the  instructions  that  I  had  received  having  been  xoublished  at  Buenos  Ayres 
and  ^Montevideo  ? — A.  The  substance  of  them,  or  that  orders  had  come  out  to  you. 

Q.  There  was  an  article  in  the  newspapers? — A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  The  heading  was  "  War  Avith  the  Argentine  government ;"  do  you  recollect  that  ? — 
A.  No,  I  do  not. 

Q.  "War  with  the  Argentine  government ;  Mr.  Washburn's  instruction  to  demand 
gunboats  to  take  him  up  the  Paraguay  ;  Admiral  Godon  has  been  ordered  to  take  him 
up  to  Paraguay."  There  was  a  long  article  with  the  instructions  in  them,  not  the 
entirety  of  them  but  the  substance,  of  such  a  character  so  nearly  alike  that  they  cor- 
responded with  them  to  a  certain  extent. — A.  I  heard  before  I  left  Corrientes,  or  I  saw 
something  I  think  what  the  admiral  says,  that  orders  had  come  out  that  I  must  be  put 
through  the  blockade.    But  that  information  could  not  have  come  from  me. 

Q.  You  had  seen  this  in  the  i^apors  before  you  got  your  letter  from  the  Secretary  of 
State  ? — A.  It  was  then  or  a  few  days  after ;  there  was  no  time  to  communicate  with 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  if  there  had  been  I  did  not  communicate  because  it  was  impossible. 
But  when  I  got  to  Buenos  Ayres  afterwards  and  -the  thing  was  talked  about,  I  con- 
versed with  several  i^eople  in  regard  to  the  subsequent  instructions  about  returning 
home.  And  an  individual  whom  I  do  not  care  to 
those  instructions  were  and  gave  it  to  the  Standard. 

Q.  From  whom  did  he  get  those  instructions  ? — A.  From  me. 

Q.  The  other  instructions  which  came  about  the  same  time,  he  did  not  get  from 
you  ? — A.  He  did  not. 

Q.  Why  not  mention  the  name  of  the  person  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  choose  to  mention  it. 

Admiral  Godon.  It  might  bo  important  for  me  to  know.  Mr.  Washburn  says  I 
found  fault  with  officers  for  giving  this  information,  and  now  he  refuses  to  give  the 
name  of  the  person  to  whom  he  himself  gave  the  information;  however,  I  do  not  insist 
upon  it. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  will  give  it  if  the  committee  desire  it.  I  do  not  know  that  the 
individual  would  like  to  have  his  name  brought  in ;  it  does  not  matter  as  I  see. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  do  not  insist  upon  it. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  had  then,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  complied  in  every  respect  with  my 
duty,  but  I  must  wait  for  General  Asboth.  I  stated  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Seward,  dated  Oc- 
tober 3, 1866,  "  Nothing  has  yet  been  heard  here  of  the  new  minister,  Mr.  Asboth ;  should 
he  arrive  after  my  departure  his  position  will  be  even  less  enviable  than  mine,  and  he  may 
think  it  incumbent  on  himself  not  to  present  his  credentials  till  further  instructed  by  you." 
I  thought  it  was  my  duty  to  remain  there  and  not  return  home  until  General  Asboth 
should  arrive.  General  Asboth  arrived;  I  had  before  his  arrival  received  this  letter 
from  Admiral  Godon  stating  that  he  had  ordered  the  Shamokin  to  take  me  \vp.  I  had 
known  all  the  while  that  if  I  had  been  backed  up  by  the  least  semblance  of  authority 
the  allies  would  make  no  objection;  that  they  never  would  stop  an  American  gunboat; 
I  knew  it  as  early  as  the  November  or  December  before;  that  if  a  gunboat  had  been 
put  at  my  disposal,  no  serious  obstruction  would  have  been  interposed  to  my  going 
up.  They  might  have  made  a  protest ;  I  did  not  think  they  would  have  done  that  even. 
But  a  protest  would  have  been  of  no  more  importance  then  than  it  was  a  year  afterwards. 
I  was  fully  persuaded  that  I  could  have  gone  there  nearly  a  year  earlier  than  I  did 
without  creating  any  talk,  and  without  causing  one-half  the  humiliation  to  the  allies 
themselves.  I  had  no  desire  to  create  any  ill-feeling  anywhere ;  I  only  wanted  to  get 
to  my  post  where  the  government  had  sent  me.  That  I  made  all  the  eiforts  possible, 
I  think  this  correspondence  will  show. 

Q.  I  desire  to  ask  another  question.  A  letter  was  written  to  you  by  General  Webb, 
which  has  been  called  for.  Was  not  that  letter  in  its  entire  spirit  fovmded  simply  on 
the  fact  that  your  instructions  had  been  published ;  that  it  was  complicating  the  busi- 
ness very  much ;  that  it  was  exciting  feelings  there  that  made  it  dangerous,  and  that 
you  had  distinctly  disclaimed  having  received  any  intimation  from  him,  official  or  other- 
wise, that  obstructions  to  you  going  through  the  lines  had  been  removed? — A.  Not  in 
such  quite  strong  terms.    The  letter  will  be  here  and  will  speak  for  itself. 

Q.  Is  not  that  the  substance  of  the  letter  ? — A.  Not  according  to  my  recollection, 

Q.  Did  he  not  intimate  in  the  letter  that  you  had  had  those  instructions  published, 
and  that  he  intended  to  report  the  matter  to  the  State  Department  ? — A.  I  have  called 
for  the  letter.  Whatever  General  Webb  said  in  that  letter  I  replied  to  fully,  and  met 
every  charge  satisfactorily  to  my  mind.  Although  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  General 
Webb  since,  and  think  that  I  owe  my  life  to  him,  I  said  some  things  in  my  reply  which 
I  would  rather  have  omitted,  because  I  was  a  little  annoyed  by  some  things  which  ho 
said.  Admiral  Godon  seems  to  be  quite  indignant  that  it  should  be  imputed  to  hun 
that  the  general  had  answered  a  letter  for  him.  I  think  that  after  General  Wel)b  got 
my  letter  and  got  my  explanation,  and  knew  the  whole  circumstances  of  the  case,  he  was 
about  as  ashamed  of  it  as  Admiral  Godon  was.    This  brings  me  to  another  matter.    ThLs 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  95 

notice  which  I  have  read  here,  that  General  Webb  sent  to  me  that  ho  had  been  promised 
by  the  Brazilian  government  that  the  obstruction  should  be  withdrawn,  that  letter  I 
attach  no  importance  to  whatever;  that  is,  I  did  not  believe  the  Brazilians  would  do 
what  they  promised  General  Webb  they  would  do.  I  knew  how  they  had  deceived  me. 
I  was  perfectly  well  aware  that  if  I  had  gone  up  to  the  lines  again  with  no  more  assur- 
ance that  I  should  be  again  detained,  and  that  they  would  ask  mo  to  wait  until  they 
could  again  consult  their  government.  They  were  fighting  all  the  while  for  time  to 
delay  me  without  coming  to  an  open  rupture.  And  as  they  had  delayed  me  already 
five  ijaonths  I  did  not  intend  they  should  fool  me  any  more.  Th'ereforo  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  that.  I  proceeded  on  the  hypothesis  that  they  might  have  done  it  or  might  not. 
It  w.'is  not  to  govern  my  action.  And  General  Webb  said  that  the  terms  were,  "  to  with- 
draw obstructions  to  passing  through  the  blockade."  When  we  got  up  on  the  Shamokin 
Admiral  Tamandar6  told  me  that  he  had  received  no  orders  whatever,  and  that  he  must 
stop  us.  I  will  state  a  little  more  in  detail  the  circumstances  of  our  arriving  there,  as  it 
seemed  quite  important.  We  reached  the  confluence  of  the  Paraguay  and  the  Parana 
rivers  about  4  or  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  thought;  no,  it  was  later,  it  was  nearly 
sunset.  We  were  immediately  boarded  by  an  officer  commanding  tlie  lower  vessel  of 
th(i  blockading  squadron.  This  officer,  as  I  understood  it,  came  to  inquire  what  we 
were  there  for,  and  what  we  wanted ;  Captain  Crosby  had  told  him  that  he  had  come 
with  instructions  to  take  the  American  minister  through  to  Paraguay.  The  officer  said 
it  could  not  be  done — that  the  orders  were  to  stop  everybody.  Captain  Crosby  said  his 
orders  would  ^o  through.  Then  the  officers  in  command  of  this  Brazilian  gunboat  said 
that  if  Captain  Crosby  wanted  to  send  any  communication  to  the  admiral  he  would 
give  him  a  gunboat  to  go  up  to  the  admiral,  who,  I  think,  was  some  25  miles  higher  up 
the  river.  Captain  Crosby  said  he  did  wish  to  send  a  letter  to  the  admiral,  advising 
him  officially  of  what  lie  came  for.  I  think  it  was  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening  that 
the  gunboat  started  off  with  the  letter  of  Captain  Crosby  and  an  officer  to  take  it,  this 
same  Lieut<'n;int  Pendleton.  About  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  returned  and  came  on 
board  the  Slianiokin.  I  got  up  and  went  into  the  cabin,  with  Captain  Crosby,  and 
Lieutenant  Pendleton  made  his  report.  Ho  said  he  had  seen  the  admiral,  who  told  him 
that  his  orders  were  to  stop  anybody  and  everybody ;  that  ho  had  received  no  counter- 
instructions,  nothing  referring  to  me  or  to  the  Shamokin.  It  seemed,  then,  that  there 
would  be  some  difficulty.  Captain  Crosl)y  had  orders  from  Admiral  Godon  to  go  through 
tht5  blockade.  The  Brazilian  admiral  had  orders  to  stop  anybody  and  everybody  from 
going  through.  Therefore  somebo«ly  nuist  back  out  or  there  would  be  a  collision.  But 
the  Brazilian  admiral  said  he  would  come  aboard  the  next  morning  and  see  me  and 
Captain  Crosby.    I  would  be  glad  to  have  the  admiral's  attention  to  what  I  am  saying. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  know  the  whole  of  it;  it  is  all  in  the  documents. 

Mr.  Wasiibukx.  The  Brazilian  admiral  came  aboard,  and  seemed  to  be  very  nervous 
and  very  excited,  and  said  he  could  not  let  us  go  through.  We  had  the  interview  in  the 
cabin  of  the  Shamokin;  the  admiral  said  his  orders  were  positive  and  peremptory.  In 
the  meantime  Captain  Crosbv  had  also  sent  off  a  letter  which  he  requested  to  have 
delivered  to  President  Mitre  'in  regard  to  the  same  matter.  Before  we  left  we  got  an 
answer  indorsing  or  approving  whatever  had  been,  or  might  be,  done  in  regard  to  our 
passage  through  the  blockade,  which,  it  would  appear,  he  understood  to  be  a  part  of 
the  military  lines,  from  liis  being  consulted  in  the  matter.  Admiral  Tamandare  said 
that  he  was  placed  in  a  very  embarrassing  position ;  he  didn't  wish  to  stop  the  Shamokin, 
as  it  might  seem  to  be  an  act  of  discoui-tesy  to  the  United  States;  and  he  could  not 
allow  it  to  go  through  because  he  had  strict  orders  to  stop  everybody.  He  said,  how- 
ever, that,  to  avoid  this  difficulty,  he  would  give  me  a  Brazilian  steamer  to  take  me  and 
my  family  and  effects  through  the  lines  up  into  the  lines  of  President  Lopez.  I  told 
him  it  was  too  late  for  that;  when  I  had  come  before,  six  or  eight  months  ago,  I  had 
proposed  to  President  Mitre  and  to  the  admiral  on  his  flag-ship  that  I  would  go  through 
any  way,  alone,  leavmg  my  family  behind  me— any  way  to  get  to  my  post ;  that  I  would 
go  on  horseback  or  in  a  whale-boat ;  but  that  now  the  circumstances  were  ditterent ; 
that  I  had  been  obliged  to  refer  the  matter  to  my  government,  and  that  they  had  sent 
out  orders  for  me  to  be  taken  through;  that  a  gunboat  had  arrived  for  that  purpose; 
that  a  great  deal  of  talk  had  been  created  by  this  delay,  and  that  the  digmty  ot  tlie 
United  States  required  that  the  gunboat  should  go  through.  Captain  Crosby  spoke  up 
and  said  that  he  had  orders  to  take  me  to  Paraguay,  and  that  he  should  do  it  unless 
stopped  by  force.  Up  to  that  time  we  did  not  know  whether  there  was  te  be  a  tignt  oi 
not.  I  did  not  presmne  to  counsel  Captain  Crosby  as  to  what  he  should  do ;  but  as  ho 
had  such  orders  I  supposed  from  the  signs— the  ^uns  being  all  loaded--that  tliere  was 
to  be  a  fight  if  Admiral  Tamaudard  did  not  back  down.  The  admiral  then  said:  We 
cannot  atibrd  to  go  to  war  with  the  United  States  at  this  time;  we  must  allow  the  boat 
to  go  through  rather  than  to  resort  to  force,  and  I  shaU  only  make  a  protest  against  it. 
The  reply  of  us  both  was,  substantially,  that  he  might  protest ;  that  that  would  not 
stop  us.  I  then  told  him  that  I  wanted  to  send  a  letter  to  President  Lopez  through  his 
lines.  After  this  thing  was  arranged  he  was  very  polite  and  said  that  he  would  ao 
anything  to  make  it  agreeable  to  us— send  us    fresh  beef  or  anything  we  mignt 


96  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

require;  he  said  lie  would  send  an  officer  from  the  Sliamokin  througli  liis  blockade  with 
my  letter  to  President  Lopez.  I  prepared  ray  letter  and  sent  it  by  an  officer.  I  do  not 
know  just  where  he  landed,  but  I  think  he  landed  Avithin  the  army  lines  of  the  Bra- 
zilians and  went  througli ;  I  had  asked  Lopez  to  send  a  pilot  to  meet  the  Sliamokin  at 
the  point  above  where  the  Brazilian  pilot  wliich  Tamandard  had  offered  us  to  take  us 
uj)  through  his  squadron  would  leave  us,  as  ho  could  not  be  familiar  Avith  the  tor[iedo(^s 
and  other  obstructions  in  the  river.  I  received  a  letter  from  President  Lopez,  which  is 
hero  published,  in  which  he  said  he  would  send  the  pilot,  as  requested;  and  it  was 
arranged  where  his  pilot  was  to  come  on  board,  and  where  the  Brazilian  pilot  was  to 
leave,  the  Shamokin.  It  was,  I  think,  1  or  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  or 
third  day  after  wo  arrived  there  before  everything  was  arranged.  Then  we  got  ready 
and  started  up  the  river  with  the  Brazilian  pilot.  We  passed  right  alongside  the  flag- 
ship of  Admiral  Tamandard,  and  he  had  his  band  of  music  out  and  honored  us  with  a 
salute  as  we  passed  by ;  the  flags  were  dipped  on  every  vessel  that  we  passed,  I  believe. 
We  got  up  above  the  Brazilian  squadron  to  a.  certain  point,  when  the  Paraguayan  pilot 
came  aboard  and  the  Brazilian  pilot  left.  We  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  torpe- 
does there.  I  must  state  one  other  thing;  the  last  thing  before  we  started  the  same 
officer  who  had  come  on  board  when  we  first  arrived  said  that  it  was  expected  that  we 
would  make  no  delay  longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary  between  the  two  lines,  as 
they  would  not  engage  to  suspend  their  fire  more  than  a  few  hours,  in  order  that  we 
might  not  expose  ourselves,  or  impede  their  warlike  operations.  They  were  not  aware 
at  that  time,  however,  but  what  we  were  going  through  to  Humaita,  or  perhaps  to 
Asuncion.  I  did  not  advise  them  that  we  would  be  obliged  to  land  at  Curupaiti  by 
reason  of  the  obstructions  in  the  river.  We  passed  on  with  the  Paraguayan  x)ilot ;  he 
took  us  a  tortuous  way  under  the  guns  of  Curupaiti,  and  there  we  effected  our  landing. 
I  wish  to  state  this,  as  it  seems  to  be  somewhat  important  as  bearing  on  the  testimony 
of  the  admiral  yesterday.  The  Brazilians  would  only  give  us  a  very  short  time  to  lie 
in  that  position,  as  the  officer  told  us ;  I  think  the  sun  was  an  hour  high  when  we  got 
up  there ;  I  had  taken  up  considerable  baggage  and  quite  a  large  quantity  of  provisions. 
It  was  getting  so  late  that  the  officers  hurried  everything  in  order  to  get  us  off  as  soon 
as  possible,  so  that  no  pretext  could  be  afforded  the  Brazilians  to  complain  that  their 
warlike  operations  had  been  defeated;  we  were  got  ashore  as  soon  as  possible;  our  bag- 
gage was  landed,  a  salute  fired,  and  then  the  gunboat  got  out  of  the  way ;  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  gunboat  was  obliged  to  do  that  before  dark  so  that  the  Brazilians  could 
not  complain  of  his  having  violated  the  understanding  which  they  had  made.  But 
yesterday,  the  admiral  in  his  testimony  complained  that  Captain  Crosby  had  not  put 
himself  out  of  the  line  of  fire,  which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  without  exposing 
his  vessel  to  bo  blown  up  by  the  torpedoes.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  write  back  to 
my  government  that  I  had  got  there  safely.  Wlien  I  found  that  there  was  to  be  no 
time  for  the  Shamokin  to  remain  there,  I  asked  Captain  Crosby  to  leave  an  officer  with 
me  to  carry  down  my  report.  He  left  Lieutenant  Pendleton  and  immediately  dropped 
down  the  river  himself.  I  should  have  taken  it  very  hard  and  complained  seriously  to 
the  government  of  Captain  Crosby  if  he  had  not  left  that  officer ;  Captain  Crosby 
returned  immediately  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Admiral  Tamandar6,  stating  that  he  had 
left  this  officer.  Yet,  on  yesterday,  the  admiral  said  that  he  knew  nothing  about  this, 
although  it  is  published  in  this  correspondence.  I  would  like  to  ask  Captain  Crosby,  if 
I  may  be  permitted  to  do  so,  Avhether  on  the  occasion  of  the  protest  of  Admiral  Taman- 
dar6  he  made  a  full  report  to  our  admiral  of  his  action  on  that  occasion. 

Captain  Crosby.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Has  that  report  of  yours  ever  been  published? 

Captain  Crosby.  I  have  never  seen  it  in  print. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Do  you  know  that  it  was  ever  forwarded  to  the  department  ? 

Captain  Crosby.  I  do  not  know. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  wrote,  under  date  of  December  10, 1866,  to  Secretary  Welles  a  let- 
ter, from  which  I  read  the  following : 

"  Commander  Crosby  informed  the  admiral  that  nothing  but  force  would  prevent  the 
execution  of  his  orders,  and  the  Shamokin  was  allowed  to  proceed,  under  protest,  to 
Curupaiti,  beyond  the  line  of  the  blockade,  from  where,  after  the  x)reliminarie8  of 
saluting  the  Paraguayan  flag,  &c.,  &c.,  a  letter  Avas  sent  tq^President  Lopez. 

"  I  inclose  a  copy  of  his  reply.  No.  7,  together  Avith  copies"bf  correspondence  between 
Commander  Crosby  and  Admiral  Tamandar<5,  numbered  1  to  6,  inclusive." 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Does  that  include  the  report  of  Captain  Crosby  to  you  ? 

Admiral  Godon.  I  do  not  know.  As  I  ncA^er  reported  Captain  Crosby  to  the  depart- 
ment, I  suppose  that  neither  his  report  nor  the  crther  matters  were  sent  to  the  depart- 
ment.   I  state  in  this  letter,  after  what  I  liaAX  just  read,  as  follows : 

"  As  the  obstructions  in  the  river  rendered  it  dangerous  for  the  vessel  to  proceed 
beyond  Curupaiti,  Mr.  Washburn  was  landed  there,  and  then  Commander  Crosby 
immediately  withdrew  from  the  lines  of  the  belligerents  to  the  Tres  Bocas,  where  ho 


PAEAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  97 

awaited  the  return  of  the  officer  who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Washburn  in  order  to 
bring  back  the  dispatches  he  desired  to  send  to  the  j,^overument  after  his  recention  bv 
President  Lopez.  ^  ^ 

"  The  return  of  this  officer  through  the  linos  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  protest 
by  the  Brazilian  admiral,  but  it  seems  without  point. 

''The  officer  was  detained  by  the  military  commander  until  the  circumstance  of  his 
iippearance  within  the  lines  was  explained. 

"  Althougli  objections  to  the  passage  of  the  Shamokin  were  made  by  Admiral  Taman- 
(liire— no  doubt  to  prevent  its  being  h)oked  upon  as  a  precedent— without  protest  the 
K  hitions  between  himself  and  Commander  Crosby  seem  to  have  been  of  the  most 
1  ri(;udly  character,  and  the  latter  officer,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  admiral,  thanks 
Jiim  for  the  great  courtesy  which  has  been  shown  him. 

''In  closing  this  subject  permit  [me]  to  add  that  I  shall  be  pleased  to  learn  if  my 
entire  course  meets  with  the  apj)roval  of  the  department. 
"  I  am  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant." 

Q.  There  is  a  question  as  to  whether  you  transmitted  the  report  of  Commander 
Crosby  of  his  operations.  What  is  the  custom  in  the  navy  in  regard  to  transmittino- 
lo  the  department  reports  received  from  officers  under  your  command  ?— A.  That  is  very 
irregular;  sometimes  if  they  are  likely  to  become  important  or  do  become  so,  they  are 
forwarded.    They  arc  all  placed  on  file — are  all  on  record. 

Q.  They  arc  kept  as  a  history  of  the  operations  of  the  squadron?— A.  We  keep  them 
very  carefully ;  we  are  refpiired  to  keep  all  documents  of  that  kind. 

Q.  You  transmit  such  as  you  deem  of  public  importance  ? — A.  Anything  of  conse- 
(1  nonce.  Ha<l  I  reported  Captain  Crosby  for  any  irregularity,  I  should  have  been 
obliged  to  report  the  explanations  of  his  course,  if  I  had  called  upou  him  for  any. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  whether  this  i)articular  r<!port  ever  went  to  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment or  not  ? — A.  I  do  not  know ;  these  matters  were  closed,  and  I  considered  that  the 
riid  of  them. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  want  to  state  this,  becauBS  the  admiral  yesterday  implied  a  very 
sf'vere  censuro  of  Captain  Crosby  for  not  remaining  up  the  river  until  I  could  write 
niy  dispatches,  which  was  an  impossible  thing  for  him  to  do. 

Admiral  (JoDON.  I  did  not  mean  that. 

^Ir.  WASHBUitN.  And  fornot  reporting  the  fact  to  Admiral  Tamandar6  immediately 
alter  going  below. 

Admiiiil  (lODON.  I  think  you  misunderstood  my  evidence  or  the  intention  of  it. 

Mr.  WAsnuruN.  I  asked  you  at  the  time  you  were  testifying,  if  Captain  Crosby  did 
not  immciliately  advise  Admiral  Tamandar6,  and  you  said  you  did  not  know  anything 
about  it. 

Admiral  Godox.  I  think  you  misunderstood  ray  testimony.  I  did  not  think  it  right 
when  I  first  found  that  an  officer  had  been  left  behind,  and  that  it  had  been  the  sub- 
ject of  another  protest.  I  consideretl  that  it  was  an  indiscretion,  and  that  I  might  per- 
haps, in  consequence,  find  myself  in  difficulty.  But  after  I  had  read  the  papers  over 
more  carefully  I  found  that  nothing  would  come  of  it,  and  all  that  I  could  say  was, 
that  it  was  a  very  indiscreet  thing.    I  now  feel  that  it  was  not  a  wise  thing  to  do. 

Mr.  WAsniJURN.  You  would  have  him  not  leave  an  officer  ? 

Admiral  Godon.  I  did  not  know  the  position  of  things.  But  it  struck  me  at  the 
time  that  if  they  had  detained  that  officer  and  made  it  necessary  for  the  Shamokin  to 
stay  up  there,  or  if  it  had  led  to  trouble  with  Admiral  Taraandard,  it  might  have  made 
it  necessary  to  have  had  Captain  Crosby  tried  by  a  court-martial.  But  as  there  seemed 
to  be  no  serious  result  from  it,  I  allowed  it  to  pass  by ;  still  I  consider  to  this  day  that 
it  was  an  indiscretion,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  consider  it  so  to  my  dying  day.  Allow  me 
in  this  connection  to  read  from  Admiral  Tamandar6's  letter  of  November  3,  dated  at 
Tres  Bocas. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  am  not  anxious  to  hear  it  unless  the  committee  are. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  suppose  you  are  not ;  but  I  want  to  read  the  passage  and  then  to 
ask  you  a  question.  "  Minister  Washburn  not  having  wished  to  accede  to  any  other 
mode  of  transportation  to  Asuncion  except  in  that  steamer,  based  on  which  existed 

concessions  from  the  imperial  government" Did  this  not  convey  to  your  mmd,  or, 

does  it  not  now,  that  the  concessions  made  from  the  government  were  precisely  the 
concessions  I  say  they  made,  to  pass  the  military  line,  and  not  to  pass  the  blockade  ? 

Mr.  Washburn.  You  can  put  any  construction  upon  it  you  please. 

Admiral  Godon.  Is  not  that  what  Admiral  Tamandard  means  ? 

Mi\  Washburn.  I  do  not  Icnow  and  I  do  not  care ;  I  do  not  attach  any  importance  to 
it.  General  Banks  asked  a  question  yesterday  in  regard  to  the  letters  which  General 
Asboth  addressed  to  Admiral  Godon,  relative  to  having  a  passage  up  the  river  on  the 
Wasp.  I  understood  the  admiral  to  say  that  he  ^ad  answered  those  letters,  but  that 
he  did  not  find  any  ansv/er  published  in  his  correspondence.  .  i  x  i  • 

Admiral  Godon.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  wrote  to  him,  stating  that  I  would  not  let  hmi 
go  up  at  all ;  but  I  told  him  verbally  in  conversation.  I  will  state  in  regard  to  that 
matter  something  more  definite.    When  I  had  received  the  letter  of  General  Asboth,  I 

7  P  I 


98  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

"vvpiit  up  in  tlie  Wasp,  and  told  liim  that  lie  could  not  go  up.  On  Sunday  he  called  on 
nio  and  asked  me  to  put  it  in  writing.  I  told  him  I  would  not  write  anything  on  Sun- 
day. On  Monday  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Asbotli,  and  my  iieet-captain  copicid  it  for  me 
iU  'his  room,  and  the  letter  was  hrought  to  me  to  sign.  The  reason  I  did  not  answer 
deiinitely  is  that  I  had  told  him  in  conversation  that  I  could  not  let  him  go,  but  I  said 
that  I  would  send  dispatches.  In  my  letter  to  the  Secretary  I  said  that  I  had  not  au- 
sv/ered  Mr.  Ashotli  in  detail. 

Mr.  Washburn.  The  other  day  Admiral  Godon  stated  hero  that  in  our  interviews  at 
Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres,  he  told  me  that  if  I  would  wait  a  certain  length  of  time, 
until  the  season  Avas  more  agreeable  and  healthy,  he  would  send  me  up  the  river.  I 
wish  to  read  now  what  I  wrote  at  that  time  to  Mr.  Seward^  under  date  of  January  16, 
1806: 

"  I  reached  this  place  on  the  4th  of  November,  and  found,  as  I  had  anticipated,  that 
there  was  no  way  for  me  to  get  to  Paraguay  except  on  a  war  vessel  of  some  neutral 
power.  An  Italian  and  a  French  gunboat  had  left  for  Paraguay  some  time  before  my 
arrival  here,  neither  of  which  had  then  returned.  So  I  waited  the  coming  of  the  admi- 
ral ;  but  instead  of  being  obliged  to  wait  till  the  20th  of  November,  as  I  haxl  expected,  it 
was  the  26th  of  December,  when  I  learned  that  the  Susquehanna  had  arrived  in  Monte- 
video the  day  before.  I  had  previously  sent  a  letter  to  the  admiral,  to  be  delivered  as 
soon  as  he  arrived,  informing  him  of  the  position  I  was  in,  and  requesting  him  to  furnish 
me  the  means  of  getting  to  my  post.  But  without  waiting  for  an  answer  to  my  letter, 
as  soon  as  I  heard  the  Susquehanna  was  in  Montevideo  I  hastened  to  that  i)lace  to  urge 
upon  him  that  there  might  be  no  longer  delay  than  was  absolutely  necessary  in  dis- 
patching a  steamer  up  the  river.  To  my  great  sm-prise,  he  now  talked  as  if  it  was  very 
doubtful  if  he  sent  a  steamer ;  but  he  would  not  say  positively  whether  he  would  or 
not.  He  would  very  i)robably  go  as  far  as  Corrientes  (twenty-one  miles  from  Paraguay) 
himself,  and  in  that  case  very  likely  two  steamers,  the  Shawmut  and  the  Wasp,  would 
go  up.  He  would  not  decide  on  anything,  however,  till  he  came  to  Buenos  Ayres,  which 
he  said  would  be  in  a  few  days.  So  I  returned,  and  waited  for  him  till  the  lOth  instant, 
and  as  he  did  not  appear,  I  again  went  to  Montevideo.  He  was  still  undecided  whether 
he  would  send  a  steamer  up  the  river  or  not,  and  alleged  various  reasons  why  it  would 
not  be  proper  for  him  to  do  so.  If  he  did  it  at  all,  it  would  not  be  till  after  the  arrival 
of  Commodore  Rodgers,  who  was  expected  here  soon  in  the  Vanderbilt.  I  observed  to 
him  that  that  would  occasion  another  delay  of  at  least  a  month,  and  that  I  could  not 
and  oug-ht  not  to  delay  here  that  much  longer.  I  must  get  to  Paraguay  if  it  were  a  pos- 
sible thing,  and  I  was  determined  to  make  the  attempt,  even  if  I  must  make  the  last 
jiart  of  the  journey  on  horseback  or  buy  a  whale-boat,  to  get  through  the  lines.  He 
then  said  he  would  not  say  he  would  not  absolutely  send  a  steamer  up  before  the  arrival 
of  Commodore  Rodgers,  but  he  would  decide  on  what  he  could  do  after  he  got  to  Buenos 
Ayres  and  had  talked  with  different  jiarties  on  the  position  of  aifairs.  He  said  then 
that  he  would  positively  be  in  Buenos  Ayres  in  two  or  three  days.  Yesterday,  the  15th 
of  January,  he  arrived,  and  he  had  finally  come  to  the  conclusion  not  to  send  a  steamer 
under  any  circumstances.  The  reasons  which  he  gives  are  so  various  and  extraordinary 
that  I  will  repeat  them,  with  the  answers  which  I  gave." 

That  was  written  the  day  after  my  last  interview  with  him.  Admiral  Godon  says, 
in  a  letter  of  January  3d,  1866 — 

"  I  could  not  go  to  Asuncion  in  the  Wasp  without  a  greater  supply  of  coal  than  she 
carries.  As  I  could  obtain  this  only  from  the  Brazilian  naval  depot  at  Corrientes,  it 
woidd  hardly  seem  gracious  in  me  to  first  disoblige  the  Brazilian  admiral,  if  my  going 
did  no  more  than  that,  and  then  request  him  to  furnish  me  with  the  means  of  continu- 
ing to  do  so. 

''The  expenditure  of  200  tons  of  coal  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  without  other  object  than 
simply  putting  Mr.  Washburn  in  Corrientes,  after  an  absence  of  a  year  from  his  post  at 
Asuncion,  might  not  be  approved  by  the  department,  and  I  could  offer  no  better  reason 
for  its  consumption  than  the  one  that  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  wished  to  reach  Cor- 
rientes in  a  way  which  he  seems  to  think  more  dignified  than  that  of  going  in  a  mer- 
chant steamer  which  i)lies  weekly  to  that  place." 

I  have  to  say  that  Admiral  Godon  did  not  positively  promise  me  a  steamer,  and  that 
his  representation  that  I  wished  to  go  to  Corrientes  in  a  war  steamer  because  it  was 
more  dignified  than  going  in  a  merchant  steamer,  is  deliberately  and  maliciously 
untrue. 

Mr.  Orth.  It  is  not  necessary  to  indulge  in  any  such  remarks  as  those ;  the  committee 
simply  Avish  to  elicit  the  facts. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  would  like  to  say,  if  that  is  testimony 

Mr.  Orth.  I  have  just  notified  the  witness  that  that  is  not  testimony. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  wish  to  give  it  as  .testimony. 

Admiral  Godon.  He  has  so  testified,  and  I  desire  to  say  that  what  I  wrote  was  per- 
fectly true ;  my  whole  conduct  justified  it. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Yery  well,  we  have  other  testimony  here.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have 
anything  more  to  say  at  this  time. 


PAKAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATIOX.  9^ 

Mr.  Orth,  (to  Admiral  Godon.)  Mr.  Washburn  desires  that  we  shall  ask  vou  certiin 
questions  which  he  has  prepared.  And  firqt,  I  will  ask  you  this  question  •  In  vour  let 
ter  of  January  23,  1866,  you  state  that  there  was  no  vessel  in  the  squadron  suitable  to 
send  up  to  Paraguay.  Did  not  the  Wasp  arrive  at  Rio  while  Mr.  Washburn  was  there 
and  was  she  not  suitable  to  send  to  Paraguay  ?  ' 

Admiral  Godon.  I  will  read  what  I  said  then  from  a  letter  which  I  wrote  to  Seerptnr^ 
Welles  on  tho  23d  of  January,  1866 :  secretary 

"  In  the  month  of  September,  not  long  after  I  reached  the  station,  Mr.  Washburn 
arrived  from  tho  United  States,  and  at  once  called  to  ask  me  if  I  could  not  send  him  to 
Paraguay  on  a  man-of-war.  I  told  him  there  was  no  vessel  at  that  time  on  the  station 
that  could  be  so  employed,  and  in  pleasant  talk  I  informed  him  that  I  would  like  in 
course  of  time,  to  go  up  the  river  myself,  and  if  I  could  then  do  anythino-  for  him  I 
would ;  that  I  did  not  yet  know  how  matters  stood,  but  woidd  go  to  Montevideo  and 
there  would  learn  what  could  bo  done." 

The  Wasp  did  not  arrive  for  a  month  after  September ;  and  I  had  no  vessel  in  Sep- 
tciiiibcr  that  could  take  him  up. 

Q.  Did  not  Mr.  Washburn  remain  in  Rio  until  after  the  Wasp  arrived  ?— A.  I  think 
it  vei-y  likely,  but  when  tho  Wasp  arrived  there  were  some  preparations  made. 

Q.  Did  not  Mr.  Washburn  advise  you  while  in  Rio  that  he  could  not  probably  reach 
his  post  without  the  aid  of  a  gunboat  ?— A.  Probably  he  did. 

Q.  You  say  that  Mr.  Washburn  quietly  settled  himself  down  in  Rio  while  you  went 
to  Saint  Catharine  and  returned ;  did  he  not  leave  on  the  first  steamer  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Wasp  ? — A.  I  have  not  tho  slightest  idea. 

Q.  Was  ho  not  waiting  there  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  ?— A.  I  have  not  the  slightest 
idea.  But  I  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  sending  Mr.  Washburn  in  any  vessel 
tfom  Rio. 

Q.  Could  ho  have  reached  Paraguay  any  sooner  had  he  gone  by  the  first  conveyance 
1(>  the  Plata?— A.  Had  Mr.  Washburn  left  in  the  steamer  that  arrived  immediately  after 
the  Montana,  I  suppose  that  ho  could  have  got  to  Paraguay  in  one  of  the  vessel  that 
ho  says  went  up  river. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  What  vessels  were  they? — A.  The  two  or  three  vessels  that  you  said  went  up. 
Q.  What  was  their  character? — A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  them.  I  only  know 
about  them  through  Mr.  Washburn's  letter. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Did  you  tell  Mr.  Washburn  that  you  were  soon  going  to  the  river  Plata,  and  that 
i  i"  you  found  all  other  means  of  communication  with  Paraguay  suspended  you  would 
send  him  up  ? — A.  I  do  not  recollect  saying  anything  of  the  kind.  My  intentions  w^ere 
to  do  everything  that  I  could  to  facilitate  Mr.  Washburn's  movement  when  I  got  up 
the  river. 

By  Mr.  Washburn: 
Q.  Do  you  say  that  you  did  not  tell  me  so? — A.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  did  or  did 
not ;  no  doubt  I  told  him  I  would  assist  him. 

By  Mr.  Orth: 

Q.  How  soon  after  Mr.  Washburn  left  for  the  Plata  did  you  follow  him  in  the  flag- 
ship ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  now  the  time  that  he  left.  I  did  not  go  up  very  soon, 
perhaps  a  month  or  six  weeks. 

Q.  Did  you  not  promise  to  follow  him  in  less  than  two  weeks? — A.  No. 

Q.  Did  you  stop  at  Saint  Catharines  on  your  way? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  When  you  previously  went  to  Saint  Catharines  what  was  your  object? — A.  I  went 
to  look  after  some  coal,  to  exercise,  and  for  one  other  thing,  which  I  will  state.  Admiral 
Bell  was  expected  daily  at  Rio.  He  was  my  senior  in  lineal  rank,  but  I  had  been  pro- 
moted in  advance  of  him.  I  carried  a  blue  flag,  and  under  the  regulations  I  should 
have  been  obliged  to  wear  my  blue  flag  in  his  presence,  and  he  to  wear  the  red,  although 
he  was  my  senior.  I  thought  that  that  would  not  be  agreeable  to  him,  and  that  there 
might  be  some  little  contention  about  it ;  and  to  avoid  any  naval  complication  of  that 
kind  between  officers,  I  sailed  from  Rio  and  did  avoid  it.  When  Admiral  Bell  was 
afterwards  promoted  for  war  services,  he  took  his  proper  place  and  was  placed  above  me. 

By  Mr.  Sheldon  : 
Q.  It  was  out  of  courtesy  to  his  feelings?— A.  Entirely  so.    I  knew  the  sensitiveness 
in  regard  to  this  matter  of  rank.    I  was  on  my  own  station,  and  did  not  want  to  haul 
down  my  flag  in  violation  of  the  regulations,  nor  did  my  officers  wish  me  to  do  so.    It 
was  a  matter  of  naval  delicacy. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  What  is  the  distance  from  Rio  to  Saint  Catharines?— A.  Five  or  six  hundred 
miles. 


100  '  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION 

Q.  In  what  vessel  did  you  go  ? — A.  In  my  flag-ship. 

Q.  Under  sail  or  steam? — A.  Just  as  the  wind  happened  to  he;  I  have  not  the 
slightest  iccollcct  ion  ;  sometimes  I  went  under  sail,  sometimes  I  went  under  steam,  I 
suppose.  J  (lid  all  i  eould  to  ohey  the  orders  of  the  department,  to  burn  as  little  coal 
as  possible.  I  will  say  in  connection  with  this  that  Mr.  Kirk  afterwards  told  me  that 
Mr.  Washburn  was  go'ing  to  report  mo  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  I  had  probably  repeated 
what  I  have  said  to  Mr.  Washbiu'n,  and  it  was  perfectly  known  in  the  squadron.  There- 
fore I  believed  the  statement  of  Mr.  Kirk  that  Mr.  Washbm-n  was  going  to  report  me 
to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  will  read  what  I  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State : 

^'  To  sum  up  his  objections,  there  is  only  one  that  has  any  validity,  and  that  is  the 
expense  of  the  coal.  But  I  do  not  see  that  Admiral  Godon  is  at  all  consistent  in  his 
economy  of  that  article ;  on  the  contrary,  when  it  has  suited  his  own  convenience,  I 
believe  he  has  been  very  free  in  the  use  of  it.  As  I  have  already  mentioned,  he  left 
Rio  while  I  was  there  to  go  on  an  excursion  to  St.  Catherines  for  the  alleged  purpose 
of  giving  his  men  practice  in  target-firing.  What  need  of  going  to  St.  Catherines  for 
that  purpose,  when  he  was  going  by  there,  three  or  four  weeks  later,  on  his  way  to  the 
Plate  ?  Why  not  save  the  coal  necessary  for  that  trip,  and  have  the  target  i)ractice 
when  he  called  there  (as  he  did  call)  on  his  passage  to  Montevideo?  He  has  given  the 
reason  since  his  arrival  here.  It  was  this :  Admiral  H.  H.  Bell,  of  the  Hartford,  was 
expected  about  that  time  in  Rio,  and  to  avoid  any  ques^on  of  etiquette  or  punctilio 
with  him,  Admiral  Godon  now  says  he  took  a  run  down  to  St.  Catherines  to  stay  there 
till  Admiral  Bell  should  have  come  and  gone.  Thus  for  a  mere  matter  of  etiquette  he 
could  take  the  huge  Susquehanna  to  St.  Catherines,  a  distance  of  some  400  miles ;  hnt 
he  cannot  send  a  little  steam  tender  up  to  Paraguay,  where  a  war  vessel  is  absolutely 
needed,  because  it  will  consume  too  much  coal.  And  yet  I  venture  the  opinion  that 
the  same  coal  that  was  burnt  on  his  x>lea8ure  trip  to  St.  Catherines  w^ould  have  been 
more  than  suflScient  for  two  trips  of  the  Wasp  to  Paraguay  and  back." 

Admiral  Godon.    At  the  time  I  left  the  Wasp  was  not  there. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Was  she  not  expected  there  every  day  ? 

Admiral  Godon.  Yes ;  I  had  been  expecting  her  for  between  two  or  three  months. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  that  the  Wasp  could  not  carry  coal  enough  to  take  her  to  Paraguay  ? — 
A.  To  take  her  there  and  back,  she  could  not. 

Q.  Could  she  carry  any  more  coal  subsequently  when  they  did  send  her  up? — A.  Cer- 
tainly. 

Q.  For  what  reason  ? — ^A.  Because,  as  I  said  in  my  testimony,  I  found  that  she  carried 
so  little  that  I  took  her  cabin  away,  removed  her  state-rooms,  and  built  a  cabin  on 
deck. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Could  you  not  have  done  that  at  the  time  ? — A.  When  she  was  not  there,  no. 

Q.  When  she  arrived  at  Montevideo  ? — A.  I  did  not  think  it  fit  to  do  so ;  it  took  me 
probably  a  month  or  six  weeks  to  do  it. 

Q.  Was  not  the  Shawmut  there  ? — A.  I  did  not  choose  to  send  the  Shawmut. 

Q.  I  know  you  did  not,  or  anything  else. — A.  Or  anything  else  at  that  time.  I  had 
proper  reasons  for  it,  which  I  have  stated  to  the  department. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  that  no  coal  was  to  be  had  on  the  river  except  from  the  Brazilian  squad- 
ron. Were  there  not  private  coal  stations  at  Rosario,  Parana,  and  Corrientes  ? — A.  I 
do  not  know  that  there  were ;  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  them. 

Q.  You  allege  the  expense  of  the  coal  as  a  reason  for  not  sending  Mr,  Washburn  up  ? — 
A.  One  of  the  reasons. 

Q.  As  a  reason,  not  the  only  reason.  Was  any  proposition  ever  made  to  you  by  any 
private  person  to  furnish  the  coal  gratuitously  ?  If  so,  what  was  your  reply  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir,  there  was.  After  I  had  settled  in  my  mind  that  I  could  not  go,  Mr.  Hale,  one  ot 
the  oldest  merchants  in  Buenos  Ayres,  came  to  see  me.  He  is  an  American,  and  a  very 
respectable  man.  He  mentioned  that  if  that  were  the  only  difficulty  in  my  way  he  would 
furnish  coal  to  go  to  Corrientes.  I  replied,  "  Mr.  Hale,  if  it  is  necessary  and  proper  to 
send  Mr.  Washburn  up  to  Corrientes,  I  will  burn  all  the  coal  in  my  squadron.  But  as 
there  is  no  interest  in  the  matter,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  burn  any  coal  to  send  him 
ux)  there."  It  had  then  degenerated  into  the  simple  question  whether  Mr.  Washburn 
should  go  to  Corrientes  or  not. 

Q.  You  say  that  Mr.  Washburn  desired  to  go  to  Corrientes  in  a  gunboat.  Did  he  not 
express  a  desire  to  go  above  Corrientes  in  that  way  ? — A.  He  had  been  informed  posi- 
tively by  me  that  I  would  not  interfere  with  the  blockade. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  You  said  to-day  that  there  was  no  blockade  at  that  time. — A.  At  Corrientes.    But 
I  had  admitted  to  Admiral  Tamandar6  that  I  would  respect  the  blockade  at  Tres  Bocas. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION  101 

By  Mr.  Orth: 
Q.  Did  you  not  receive  a  letter  from  Mr.  Washburn  when  you  were  in  Montevideo 
requesting  you  to  send  a  vessel  to  take  him  to  his  post?— A.  I  received  a  private 
letter  from  Mr.  Washburn,  and  considered  it  merely  a  private  letter  in  continuation  of, 
a  private  request  that  ho  had  constantly  made.  I  never  received  an  official  letter,  or 
an  official  intimation  of  any  kind. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Was  it  semi-official  f — ^A.  It  was  neither  semi-official  nor  official,  only  a  private 
letter. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  wish  the  committee  to  take  notice  of  one  thing  particularly :  the 
admiral  speaks  of  the  blockade  at  Corrientes  as  though  it  was  above  Corrientes.  Now, 
I  say,  and  it  appears  in  all  the  corresjjondence,  that  the  blockading  squadron  was 
below  Corrientes  during  all  the  time  this  affiiir  hai)pened,  or  at  Corrientes. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Washburn  ever  modify  that  request  so  that  you  inferred  that  he  only 
desired  to  go  to  Corrientes  ? — A.  After  I  had  told  him  I  could  not  send  him  up,  and 
when  I  offered  to  take  him  up  in  six  or  eight  weeks,  that  is,  send  him  up  in  the  Shaw- 
mut,  or  some  vessel  of  that  kind  that  could  sail  and  bura  little  coal. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Sail  up  the  river  ?— A.  Yes,  sail  up  the  river  and  bum  little  coal,  steaming  around 
the  bends,  and  sailing  when  the  delay  would  not  be  a  serious  inconvenience  to  the 
officers.  It  was  then  understood  that  at  the  end  of  that  time  I  would  send  him  up  to 
Corrientes.  I  withdraw  that ;  I  called  upon  him  in  the  presence  of  Captain  Taylor, 
and  told  him  that  while  I  regretted  all  these  things,  was  sorry  for  them,  I  wouhl  do 
the  best  I  could,  and  would  send  him  up  there  afterwards. 

Mr.  Washburn.  There  is  a  direct  issue  of  fact ;  I  deny  the  whole  of  it. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Was  there  any  way  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  from  Corrientes  to  Asuncion  without 
a  steamboat  ? — A.  Mr.  Washburn  told  mo  distnictly  that  if  he  could  get  to  Corrientes 
he  would  go  up  in  a  canoe. 

Mr.  Washburn.  With  a  gunboat  to  take  me  to  Corrientes ;  that  was  the  distinct 
understanding. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  never  heard  of  the  gunboat. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  You  say  that  if  Mr.  Washburn  should  go  to  Asuncion  probably  your  services 
would  be  needed  for  the  protection  of  a  really  distressed  American.  Did  you  consider 
that  you  should  not  aid  Mr.  Washburn  to  reach  his  post  from  apprehension  of  danger 
and  inconvenience  to  him  f — A.  No,  sir ;  I  could  not  go  through  the  blockade ;  that  was 
my  reason. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Go  where  ? — A.   Go  to  Asuncion,  passing  through  the  blockade ;  that  was  my 
reason. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  officially  in  that  letter  that  nothing  Mr.  Washburn  could  do  would  affect 
yoiu- judgment  or  influence  your  action.  Are  we  to  understand  by  that  that  if  Mr. 
Washburn,  in  his  official  duties,  had  placed  himself  in  a  position  where  his  own  life 
and  the  lives  of  his  family  were  in  danger,  you  would  not  have  gone  or  sent  to  his 
rescue  ? — A.  I  will  answer  that  question.  The  spirit  in  which  it  is  put  shows  the  ani- 
mus of  this  whole  thing. 

Mr.  Orth.  I  am  asking  the  question  for  Mr.  Washburn.  It  is  a  question  which  I 
suppose  he  desired  to  have  answered  or  he  would  not  have  prepared  it. 

Mr.  Washburn.    Yes,  I  want  an  answer  to  it. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  was  writing  then  an  official  communication  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  I  had  stated  to  him  the  whole  matter  as  it  then  stood.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  affair  Mr.  Washburn  had  shown  a  great  deal  of  unkinduess.  I  wrote  that  I 
should  wait  for  instructions  and  I  intended  to  do  so.  In  writing  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  I  wrote  honestly,  precisely  as  I  felt.    This  is  what  I  wrote : 

''  I  shall  be  governed  by  my  present  views  until  I  receive  instructions  from  the 
department.  While  waiting  them  nothing  that  Mr.  Washburn  may  do  will  affect  my 
judgment  or  influence  my  actions,  which  will  always  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
service." 

No  unkinduess,  no  remarks,  nothing  that  Mr.  Washburn  could  do  to  excite  in  me 
anger  or  feeling  of  any  description  would  affect  my  judgment  or  influence  my  action ; 


102  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  (lid  more,  I  wrote  in  another  letter,  wlien  I  stated  that  I  wouhl  send  him  up  in  spite 
of  all  the  feelings  which  existed  then,  which  I  myself  had  very  little  of,  though  I  had 
considerable  cause. 

"  In  my  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn  I  have  stated  that,  although  he  should  be  offered  by 
the  allies-  a  safe  conduct  through  the  military  lines,  I  still  would  furnish  him  with  a 
suitable  vessel  to  go  to  Asuncion,  not  in  a  threatening  way,  however,  as  he  seems  to 
desire,  but  in  a  friendly  yet  dignified  manner. 

"If  in  doing  this  I  am  going  beyond  the  instructions  of  the  department,  I  would 
only  say  in  justification  that  the  long  delay  and  inconvenience  to  which  our  minister 
has  been  subjected  already  seems  to  render  it  proper  and  expedient  that  I  should,  for 
the  dignity  of  the  country,  place  him  beyond  the  chance  of  further  annoyance." 

And  again,  I  read  as  follows : 

"  The  reasons  for  my  giving  these  orders  remain  the  same.  As  I  stated  in  my  first 
letter  to  the  department  on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Washburn  going  to  Paraguay  in  a 
government  vessel,  that  I  then  would  not  allow  anything  he  might  do  to  affect  my 
judgment  or  influence  my  actions,  which  would  always  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
service,  so  will  I  now  be  guided  by  the  same  motives,  and  honestly  carry  out,  as  I 
understand  them,  the  wishes  of  the  government. 

''  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant." 

Having  heard  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  to  return  unless  the  allies  removed  the 
obstructions,  and  as  Mr.  Washburn  said  they  had  not  been  removed,  still  I  let  my  order 
continue  in  force,  I  say  : 

"Although  Mr.  Washburn  may  not  have  obeyed  his  instructions  of  April  26,  Com- 
mander Crosby  will  carry  out  the  orders  I  have  given  him,  to  afford  Mr.,  Washburn  a 
passage  to  Asuncion  ujion  his  written  application." 

Q.  That  is  your  answer  to  the  question  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  your  letter  of  January  23,  you  stated  that  the  Brazilian  admiral  had  declared 
the  ports  of  Paraguay  blockaded ;  while  in  your  letter  of  May  18,  you  say  that  the 
Brazilian  minister,  Senor  Octaviano,  informed  you  that  Mr.  Washburn  could  have  gone 
to  Paraguay  in  a  merchant  vessel  at  any  time  previous  to  the  occupation  of  Tres  Bocas 
by  the  Brazilian  squadron.  This  being  more  than  two  months  after  the  blockade  was 
declared,  how  could  he  go  on  a  merchant  vessel  ? — A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Did  any  merchant  vessel  go  to  Paraguay  after  the  blockade  was  established  ? — A. 
I  do  not  know ;  I  merely  stated  that  Mr.  Octaviano  said  so. 

By  Mr.  Washbuen  : 

Q.  Did  you  not  know  that  it  was  not  true  ? — A.  I  only  stated  what  was  told  me. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  What  was  your  motive  in  giving  this  statement  of  Octaviano  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  when  it  could  not  be  true  ? — A.  I  did  not  know  anything  about  the  truth  of 
it ;  I  merely  stated  w^hat  Mr.  Octaviano  stated  to  me. 

Q.  Then  of  your  own  personal  knowledge  you  did  not  know  whether  vessels  went  up 
there  or  not  ? — A.  I  did  not. 

Mr.  Washburn.  There  was  no  communication,  and  the  admiral  knew  it. 

Mr.  WiLLARD.  How  do  you  know  that  ? 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  went  up  there.  I  left  Buenos  Ayres  about  the  18th  of  January, 
and  there  never  was  a  sailing  vessel  went  above  there. 

Mr.  WiLLARD.  Was  there  no  difficulty  in  going  to  Corrientes  ? 

Mr.  Washburn.  Not  at  all ;  they  did  not  object  to  our  going  to  Corrientes. 

Admiral  Godon.  If  I  may  be  allowed  to  state  a  naval  point  I  will  do  so.  There 
might  have  been  five  hundred  men-of-war  lying  at  Corrientes.  As  the  river  is  not  more 
than  a  mile  wide  one  war  steamer  would  be  sufficient  to  prevent  anything  from  passing 
uj)  although  the  entire  fleet  of  the  admiral  might  be  at  Corrientes. 

Mr.  Washburn.  Nothing  did  pass. 

Admu-al  Godon.  I  am  not  responsible  for  Mr.  Octaviano's  statement.  I  merely 
stated  what  he  told  me  and  made  no  comment  about  it. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  In  your  letter  of  September  17,  1866,  you  give  as  a  reason  for  not  sending  Mr. 
Washburn  n]-)  in  a  gunboat  that  he  had  not  complied  with  the  instructions  of  the 
Secretary  of  State.  Had  not  Mr.  Washburn  done  repeatedly  all  that  Mr.  Seward  had 
instructed  him  to  do,  and  had  not  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allies  refused  to  hold 
further  correspondence  with  him  ? — A.  Mr.  Washburn  had  not  done  repeatedly  what 
Mr.  Seward  had  instructed  him  to  do.  Mr.  Washburn  had  written  repeated  letters,  but 
he  had  never  done  what  Mr.  Seward  says  he  should  do,  because  JMr.  Seward  gave  him 
definitely  the  words  he  was  to  use  in  the  letter  he  was  to  write. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Washburn  to  be  the  judge  and  interpreter  of  his  own  instructions  or 
were  you  ? — A.  Mr.  Washburn  was  to  be  the  judge  of  his  own  instructions  and  was 
responsible  for  that ;  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  responsibility.     But  when  he  was 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  103 

ordered  to  send  the  instructions  to  ine  then  Mr.  Wnshburu  was  not  responsible  for  the 
manner  in  wliicli  I  acted  upon  them  or  for  the  constniction  I  put  npou  them.  If  it 
was  not  necessary  for  me  to  sec  the  original  instructions,  then  I  would  have  to  take  Mr. 
Washburn's  construction  of  them.  But  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Seward's  instructions  to  him 
had  been  communicated  to  me,  but  he  had  not  given  me  the  words  of  Mr.  Seward's 
instructions,  it  seemed  that  Mr.  Seward  thought  he  was  not  very  clear  about  it,  and, 
therefore,  that  the  admiral  himself  must  sec  for  himself.  Mr.  Seward  in  his  letter 
states  that  it  was  not  to  be  considered  an  unfriendly  act  for  the  allies  to  deny  the  per- 
mission asked  by  Mr.  Washburn.  Mr.  Washburn  says  that  it  was  illegal.  Now  if  it 
was  illegal  it  was  extremely  unfriendly ;  at  least  it  is  generally  so  considered  in  law. 

Q.  In  your  letter  of  October  24,  18G6,  you  say  that  General  Webb  had  officially 
advised  Mr.  Washburn  thiit  all  obstructions  to  his  pa.ssiug  the  lines  had  been  removed? — 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  that  Mr.  Washburn  paid  no  attention  to  tliis  notice.  Now,  had  not  Mr. 
Washburn  previously  informed  you  that  former  •promises  to  him  by  the  allies  had  not 
been  obser\'ed  and  that  he  attached  no  importance  to  these  ? — A.  Mr.  Webb  informed 
me  that  he  ha/l  not  paid  the  slightest  attention  to  the  official  notice,  which  was  as 
follows : 

"Petropolis,  September  16,  1866. 

"  Sm :  In  reply  to  your  official  note  of  yesterday,  received  at  7  p.  m.  this  evening,  I 
have  the  pleasure  to  comnmnicate,  for  your  information,  that  on  the  22d  of  August  I 
advised  Mr.  Washburn  officially  that  all  obstructions  on  the  part  of  the  allied  fleet  to 
his  repairing  to  his  post  of  duty  had  been  removed." 

I  knew  he  had  that  information. 

Q.  The  question  is  this :  had  not  Mr.  Wa.shbuni  previously  informed  you  that  former 
promises  to  him  from  the  allies  had  not  been  observed,  and  that  he  attached  no  impor- 
tance to  those  ? — A.  Mr.  Washbuni  wrote  mo  this :  "  I  had  already  anticipated  the 
instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  had  requested  of  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  allied  anuies  a  jiassage  through  their  military  lines  for  myself  and  family.  But 
it  has  been  persistently  refused,  and  I  therefore  request  you  to  provide  me  with  a  war 
vessel  and  the  necessary  convoy,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  government." 
Mr.  Webb  informed  me  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  infonued  officially  that  obstruc- 
tions were  removed.  Yet  Mr.  Washburn  never  asked  from  that  moment,  although  the 
Secretary  of  State  distinctly  informed  him  that  their  previous  acts  were  not  to  be  con- 
sidered unfriendly,  and  that  he  must  dismiss  all  that  had  been  done,  and  act  in  a  man- 
ner stated  in  his  mstructions. 

Q.  You  state  that  Mr.  Washburn  urged  the  propriety  of  having  a  United  States  ves- 
sel in  Paraguay  in  order  that  Lopez,  if  hard  pressed,  might  leave  the  country^  Are  you 
sure  no  contingency  could  arise  by  which,  with  the  consent  and  at  the  desire  of  the 
allies,  Lopez  should  thus  bo  allowed  to  escape  and  thus  save  the  sacrifice  of  many 
lives  ? — A.  My  orders  were  to  be  neutral ;  and  in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  my  gov- 
ernment the  lives  of  all  the  Paraguayans  were  of  very  trifling  consideration  to  me. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Had  it  been  desired  by  all  parties,  had  there  been  a  gunboat  there,  and  I  had 
been  requested  to  use  my  influence  ? — A.  I  would  have  taken  the  matter  into  consid- 
eration ;  I  think  I  would  have  given  you  a  gunboat  very  promptly. 

Q.  Was  not  that  a  contingency  which  comd  arise?— A.  If  I  had  been  bom  in  France 
I  would  not  have  been  an  American. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  had  great  hopes  if  I  went  up  there  and  there  was  a  gunboat 
there  that  Lopez  would  see  that  his  cause  would  be  lost,  and  by  the  assent  of  the  allies 
and  under  the  protection  of  an  American  gunboat  would  leave  the  country.  It  was 
for  some  such  contingency  as  that  that  I  desired  a  gunboat  to  go  up ;  that  was  one 
reason. 

Mr.  WILL.VRD.  Was  that  really  any  part  of  your  duty  as  a  minister  ? 

Mr.  Washburn.  No,  sir;  my  duty  was  to  go  up  there.  [To  Admiral  Godon.J  \Vas 
it  not  perfectly  competent  for  you 'at  that  time  to  give  the  same  instructions  to  Cap- 
tain Crosby  that  you  gave  afterwards  not  to  take  away  Lopez  or  any  other  Para- 
guayan?—A.  It  was  perfectly  competent,  but  it  was  not  competent  for  me  to  send 
a  vessel  through  the  blockade.  •  -u^ -f 

Q.  You  might  have  obviated  my  reason  for  w^anting  a  gunboat  ?— A.  I  nugnt  it  jjou 
had  asked  me.  I  would  have  given  him  peremptory  orders  not  to  do  it.  It  alter  gomg 
up  there  a  minister  had  the  right  to  give  any  instructions,  this  being  a  political  ques- 
tion, my  officer  would  have  been  obliged  to  follow  those  instructions.  «j       o     * 

Q.  Did  I  ever  maintain  that  I  had  any  right  to  give  instructions  to  your  officer?— A. 
No,  sir ;  you  never  did. 

Mr.  Washburn.  I  beUeved  that  Lopez  was  near  the  end  of  his  rope,  and  it  was 
believed  that  if  a  gunboat  went  up,  very  likely  he  would  want  to  escape,  and  the  war 
would  then  cease.  The  admiral  might  have  given  instructions  not  to  take  Lopez  under 
any  circumstances,  or  only  with  the  consent  of  all  parties. 


104  PARAGUAYAN    IXVESTIGATION. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  will  recall  a  question  you  jiut  to  ine  at  that  time.  You  said,  sup- 
pose that  a  vessel  did  go  up,  and  so  forth,  and  she  was  there,  and  Lopez  got  aboard.  I 
said  he  cannot  get  aboard,  because  I  ^vould  give  such  instructions  that  he  could  not  pos- 
sibly get  aboard  without  the  consent  of  the  officer.  You  then  said,  suppose  he  did  get 
on  board,  ;nul  it  was  discovered  coming  down  that  he  was  on  board,  what  would  you 
do  tlicn  .'  1  told  you  that  if  he  did  get  on  board  by  a  breach  of  hosj)itality,  and  by 
breaking  luy  neutral  position,  I  would  hand  him  over  to  the  blockading  squadron, 
and  they  might  hang  him  as  high  as  Haman.  I  would  involve  my  country  in  no  haz- 
ard and  risk  at  all  in  that  way. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  Would  not  Mr.  Washburn,  being  on  the  ground,  be  the  proper  person  to  judge 
when  such  contingency  would  arise  ? — A.  I  concede  all  these  matters,  that  everything 
on  shore  belongs  so  exclusively  to  the  minister  that  1  had  no  interest  in  it.  It  is  only 
when  forced  upon  me  that  I  have  a  right  to  an  opinion.  When  it  comes  to  using  a  ves- 
sel in  my  squadron,  then  I  have  an  opinion. 

Q.  Did  not  the  Wasp  draw  less  water  than  the  Shamokin,  on  which  you  did  send  Mr. 
Washburn  up  ? — A.  She  did  draw  less ;  but  I  sent  the  Shamokin  because  she  was  a  large 
vessel,  with  a  iine  cabin,  and  had  a  certain  bearing  about  her  on  account  of  her  large 
guns,  which  made  her  preferable.  The  Wasp  had  two  little  pop-guns,  12-i)ounders.  I 
wanted  to  make  them  as  comfortable  as  I  could. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Did  you  give  any  orders  to  Cax)tain  Crosby  to  make  us  comfortable  ? — A.  He  had 
a  splendid  cabin. 

Q.  But  it  was  unfit  for  ladies. — A.  But  we  live  in  those  cabins.  He  had  one  of  the 
finest  cabins  I  ever  was  in,  and  a  fine  stateroom  for  a  lady.    I  went  up  myself  in  it. 

Q.  But  you  are  not  a  lady. — A.  No ;  but  there  was  a  fine  state-room.  If  I  had  sent 
you  in  the  Wasp,  there  was  no  place  for  a  lady ;  you  would  have  been  obliged  to  take 
the  cabin  entirely. 

Mr.  Washburn.  When  I  was  at  Eio,  the  admii-al  said  he  was  going  to  put  up  a  cabin 
then,  and  that  it  would  follow  down  very  soon  afterwards. 

Admiral  Godon.  You  know  naval  matters  are  very  slow  when  you  are  merely  accom- 
modating people.    When  you  go  to  fight,  they  are  more  rapid. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Which  vessel  would  consume  the  most  coal  in  making  the  trip  ? — A.  I  suppose  the 
Shamokin ;  much  the  most. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  in  sending  the  Shamokin  in  jireference  to  the  Wasp  ? — A. 
Because  she  was  a  fine  vessel,  with  good  accommodations  for  Mr.  Washburn's  family. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  Was  not  the  cabin  on  the  Wasp  made  at  the  time  you  sent  the  Shamokin  ? — A.  Yes ; 
but  I  did  not  send  her,  because  she  was  not  as  good  as  the  Shamokin. 

Mr.  Washburn.  She  had  fine  accommodations ;  good  enough  for  me. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  am  delighted  to  hear  it.  Then  the  accommodations  of  the  Sham- 
okin must  have  been  too  good. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  In  your  letter  of  January  23,  1866,  you  say  that  there  were  other  reasons  for  your 
refusal  to  comply  with  the  request  of  Mr.  Washburn ;  please  state  what  they  were. — A. 
One  reason  was  what  Mr.  Washburn  had  said  about  having  a  vessel  there  to  remove 
Lopez.  I  did  not  state  this  reason  at  the  time,  because  I  did  not  think  it  was  a  very 
proper  subject,  and  therefore  only  gave  it  when  I  was  compelled  to  give  unusual  orders 
to  the  oificer  going  up. 

Q.  Did  Minister  Octaviano  state  to  you  that  the  Brazilians  or  others  of  the  allies 
had  cajstured  some  papers  from  the  Paraguayans,  in  which  i:)apers  Mr.  Washburn's 
name  was  found  in  connection  with  some  arms  purchased  or  to  be  purchased  by  him, 
and  in  regard  to  the  money  that  was  to  be  paid  for  the  same  ? — A.  He  did. 

Q.  State  what  it  was. — A.  He  said  something  to  that  effect  pretty  much  as  stated  in 
the  question,  that  there  were  some  papers  captured.  I  think  it  was  about  the  time 
that  Corrientes  was  taken ;  it  did  not  make  much  impression  on  me.  The  statement 
was  that  papers  had  been  found  in  which  Mr.  Washburn's  name  had  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  arms ;  that  there  had  been  some  investigation  about  it.  I  said : 
"  Well,  was  there  anything  to  show  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  anything  to  do  with  it  ?" 
Mr.  Octaviano  seemed  to  think  that  there  was  not  much  in  it.  In  conversation  he 
spoke  of  it,  but  said  nothing  that  ever  led  me  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  really 
engaged  in  it. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  mention  this  matter  to  Mr.  Washburn  that  he  might  explain  it? — A. 
No,  sir ;  Mr.  Washburn  was  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  mention  it  to  any  one  else  ? — A.  I  think  very  likely. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION  105 

Q.  Did  you  ever  circulate  it  among  other  people? — A.  I  meutioned  it  as  a  subject 
counectetl  v»'itli  many  other  matters. 

Q.  Did  you  know  anything  about  these  papers  ? — A.  I  never  saw  them.  Mr.  Octa- 
viano  left  the  impression  on  my  mind  that  the  subject  of  the  arms  did  not  amount  to 
much. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  mention  this  matter  to  other  people  as  being  derogatory  to  Mr 
Washburn  f — A.  I  merely  mentioned  it  as  the  subject  came  up. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  rejiort  the  fact  to  the  government  ? — A.  I  never  did  so ;  I  should  con 
sider  it  quite  out  of  propriety  and  reason  to  have  done  so. 

Q.  In  your  interview  with  Octaviano  did  he  ever  allude  to  the  offer  of  money  made 
by  Admiial  Tamandard  to  Mr.  Washburn  if  he  would  not  insist  on  going  to  his  post,  as 
apjiears  in  Mr.  Washbiu'u's  letter  of  April  27,  18(36,  to  Secretary  Seward  ? — A.  lu  the 
interview  that  I  had  with  Mr.  Octaviano,  I  took  two  officers  with  me,  Captain  Marvin 
and  Captain  Kirklaud.  It  was  a  little  warm  at  first,  but  when  we  came  down  to  see 
that  we  really  understood  the  subject  of  the  blockade  perfectly,  Mr.  Octaviano  told  me 
that  h«i  had  received  a  letter  liom  Mr.  Washburn  which  he  had  never  answered.  I 
asked  him  if  it  was  proper  to  allow  such  a  letter  to  go  imanswered.  He  said  it  was 
such  a  letter  that  ho  could  not  answer  it.  I  asked  him  what  there  v.as  in  it  that  could 
not  be  answered.  His  reply  was  in  French,  but  the  meaning  of  it  was  that  it  had  no 
point  in  it,  that  there  was  no  particular  thiug  in  it.  The  letter  stated  that  he  had 
done  a  great  deal  for  the  Brazilian  minister,  that  he  had  been  absent  in  the  United 
States,  that  if  ho  could  only  have  ^ot  back  six  weeks  before,  he  could  have  gone  up  the 
river,  and  so  on.  I  still  persisted  m  asking  why  not  answer  the  letter.  He  said  that 
it  was  an  undiplomatic  letter  which  he  could  not  answer;  he  said  that  in  diplomacy 
they  nnist  have  a  point  to  come  at.  The  impression  was  made  ui)on  me  that  Mr.  Oc- 
taviano had  not  been  frank  in  the  matter,  and  the  question  constantly  came  up  what 
was  in  that  letter.  I  asked  him  once  or  twice  and  he  said  he  would  show  it  to  me.  He 
Went  to  his  room  before  these  gentlemen  to  look  for  it,  and  said  that  he  could  not  find 
it.  Some  time  afterwards  I  again  asked  him  if  he  had  found  that  letter  for  1  wanted  to 
judge  myself  whether  he  had  acted  frankly  about  %t.  He  said  he  had  not  forgotten  it, 
but  could  not  show  it ;  he  left  the  impression  on  my  mind  that  he  did  not  wish  to  show 
the  letter.  When  he  came  to  tell  me  good-bye  upon  leaving  the  mission  he  handed  me 
a  letter  and  I  handed  it  back  to  him.  He  said  ho  did  not  care  to  have  that  among  the 
diplomatic  papers. 

Q.  Did  he  ever  allude  to  the  offer  of  money  made  by  Admiral  Tamandard  ? — A.  No, 
not  by  Admiral  Tamandard,  but  he  did  allude  to  an  affair  of  money. 

Q.  Made  by  whom  ? — A.  Not  by  Admiral  Tamandard. 

By  Mr.  Washijukn  : 

Q.  To  me  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.    Would  you  like  me  to  state  anything  more  ? 

Mr.  Washbukn.  I  am  willing  to  have  you  state  it. 

Admiral  GoDOX.  I  will  state  all  he  did  say. 

Mr.  Wasiibuun.  I  would  like  to  hear  it. 

Admiral  Godon.  I  said  to  Mr.  Octaviano  that  I  did  not  see  anything  in  that  letter 
that  he  might  not  have  answered ;  he  said :  "  What  was  I  to  offer  to  him  i  What  was  I  to 
give  him  ?  He  did  not  ask  for  a  vessel,  but  simply  said  he  left  it  to  me  to  determine 
what  to  do."  I  said,  "  Well,  why  did  you  not  offer  him  to  go  up  there  ?"  He  said, 
"  I  could  not  offer  that  because  that  had  been  refused  by  General  Mitre.  But  it  left  the 
impression  upon  my  mind  that  I  must  do  something.  I  could  not  answer  the  letter ;  I 
had  seen  Mr.  Washburn  before ;  he  was  in  Corrientes.  He  complained  of  the  expense, 
ot-the  aunoyance,  trouble,  and  that  the  very  fact  of  his  having  assisted  the  minister 
made  this  thing  of  innuense  expense  to  him.  What  could  I  think  of  in  regard  to  that  ? 
I  said  I  will  lend  you  any  amount  of  money ;  it  is  a  matter  which  you  can  do ;  I  have 
control  of  it ;  it  is  there  and  I  can  do  it.  Well,  Mr.  Washburn  said  no,  it  was  not 
that."  He  said  afterwai'ds  that  he  felt  that  perhaps  that  was  not  the  way  he  ought  to 
do  this  thing.    He  sent  a  person  of  rank  and  position  to  offer  him  the  money. 

Q.  Did  he  say  the  money  was  accepted  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  it  was  not.  I  said  to  Mr.  Octa- 
viano, "  Why,  you  surprise  me  j  did  Mr.  W^ashbum  say  anything  ?"  Mr.  Octaviano  said 
no ;  that  he  would  not  accept  it.  ^c  •  i  i,    i 

Mr.  Wasiibuun.  In  my  testimony  the  other  day  I  said  that  another  high  official  had 
offered  me  money,  but  I  did  not  say  who  it  was.  I  can  now  say  that  it  was  Minister 
Octaviano,  because  it  has  come  up  in  this  way. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Washburn  I  will  ask  you  a  few  questions.  Wliat  do  you 
understand  is  meant  by  forcing  a  blockade  ?— A.  Going  through  with  a  vessel. 

Q.  For  what  purpose  is  a  blockade  established  ?— A.  That  is  a  political  question.  I 
have  only  my  naval  notions  about  it. 

Q.  Is  it  to  prevent  neutral  governments  from  holding  official  intercourse  with  the 
governments  blockaded,  or  with  their  representatives  there?— A.  A  great  many  years 


106  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

ago  Lisbon  was  blockaded  by  the  French  and  English  fleet.  Commodore  Biddlc  was 
ordered  from  the  United  States  to  take  our  minister  there  in  a  frigate.  He  arrived  off 
the  port  and  attempted  to  go  in.  They  told  him  to  go  back ;  and  ho  went  back.  On 
our  coast  during  the  rebellion  there  was  another  kind  of  blockade.  Our  blockade 
pennitted  men-of-war  to  pass  through  to  communicate  with  the  consuls  that  were 
within  our  blockaded  ports  because  they  were  consuls  with  exequaturs  from  the  city  of 
Washiugton.  Although  that  portion  of  the  country  was  in  the  rebellion,  they  claimed 
the  right  to  communicate  with  their  consiils  there  in  some  form  or  another.  The  gov- 
ernment, rather  than  give  them  permission  to  go  through  the  military  lines,  i^ermittcd 
their  vessels  of  war  to  enter  the  blockaded  ports.  These  are  two  kinds  of  blockades. 
The  question  Avould  come  up  in  a  form  that  I  could  not  answer  definitely.  When  I 
arrived  before  a  place  I  would  have  to  decide,  or  get  the  minister  to  decide,  what  the 
condition  of  the  blockade  would  be,  and  respect  it  or  not,  under  advisement. 

Q.  Has  the  blockading  power  the  right  to  prevent  the  minister  of  a  neutral  power 
from  going  to  his  post,  if  necessary,  through  a  blockade  ? — A.  It  has,  I  believe,  accord- 
ing to  all  the  received  legal  authorities. 

Q.  Is  not  a  blockade  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  supplies  and  material  aid,  and  not 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  diplomatic  intercourse  with  the  governments  ? — A.  It  is 
for  cutting  oft*  supplies,  material  aid,  and  anything  else  that  is  vital  to  the  life  of 
the  country ;  anythiug  that  will  prevent  the  war  from  being  continued  on  the  part  of 
the  country  blockaded.  The  object  is  to  check  the  war,  not  to  interfere  with  neutrals. 
It  is  a  right  accorded  to  neutrals,  as  far  as  international  law  goes. 

Q.  Mr.  Washburn  calls  attention  to  this  letter  of  Mr.  Seward  to  Mr.  Webb,  dated  Sep- 
tember 23,  186(3,  in  which  Mr.  Seward  says,  "  So  far  from  considering  the  question  or 
the  right  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  proceed  to  his  destination  as  a  debatable  one,  the  United 
States  cannot  consent  to  argue  that  question." — A.  I  had  written  that  myself  before  Mr 
Seward  wrote  it ;  so  that  Mr.  Seward  and  myself  agreed. 

Q.  When  the  blockade  was  forced  as  it  was  by  the  Shamokin,  what  injury  was  inflicted 
upon  the  blockaders  other  than  obliging  them  to  let  ministers  pass? — A.  The  blockade 
never  was  really  forced.  Mr.  Washburn,  in  his  correspondence,  and  in  whatever  has 
been  said  about  it  in  that  Avay,  has  always  claimed  that  the  blockade  was  forced.  But 
in  my  estimation  it  was  not  forced  at  all.  The  French  minister  told  the  admiral  that 
I  was  allowed  to  send  a  vessel  up  through  the  blockade  under  this  protest  or  whatever 
it  was,  because  I  had  held  a  knife  to  the  throat  of  the  minister. 

Q.  Was  not  the  blockade  as  effectual  after  the  Shamokin  passed,  for  all  purposes 
except  stopping  foreign  ministers,  as  before  ? — A.  I  think  it  likely  that,  under  the  rule, 
had  any  foreign  vessel  claimed  to  go  up,  they  could  have  prevented  it. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  With  ministers  on  board  ? — ^A.  Under  the  law  of  blockade  I  doubt  very  much  if 
they  could  have  prevented  it,  although  they  allowed  me  to  go  up  under  protest.    That 
was  one  of  the  troubles  in  doing  it.    The  protest  was  to  show  that  they  had  not  per- 
mitted it. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  Would  not  our  government,  the  circumstances  having  been  reversed,  have  granted 
to  tlie  ministers  of  the  allies  the  same  facilities  for  reaching  their  posts  that  the  United 
States  claimed  for  their  ministers  ? — A.  Through  the  military  lines  ? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. — A.  I  think  it  would;  and  I  told  Mr.  Octaviauo  that  it  would  be  looked 
upon  as  neither  friendly  nor  kind  to  deny  it  to  us.  We  cannot  tell  what  people  would 
do;  what  a  nation  would  do;  they  would  have  to  be  the  judges.  I  think  that  under 
ordinary  circumstances  they  would'have  allowed  it.  It  was  an  unkindly  and  unfriendly 
act  on  the  part  of  the  allies  to  prevent  Mr.  Washburn  from  going  through  the  military 
lines. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  United  States  government  took  advantage  of  its  superior  power 
over  the  allies  in  demanding  the  right  to  send  its  minister  to  his  post  ? — A.  I  will  read 
my  answer,  which,  it  seems,  I  have  written  in  advance  of  the  question;  in  my  letter  to 
Mr,  Washburn— not  to  the  government,  I  say : 

''I  have  been  unmindful  of  the  inconvenience  and  seeming  discourtesy  of  the  allies 
in  keeping  a  minister  of  the  United  States  from  i^assing  through  the  military  lines  to 
his  post,  and  have  communicated  with  our  acting  charg6  d'affaires  to  this  government 
in  regard  to  it,  from  whom  I  learned  that  the  obstructions  would  be  removed. 

"  I  feel  satisfied  that  the  same  information  will  be  given  to  ydti  when  you  address  the 
President  of  the  Argentine  government,  as  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

"The  truly  friendly  relations  that  exist  between  the  allies  now  at  war  against  Para- 
guay and  our  own  government  disposes  me  still  more  to  refrain  from  committing  any 
act  which  would  seem  like  arrogance  in  a  great  and  powerful  nation  like  the  United 
States  towards  governments  too  weak  to  resent  it,  although  they  might,  in  their  very 
weakness,  venture  to  commit  indiscretions,  as  in  the  present  instance." 

It  was  not  an  act  of  the  government,  but  if  I  had  done  it  it  would  have  made  it  so, 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  107 

and  it  would  seem  like  arrogance  in  me  to  force  my  government  to  do  a  thin"-  which 
could  be  done  in  a  friendly  and  amiable  way.  '^ 

Q.  Was  not  the  government  of  the  United  States  ready  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  his 
post  if  the  allies,  persisted  in  delaying  him,  even  though  it  did  bring  on  a  war?— 
A.  My  instructions  were  to  do  that  thing.  And  when  they  found  that  I  was  t>^oin<>- 
to  do  it  under  my  instructions  they  instantly  saw  that  the  complication  would  be^'such 
as  to  bring  on,  probably,  a  war.  Therefore  these  ministers  were  all  recalled  by  oiu- 
government  and  diplomatic  intercourse  was  made  to  cease. 

Q.  Had  the  Shamokin  been  fired  into  would  you  have  considered  that  a  cause  of 
war  ? — A.  Most  undoubtedly. 

Q.  W7»iild  Captain  Crosby  have  been  sustained  by  you  had  he  fired  back? — A.  Most 
imdoul)tedly,  and  there  was  my  trouble. 

Q.  If  no  orders  had  been  sent  to  withdraw  obstnictions  to  passing  the  blockade  why 
did  you  send  orders  to  Captain  Crosby  to  go  through  the  blockade?— A.  I  have 
given  my  reasons.  I  had  seen  the  minister.  The  instructions  were  to  permit 
Mr.  Washburn  to  go  through  the  military  lines.  I  have  stated  in  my  evidence 
that  after  having  received  those  instructions,  knowing  that  Mr.  Washburn  must  go 
through,  I  told  those  i>er8on8  that  Mr.  Washburn  must  go  through  in  a  convenient 
way ;  that  he  should  not  pass  through  the  military  lines  as  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
feeling;  Mr.  Wasliburn  ha<l  shown  a  great  deal  of  feeling  about  it,  and  tlu^re  might  be 
some  trouble  in  passing  the  military  lines  which  would  involve  questions  of  a  most 
serious  nature,  and  there  was  a  lady  in  the  case.  I  sent  up  a  vessel  on  my  own  respon- 
sibility, and  wrote  to  the  government  that  I  might  still  be  held  responsible  for  thus 
going  beyond  orders,  but  that  I  believed  that  I  was  doing  about  right. 

Q.  If,  as  you  stated  yesterday,  the  only  orders  of  the  Brazilian  government  referred 
to  passing  the  military  lines  and  had  no  reference  to  the  blockade,  why  did  you  otdcr 
Captain  Crosby  to  pass  the  blockade  ? — A.  Because,  as  I  had  told  them  this  thing  had 
lasted  long  enough,  it  had  been  such  a  discomfort  in  every  way  that  now  as  they  had 
conceded  that  he  should  go  up  there,  he  must  go  in  a  proper  way;  that  I  did  not  want  a 
lady  to  go  through  the  military  lines.  And  it  was  allowed  under  protest.  I  had  a 
letter  from  Secretary  Welles  in  which  he  stated  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the  govern- 
ment that  Mr.  Washburn  should  go  up  to  his  post,  and  I  was  determined  that  he  should 
go  as  comfortably  as  ])ossil)le. 

Q.  Were  you  not  ainjrelunsive  that  Captain  Crosby  would  bo  stopped  when  you 
wrote  to  the  Navy  Department  that  you  had  in  a  semi-official  notice  ordered  Captain 
Crosby  to  disregard  any  protest  f — A.  I  did  not  believe  he  would  be  stopped  ;  I  had  no 
fear  at  that  time  that  there  would  be  anything  serious.  I  wrote  that  note  to  Captain 
Crosby  with  the  intention  of  aiding  his  judgment  as  far  as  I  possibly  could. 

By  Mr.  Washburn: 

Q.  You  call  that  semi-official  in  your  correspondence  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  that  any  more  semi-official  than  my  letter  to  you  ? — A.  I  wrote  it  in  connec- 
tion with  my  orders,  so  that  in  case  of  any  accident  he  could  fall  back  upon  it. 

Q.  Was  it  not  marked  private  ? — A.  I  wrote  it  so  that  he  could  go  ahead  and  dc 
what  he  had  to  do,  and  there  was  my  letter  to  relieve  him  from  the  responsibility. 

By  Mr.  B.vnks  : 

Q.  You  adWsed  him  in  this  note  that  nothing  but  absolute  force  should  stop  him  ?— 
A.  So  I  did. 

Q.  Was  that  such  a  note  as  would  have  relieved  Captain  Crosby  from  responsibility  ? — 
A.  I  thiuk  it  would.  I  told  him  frankly  and  candidly  in  the  note  all  I  thought ;  I  went 
as  far  as  I  possibly  could.  I  considered  when  I  wrote  that  letter ;  I  consulted  with  my 
fleet-captain  at  the  time,  a  very  clear-headed  man,  and  I  said  that  in  sending  it  I  was 
giving  si)ecifie  orders,  but  that  there  were  contingencies,  and  that  I  would  write  the 
letter.  1  did  write  it  and  kept  a  copy  of  it.  I  do  not  keep  copies  of  my  private  notes 
at  all ;  but  I  kept  a  copy  of  this,  and  I  wanted  to  relieve  my  captain  of  a  responsibility 
which  I  was  assuming.    I  was  as  honest  iu  it  as  I  could  be. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  I  \iuderstand  that  you  decliued  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  because  to  do 
so  would  have  compelled  you  to  break  the  blockade  ? — A.  Yes. 

Q.  Why  did  you  subsequently  send  him,  and  thus  force  the  blockade,  when  the 
instructions  from  the  government  only  authorized  you  to  do  so  after  the  refusal  of  the 
allies  ? — A.  Because  permission  had  been  granted  him  to  go  throiigh  tlie  military  lines, 
and  there  was  an  understanding  that  there  would  only  be  a  protest  at  going  through 
the  blockade. 

Q.  Had  you  that  understanding  before  you  issued  your  order  to  Captain  Crosby  ?— 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  With  -svhom  did  you  have  that  understanding  ?— A.  In  a  confidential  way  I  had  a 
conversation  with  the  minister,  and  ho  said,  well,  that  I  could  do  it  under  protest. 

Q.  Supposing  you  had  had  no  such  intimation  from  the  Brazilian  minister  ?— A.  Then 
I  could  not  have  gone  up. 


108  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  If  you  liad  not  received  this  intimation  from  the  Brazilian  minister,  that  as  you 
heUl  tho  knife  to  his  throat,  as  he  termed  it,  he  would  consent  to  your  going  up  under 
protest,  you  say  you  could  not  have  done  it  ? — A.  I  could  not  have  done  it,  because  there 
was  no  reason  for  it,  as  Mr.  Washburn  could  go  through  the  military  lines. 

By  Mr.  Washbuiin  : 

Q.  Where  was  the  permission  granted  to  go  through  tho  military  lines  ? — A.  I  read 
you  from  Mr.  Webb's  letter  :  "  Sill :  In  reply  to  your  official  note  of  yesterday,  received 
at  7  p.  m.  this  evening,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  communicate,  for  your  information,  that 
on  the  22d  of  August  I  advised  Mr.  Washburn  officially  that  all  obstructions  on  the 
part  of  the  allied  fleet  to  his  repairing  to  his  post  of  duty  had  been  removed." 

Q.  You  say  that  I  received  permission  to  pass  through  the  military  lines  ? — A.  Here 
it  is. 

Q.  General  Webb  says  the  blockade  ? — A.  As  far  as  that  letter  was  concerned  it  was 
so,  80  far  as  Brazil  was  concerned. 

By  Mr.  Banks  : 

Q.  Suppose  that  the  Brazilian  admiral  had  insisted  on  not  allowing  the  Shamokin  to 
pass,  what  instructions  had  you  given  Captain  Crosby  in  that  case  ? — A.  Captain  Crosby 
had  to  go. 

Q.  What  was  the  date  of  your  order  to  Captain  Crosby  to  take  Mr.  Washburn  to  his 
post  ?— A.  October  5. 

Q.  What  was  the  date  of  your  later  instructions  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  remember ;  whether 
he  could  get  my  letter  in  time  was  another  thing. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  give  those  instructions  with  the  first  orders,  so  that  Captain 
Crosby  might  have  the  benefit  of  them  upon  going  up  the  river  ? — A.  That  is  a  very 
pertinent  question.  I  do  not  know  of  any  reason  at  all,  except  that  in  thinking  over 
the  matter  and  considering  the  difficulty  that  I  might  be  in  from  doing  more  than  I  had 
authority  to  do,  I  saw  there  might  be  trouble,  and  I  wanted  to  relieve  Cajitain  Crosby 
as  much  as  I  could. 

Q.  You  understood  it  better  on  the  21st  than  you  did  on  the  25th  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  had 
trouble  all  around  me,  but  I  was  doing  tho  best  I  could ;  still  it  was  very  possible  I 
might  not  do  all  that  was  right,  and  might  be  broke  about  as  soon  as  anything  else.  I 
had  heard  that  there  was  some  possibility  of  trouble  about  the  thing.  I  wrote  to  Cap- 
tain Crosby  on  the  8th  of  October,  and  began  in  this  way :  "  I  have  sent  you  an  order 
to  take  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  up  to  Asuncion ;  it  would  be  well  that  you  should 
know  how  matters  stand,"  and  so  forth. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Did  you  ever  receive  from  me  at  Rio,  or  at  Buenos  Ayres,  or  anywhere  else,  any- 
thing but  respectful,  courteous,  and  gentlemanly  treatment  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  that  I 
remember  anything  particular  about  it. 

Q.  Everything  was  perfectly  decorous? — A.  Yes,  sir,  as  much  so 

Q.  There  was  a  difference  of  opinion ;  there  was  no  correspondence  passed  between 
us  except  what  is  published  ? — A.  None,  except  that  private  letter 


Testimony  of  Captain  Clarlc  R.  Wells, 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  16,  1869. 
Captain  Clark  H.  Weuls  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  Are  you  in  the  service  of  the  government? — ^Answer.  I  am  commander  in 
the  United  States  navy. 

Q.  Where  were  you  during  the  years  1865  and  1866? — A.  I  received  in  July,  1865, 
orders  to  take  command  of  the  United  States  steamer  Kansas,  fitting  out  at  Philadelphia. 
When  I  reported  that  vessel  ready  for  service,  I  received  orders  to  proceed  to  Brazil, 
making  first  the  port  of  Bahia,  which  was  then  considered  tho  headquarters  of  the 
South  Atlantic  squadron,  and  to  report  for  duty  to  Rear-Admiral  Godon.  Subse- 
quently I  received  orders  to  stop  at  Cape  Haytien,  island  of  Hayti,  and  to  remain 
there  for  the  protection  of  American  citizens  and  interests  while  the  revolution  there 
lasted.  I  stayed  there  I  think  nearly  two  months ;  I  am  not  certain  now.  After  I  had 
performed  that  duty,  I  was  relieved  by  the  United  States  steamer  De  Soto,  which 
l)rouglit  me  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  think  the  order  was  signed  by 
Mr.  Fox,  the  Assistant  Secrefary  of  the  Navy,  to  repair  to  Brazil.  I  arrived  at  Rio, 
December  7,  1865,  and  found  at  anolior  the  United  States  steamer  Juniata,  conmuinded 
by  Captain  Almj?.    lie  informed  me  that  the  day  before  Admiral  Godon  had  left  for 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.'  109 

Montevideo,  stopping  at  Saint  Catharines.  I  remained  there  some  time  overhauling, 
and  then  I  was  sent  by  Commodore  Rodgers,  who  had  arrived  there,  to  go  to  a  place 
called  Abrolios.  There  was  a  report  at  Kio  that  the  Brooklpi  had  been  lost  on  those 
shoals,  which  report  proved  to  bo  unfounded.  It  was  one  of  those  reports  which  some- 
times have  a  circulation,  and  you  cannot  trace  them  to  any  particular  source.  I  went 
up  there  with  Captain  Almy  in  the  Juniata.  Captain  Almy  had  given  mo  orders  from 
Admiral  Godon  to  go  to  Saint  Catharines  to  coal,  to  exercise  the  crew  witli  the  great 
guns,  and  then  to  proceed  to  Montevideo.  I  arrived  at  Montevideo,  January  27,  1866, 
and  found  Admiral  Godon  there  in  the  flag-ship,  Brooklyn.  The  gunboat  Nipsic  Avas 
there,  and  the  Wasp  was  there.  During  my  stay  there  from  January  17  to  February  19, 
in  my  several  convereations  with  Admiral  Godon,  he  frequently  alluded  to  Mr.  Wash- 
l)uni,  always  introducing  the  subject  himself.  He  spoke  of  his  having  arrived  out 
there  and  that  he  had  written  to  him  frequently,  and  sent  him  up  the  river  in  a  gun- 
boat to  the  place  of  his  destination.  I  then  discovered  that  Admiral  Godon  showed  an 
evident  disposition  not  to  send  Mr.  Washburn  to  the  place  of  his  destination.  The 
drift  of  his  conversation  always  made  that  impression  on  my  mind.  On  ray  return  from 
the  Falkland  islands,  which  \mxH  April  19,  1866, 1  found  that  he  had  gone  up  the  Uru- 
guay river,  and  that  Captain  Almy  was  the  senior  naval  oflScer  at  that  port.  I  do  not 
know  how  long,  but  within  a  few  days  after  I  arrived,  I  received  orders  to  repair  to 
Buenos  Ayres, ;  I  left  for  that  place  May  24,  and  arrived  May  30.  In  the  interval  Ad- 
miral Godon  had  arrived  at  this  port;  ho  again  referred  to  Mr.  Washburn,  and  on  one 
occasion— I  do  not  recollect  the  date — ho  read  to  me  a  letter  which  he  had  addressed  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  was  not  to  know  officially  that 
Mr.  Washburn  occupied  the  position  of  a  minister  of  the  United  States,  as  Mr.  Washburn 
had  never  informed  him  officially  of  that  fact;  and  that  his  objection  to  sending  him 
up  the  river  was  that  he  would  consume  a  great  deal  of  coal.  I  think  he  stated  between 
$4,000  and  $5,000  worth.  I  took  the  ground  as  I  always  have,  and  always  will,  that  an 
American  minister  had  a  right  to  go  to  the  country  to  which  he  was  accredited;  that 
the  laws  were  wrong  in  this  matter.  He  replied  that  Mr.  Seward  ha<l  decided  differ- 
ently ;  he  evidently  did  not  like  the  manner  in  which  I  had  expressed  my  opinion.  In 
connection  with  this  matter,  I  will  say  that  after  Rear-Admiral  Godon  had  read  this 
letter  to  mo,  I  distinctly  recollect  asking  him  the  question,  did  you  furnish  Mr.  Wash- 
burn a  copy  of  that  letter  ?    He  said  no,  that  he  had  not,  and  then  closed  the  book. 

Q.  You  say  that  ho  gave  certain  reasons,  among  others  the  large  consumption  of 
coal.  Did  he  in  that  conversation  urge  an  objection  to  taking  Mr.  Washburn  up 
through  the  blockade  of  the  allies? — ^A.  Yes,  sir,  he  did  in  connection  with  the  con- 
sumption of  the  coal. 

Q.  Those  were  the  two  objections  T — A.  Yes,  sir.  What  he  had  of  a  personal  char- 
acter I  do  not  know.    At  that  time  I  had  never  met  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  What  did  he  say  with  reference  to  the  blockade  ? — A.  He  said  the  allies  had  a 
right  to  prevent  the  American  minister  from  passing  the  blockade. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time,  in  any  conversation  with  Admii-al  Godon,  hear  him  say  or 
judge  froni  his  conduct  that  he  had  purposely  avoided  being  officially  informed  of  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  our  official  minister  ? — A.  I  never  heard  him  say  that. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  him  say  that  he  based  his  Refusal  to  accommodate  Mr.  Washburn 
upon  the  ground  that  he  did  not  know  officially  that  he  was  a  minister  ? — ^A.  I  only 
inferred  that  he  used  that  as  the  pretext  for  not  sending  him  to  his  destination. 

Q.  What  caused  you  to  infer  that  ? — A.  The  manner  in  which  he  generally  spoke  of 
Mr.  Washburn.  I  had  received  the  impression,  knowing  Admiral  Godon  as  well  as  I 
did,  that  he  would  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  any  minister. 

Q.  Why  ? — A.  From  the  fact  that  in  his  official  course,  particularly  on  this  station,  he 
always  seemed  to  make  it  a  rule  to  ignore  every  American  minister. 

Q.  What  did  you  ever  hear  him  say  in  reference  to  American  ministers  generally?  — 
A.  I  have  heard  him  express  himself  very  contemptuously,  not  only  with  regard  to 
Mr.  Washburn  but  also  Mr.  Kirk.  I  never  heard  him  allude  to  JMr.  Webb ;  ho  seemed 
to  have  made  General  Webb  an  exception. 

Q.  Will  you  please  go  on  with  your  narrative  ? — A.  I  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres  May 
30,  1866,  and  had  instructions  from  Admiral  Godon  to  act  as  the  senior  naval  officer  of 
that  port,  and  to  place  myself  on  a  friendly  footing  with  the  officials.  Mr.  Kirk  was 
the  American  minister  at  that  place.  Mr.  Washburn  was  up  the  river,  I  think  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Corrientes.  When  I  received  orders  to  leave  for  Montevideo,  which  I 
thiukrwas  about  July  11 — I  may  not  be  exact  about  the  dates  after  all — I  left,  and 
arrived  there  on  the  15th.  In  the  interval  I  sailed  over  to  a  port  called  Colonia,  which 
is  opposite  Buenos  Ayres.  I  there  fell  in  with  an  Italian  gunboat,  called  the  Ardita, 
Captain  Raccia.  That  officer  spoke  English  fluently.  He  stated  that  ho  had  mot  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Washburn  at  Corrientes,  and  had  become  quite  well  acquainted  with  him ; 
that  on  one  occasion  Mr.  Washburn,  by  his  invitation,  visited  his  vessel,  and  that  he  had 
saluted  him ;  that  before  firing  the  salute  he  was  in  doubt  whether  Mr.  Washburn  was 
invested  withany  official  position ;  that  he  had  heard  that  he  was  the  American  minister 
to  Paraguay,  butfromthe  fact  of  his  arriving  there  without  any  means  of  reaching  his 


110  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

destination,  even  the  people  in  tlie  noigliborliood  had  their  doubts  ahoutifc;  hut  that  ho 
had  fired  the  sakito  nevertheless.  I  told  Captain  Eaccia  that  he  had  done  perfectly  right, 
that  he  was  saluting  an  American  minister.  I  arrived  at  Montevideo  July  15,  and  re- 
mained there  until  September.  September  14  I  left  again  for  Buenos  Ayres,  where  I 
remained  until  the  20th.  October  13  I  left  again  for  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres.  About 
this  time  General  Asboth  arrived,  and  Captain  Crosby,  who  commanded  the  Sbaraokin, 
and  myself  were  ordered  by  Admiral  Godon  to  escort  the  general  up  the  river  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  I  had  also  a  x)rivate  letter  fron\  Admiral  Godon  desiring  me  to  extend  to  the 
general  all  the  honors  that  I  could  give  him  on  the  way  up,  firing  guns  and  making  a  fuss 
over  the  general,  in  order,  I  suppose,  to  produce  a  good  etfect  upon  the  people.  I 
remained  from  October  13  to  December.  On  this  occasion  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Washburn,  who  had  returned  from  Corrientes.  He  was  living  at  a  hotel,  and  m  his  con- 
versations with  me  upon  the  subject  of  his  troubles,  he  always  expressed  himself  temper- 
ately. I  have  no  recollection  of  his  ever  having  said  anything  which  I  could  construe  as 
being  disrespectful  to  my  superior  officer,  Admiral  Godon,  who  commanded  the  squadron. 
But  he  did  allude  on  several  occasions  to  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  kept  away 
from  his  destination ;  he  felt  so  sore  about  it  that  the  people  living  in  Buenos  Ayres 
frecxuently  made  their  remarks  about  it ;  that  there  were  articles  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers, which  were  unfriendly  in  their  character ;  that  he  had  no  desire  to  occupy 
any  such  position  in  the  estimation  of  the  people.  ISIoreover,  every  intelligent,  respect- 
able American,  and  nearly  every  Englishman,  were  of  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Washburn 
had  been  very  unjustly  dealt  with  by  Rear-Admiral  Godon. 

Q.  What  are  the  relations  between  you  and  Admiral  Godon — friendly  or  other- 
wise?— A.  Unfriendly.  They  had  their  origin,  mostly,  nine-tenths  of  them,  on  account 
of  my  having  been  on  friendly  terms  with  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Prior  to  this  period  you  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the  admiral? — A.  There  had 
been  no  rupture  at  all,  no  open  rupture. 

By  Mr.  Willard  ; 
Q.  Were  there  unkind  feelings  before  that? — A.  I  had  no  very  particular  admiration 
for  him.  Still  I  did  my  duty.  I  had  received  several  complimentary  letters  from  him 
for  services  I  had  performed ;  not  very  complimentary,  but  as  complimentary  as  he  was 
capable  of  writing.  I  had  heard  about  this  coal  business,  that  Mr.  Hale  and  some 
Americans  had  offered  to  furnish  coal  to  enable  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  up  the  river. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  What  was  the  motive  of  the  Americans  in  doing  that? — A.  I  suppose  they  saw  that 
the  minister  was  treated  with  indignity,  and  that  it  had  the  effect  to  bring  our  country 
in  disrepute  with  the  Argentine  Republic ;  that  we  were  losing  very  much  of  the  import- 
ance which  we  had  already,  and  which  we  still  held  in  that  country  as  a  nation.  After 
remaining  there  until  December,  I  was  then  ordered  to  repair  to  Montevideo,  and  not 
Admiral  Godon,  who  had  returned  from  Rio.  I  arrived  at  Montevideo  December  16, 
1866.  When  I  went  on  board  to  report  to  him,  which  was  on  Sunday,  it  was  about  the 
time  of  his  dinner  hour,  and  he  invited  me  to  take  my  dinner  with  him,  which  I  did. 
He  then  alluded  to  my  having  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  Mr.  Washburn.  I  told 
him  I  had  been;  that  I  had  visited  him  frequently;  that  I  liked  him,  and  that  I  liked 
Mrs.  Washburn.  There  was  nothing  else  said  then,  at  least  the  conversation  did  not 
go  on  to  any  extent  on  that  occasion,  it  being  Sunday.  A  few  days  afterwards  I  was 
sent  down  to  a  place  called  the  English  Bank  for  the  relief  of  an  English  merchant  slii]5. 
On  my  return  from  extricating  the  vessel,  for  which  I  received  a  letter  of  thanks  from 
the  English  government  and  the  British  admiral.  Admiral  Godon  was  at  Buenos  Ayres 
or  up  in  that  direction.  He  returned  in  a  few  days ;  when  he  charged  me  with  not 
having  written  to  him  about  Mr.  Washburn,  his  conversation,  and  his  movements  while 
I  had  been  acting  as  the  senior  officer  in  the  ports  of  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres.  I 
told  him  that  I  did  not  consider  that  that  was  any  part  of  my  duty;  that  my  duty  was 
to  report  to  him  everything  official;  but  as  for  writing  of  Mr.  Washburn  what  he  said, 
or  about  his  movements,  or  anything  connected  with  him,  I  never  could  pertbrm  any 
service  of  that  kind.  I  said  it  in  considerable  warmth,  and  he  charged  me  with  being 
disrespectful  in  language  and  manner.  I  disclaimed  any  intention  of  that  kind.  He 
then  stated,  and  he  did  it  very  abruptly,  as  I  thought,  Avith  a  view  of  drawing  me  off 
my  guard,  that  I  had  advised  Mr.  Washburn  to  publish  the  instructions  which  he  had 
received  in  the  Buenos  Ayrean  Standard.  Those  instructions  were  to  the  effect  that 
Admiral  Godon  should  take  Mr.  Washburn  up  the  river  at  all  hazards.  I  asked  Admiral 
Godon  for  his  authority  for  any  such  statement,  and  he  declined  to  give  it.  I  denounced 
the  author  of  that  statement  and  told  Mm,  so  far  from  giving  any  such  advice  to  Mr. 
Washburn,  I  happened  to  be  at  Montevideo,  a  hundred  miles  off,  when  these  instructions 
appeared  in  the  newspaper,  and  I  had  merely  glanced  over  the  paper  containing  them, 
but  had  not  read  the  whole  of  them.  I  then  stated  to  him  that  he  had  on  more  than 
one  occasion  outraged  my  feelings ;  that  I  had  no  desire  any  longer  to  serve  in  his  squad- 
ron ;  that  he  had  upon  more  than  one  occasion  insulted  me.  He  replied  that  I  should 
go  on  board  my  ship ;  that  he  would  not  put  me  under  suspension.    I  obeyed  the  order. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  Ill 

Wliilc  smarting  under  this  imputation  of  Admiral  Godon,  I  applied  officially  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  bo  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  United  States  steamer 
Kansas,  assigning  as  a  reason  that  Thad  been  promoted  on  the  station  to  a  conmiander, 
and  was  therefore  entitled  to  a  large  vessel ;  but  that  I  had  alsQ  reasons  of  a  special 
character  which  I  would  at  some  future  day  make  known  to  the  dispartment.  I  fonvarded 
that  communication  to  Admiral  Godon,  sending  it  by  the  cockswain  of  my  boat,  and 
indorsed  on  the  outside  of  it  the  subject-matter  of  it.  That  ax)piication  he  returned  to 
me  because  it  happened  to  be  Sunday. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Was  it  the  same  Sunday  that  ho  had  the  dance  and  music  aboard  his  vessel?— A. 
No,  sir;  it  was  some  other  time ;  I  only  heard  of  that ;  it  did  not  occur  then.  I  sent  the 
same  application  to  him  the  next  day.  By  some  mistake  I  had  indorsed  the  subject- 
matter  on  the  outside  of  the  envelope ;  there  I  made  a  mistake.  Ho  then  hoisted  the 
si^ual  for  me  to  repair  on  board;  this  was  in  the  afternoon.  When  I  went  on  board  I 
was  told  by  his  acting  fleet  captain,  Lieutenant  Commander  Marvin,  that  the  admiral 
was  taking  a  nap,  and  that  I  should  wait  there.  I  was  iuvited  by  that  officer  into  his 
state-room  or  oflice  adjoining  the  cabin,  which  invitation  I  declined  to  accept.  I  remained 
on  the  quarter-deck  nearly  an  hour  before  the  admiral  sent  for  me.  He  seemed  to  be 
very  much  excited,  very  nnich  enraged.  He  referred  to  this  application  of  mine.  I 
told  him  that  I  had  no  dcsii(>  to  .si'rv<5  any  longer  in  his  squadron.  I  was  standing  at 
that  time  against  the  side-board  in  the  cabin,  and  was  perfectly  respectful  in  manner 
and  in  languag;e.  Ho  spoke  of  my  repeated  disobedience  of  orders,  and  said  that  while 
I  was  serving  in  his  command  I  was  to  understand  that  I  must  obey  his  orders.  He 
accompanied  this  with  an  oifensive  and  insulting  gesture,  shaking  his  finger  in  my 
face.  I  called  his  attention  to  it  and  he  repeated  it.  I  again  called  his  attention  to  it 
in  these  words:  *' Admiral  Godon,  you  are  shaking  your  linger  in  my  face."  He  then 
ordered  me  in  the  most  peremptory  manner  to  go  on  board  my  vessel  uniler  suspension. 
As  I  was  leaving  the  cabin  I  asked  him  if  1  should  transfer  the  command  to  the  execu- 
tive officer.  lie  shook  his  finger  again  towards  me;  at  that  time  I  was  some  three  or 
four  feet  from  him;  he  said  that  he  knew  what  his  duty  was,  and  that  I  should  go  on 
board  my  ship  under  suspension.  I  remained  under  suspension  two  days,  the  first  sus- 
pension that  had  ever  been  inflicted  upon  me  in  a  naval  service  of  over  twenty-six 
years.  By  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  service  I  was  obliged  to  confine  myself  to 
the  cabin,  about  one-third  the  size  of  this  committee-room.  I  was  not  allowed  to  go 
to  any  other  part  of  the  ship,  except,  perhaps  to  use  the  water-closet;  that  was  ou 
the  upper  deck.  While  under  suspension  1  made  a  report  in  detail  of  this  outrage  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  wish  to  state,  however,  that  during  this  time  I  had  orders 
to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  Africa  on  a  cruise,  to  visit  the  ports  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  up.  I  reported  all  these  indignities  which  I  had  endured.  I  attributed  them 
mostly  to  my  friendship  for  Mr.  Washburn,  and  because  I  did  not  conform  to  the 
strict  regulations  of  the  service,  which  require  the  official  communications  to  bo  sent 
to  the  connnander-in-chief  of  the  squailron.  To  i^rotect  myself  from  further  indignities 
which  I  knew  he  would  visit  upon  me  if  I  presented  thisnqiort  of  his  conduct  in  person, 
I  confided  it  to  Surgeon  Wells  of  the  Shamokin,  requesting  him  to  place  the  document 
on  board  the  flag-ship  as  soon  as  he  learned  I  had  left  the  port  of  Montevideo.  When  I 
had  arrived  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  I  forwarded  a  duplicate  of  the  report  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  indorsing  upon  the  outside  that  the  original  had  been  left  for 
transmission  to  him.  I  presumed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  Dr.  Wells  had  taken  that 
communication  on  board  the  flag-ship  according  to  my  request. 

By  Mr.  Willard: 
Q.  How  long  ijrior  had  you  received  orders  to  go  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ? — A.  A 
few  days  before  this  open  rupture  took  place.  After  visiting  the  ports  in  Africa  I 
returned  to  Kio,  and  arrived  there  on  the  iilst  of  July,  1867.  I  found  orders  awaiting 
me  which  were  handed  mo  by  Captain  Woolsey,  who  had  in  the  mean  time  arrived  there 
in  the  Pawnee,  that  I  should  fill  up  immediately  with  coal  and  proceed  to  St.  Catharines, 
and  after  having  remained  there  ten  days  or  two  weeks  for  the  pui-pose  of  coaling, 
exercising  the  men  on  shore  in  batallion  drill,  and  firing  at  target  in  the  harbor,  I  was  to 
proceed  to  a  point  off  Kio  Grande  in  search  of  a  sunken  rock,  where  gales  of  wind  in  the 
winter  season  were  very  frequent,  to  search  for  that  rock  for  five  days  of  clear  weather.  I 
think  I  must  have  been  two  weeks  getting  that  kind  of  weather,  taking  soundings.  I 
did  not  discover  the  rock,  nor  has  it  been  discovered  to  this  day ;  probably  it  never  will 
be. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Is  there  not  a  rock  there?— A.  There  had  been  a  report  brought  into  Montevideo 

by  some  Brazilian  navigator  or  ship-master  that  he  had  seen  a  rock.    But  the  Brazilian 

ship-masters  pje  very  unreliable.    What  he  Sctw  there,  I  suppose,  was  the  back  of  a 

whale,  or  a  floating  log,  or  a  portion  of  a  wreck.    On  my  return  to  St.  Catharines  I 


112  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

received  sercral  very  insulting,  improper,  and  unmilitary  communications  from  Admiral 
Godon,  alluding  to  my  having  forwarded  tlio  document  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in 
an  irregular  way,  and  having  stopped  at  the  Capeof  Good  Hope  when  I  had  no  orders 
to  do  so.  I  stopped  ^lere  on  account  of  the  leaking  of  my  ship.  Ho  characterized  my 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  his  conduct  as  an  incendiary  document,  and  said 
that  it  had  been  circulated  throughoTit  the  squadron.  On  my  arrival  at  Rio,  on  my 
return  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  I  found  a  letter  from  Dr.  Wells,  returning  to  me  the 
original  report.  He  stated  as  a  reason  for  returning  it,  that  if  he  had  taken  that  report 
to  Admiral  Godon,  he  would  have  incurred  his  displeasure.  He  said  nobody  had  seen 
the  letter  but  himself,  although  it  was  open,  as  all  official  letters  transmitted  through 
your  superior  must  be.  I  never  had  any  doubt  in  my  own  mind  that  Dr.  Wells  had 
complied  with  my  instructions  otherwise,  as  I  had  stated  in  my  letter  to  Admiral  Godon 
I  would  not  have  sent  a  duplicate  of  it  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  The  reason  why  I  sent  it  was  that  I  had  heard  Admiral  Godon  say  that 
unless  a  letter  was  germane  to  the  subject,  although  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  he  would  not  forward  it. 

Q.  Do  you  attribute  this  conduct  of  Admiral  Godon  to  any  other  cause  except  your 
friendship  for  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  I  am  pretty  certain  there  was  some  animus  before  I 
joined  that  squadron.  But  I  had  made  uj)  my  mind  to  x^erform  my  duty,  as  far  as  I 
could  do  so. 

Q.  So  far  as  this  committee  is  concerned,  we  desire  only  to  know  so  much  of  this 
transaction  as  relates  to  the  matter  before  the  committee. — A.  I  desire  to  state  that,  in 
consequence  of  my  friendship  for  Mr.  Washburn,  I  was  visited  with  persecution  from 
the  time  I  arrived  at  Montevideo  until  I  left  the  station;  that,  although  I  had  given 
these  explanations,  they  were  not  satisfactory.  I  produced  documentary  evidence  to 
show  that  I  had  his  authority  to  go  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  brought  up  my 
sending  that  document ;  my  going  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  my  having  disobeyed 
orders,  when  it  was  his  order  that  I  should  report  to  him  after  my  arrival  at  Rio. 
Those  orders  were  so  ambiguously  expressed  that  Captain  Woolsey  understood  them 
to  mean  that  I  should  remain  at  St.  Catharines.  Instead  of  accepting  my  statement 
he  sent  an  order  placing  me  again  under  susi^ensiou.  At  that  time  I  v/as  suspended 
nine  days  because  I  had  disobeyed  his  orders  in  stopping  at  St.  Catharines.  I  was  con- 
fined again  in  that  small  cabin.  My  health  had  not  been  very  good  since  my  return 
from  the  coast  of  Africa,  for  I  had  had  the  African  fever ;  but  I  was  obliged  to  confine 
myself  to  those  quarters  or  else  be  liable  to  dismissal  from  the  service.  The  com-* 
mand  then  fell  to  the  executive  officer.  By  the  law,  my  suspension  expired  in  10 
days,  expired  at  sea,  and  in  five  days  after  that  I  arrived  at  Rio,  w^hcro  I  found 
him.  As  soon  as  I  reported  my  return  in  x>ersou,  carrying  with  me  a  detailed  account 
of  the  service  performed  since  I  made  out  my  last  report,  he  met  me  at  the  cabin,  and, 
in  a  very  insulting  and  improper  manner,  asked  me  if  I  had  brought  those  orders  on 
board  which  he  had  sent  me.  I  told  him  that  I  had  not ;  that  I  did  not  suppose  it  was 
usual  for  a  person  to  bring  orders  to  the  person  from  whom  they  had  emanated.  He  said, 
"Go  and  bring  those  orders."  I  did  so;  when  I  came  back  he  opened  again  upon  me, 
very  much  enraged  and  very  much  excited,  gesticulating  a  great  deal,  and  spoke  of  my 
disobedience  of  orders ;  of  having  gone  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  of  having  forwarded 
a  document  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  with  a  false  indorsement  upon  it.  On  this 
occasion  he  had  Lieutenant  Commander  Marvin  in  as  a  witness  of  what  he  said.  I  have 
no  very  distinct  recollection  of  his  precise  language,  but  he  was  very  violent  and  very 
menacing.  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  it,  knowing  that  if  I  committed  myself  he  would 
have  me  in  his  power.  I  remained  quiet  pretty  much  of  the  time.  He  then  stated 
that  he  would  receive  from  me  any  statement  on  paper,  having  reference,  I  suppose,  to 
my  withdrawing  my  application  and  that  report,  and  that  my  command  would  be 
restored  to  me.  I  had  no  answer  to  give  him ;  I  had  referred  the  matter  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  and  desired  a  court  of  investigation  or  a  court-martial.  I  was  again 
ordered  under  suspension ;  this  was  the  third  suspension  he  had  inflicted  upon  me. 
The  other  had  expired  only  five  days  before.  While  I  was  under  suspension,  General 
Webb  visited  the  Kansas  and  found  me  in  that  condition.  He  told  me  that,  know- 
ing Admiral  Davis  as  well  as  he  did,  this  suspension  would  be  taken  out  on  his 
arrival.  Fortunately  for  me.  Admiral  Davis  came  in  and  released  me  from  suspension 
and  reinstated  me  in  command  after  I  had  submitted  a  portion  of  the  correspondence 
I  had  had  with  Rear-Admiral  Godon.  All  of  this  was  in  the  presence  of  Admiral  Godon. 
He  was  then  about  leaving  for  the  United  States.  Admiral  Davis  told  mo  that  he  thought 
it  was  best  under  the  circumstances  that  I  should  return  to  the  United  States ;  that  he 
would  detach  me  regularly ;  that  I  should  go  home  in  the  Nipsic,  and  that  in  doing  so 
he  wished  to  do  me  a  personal  kindness.  He  said  that  I  would  arrive  in  the  United 
States  free  from  suspension  or  any  charges  that  Admiral  Godon  might  bring  against  me. 
That  was  the  first  intimation  I  had  that  Admiral  Godon  contemplated  preferring 
charges  against  me.  I  confessed  my  surprise  to  Admiral  Davis.  He  said  that  ho  did 
not  wish  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Admiral  Godon's  troubles ;  that  he  regretted 
what  had  occurred;  that  ho  had  very  pleasant  recollections  of  what  had  taken  place  at 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  113 

the  battle  of  Port  Royal,  where  Admiral  Davis  was  the  second  in  command.  I  told  the 
admiial  that,  as  much  as  I  desired  an  investigation  into  all  the  charges  brought  against 
me  and  an  exposure  of  the  indignities  I  had  endured  whiJe  under  tlie  command  of 
Admiral  Godon,  I  knew  very  well  that  if  he  carried  out  that  order  detaching  me  and 
sending  me  to  the  United  States,  he  would  be  separating  me  from  my  witnesses,  who 
were  on  that  station,  and  that  it  was  due  to  me  to  have  this  investigation  where  the 
witnesses  were.  But  the  admiral  did  not  want  to  be  troubled  with  it.  I  came  home 
and  reported  my  return  to  tlie  Secretarj^  of  the  Navy,  and  pressed  this  matter  upon  Mr. 
"Welles  as  mucli  as  it  was  possible  for  a  man  to  do.  I  courted  the  strictest  investiga- 
tion into  my  conduct.  Mr.  W(;lles  said  he  was  very  sorry  that  our  relations  had  been 
80  unfriendly;  that  Admiral  Godon,  in  a  conversation  with  him  on  this  subject,  had 
disclaimed  any  intention  of  insulting  me  by  his  gesticulations;  he  said  that  Admiral 
Godon  was  a  Frenchman;  t'liat  he-was  naturally  excitable,  and  that  he  had  gesticulated 
in  that  way  to  him.  I  told  him  that  I  tlid  not  think  Admiral  Godon  would  dare  to  shake 
his  linger  in  his  face.  Mr.  Welles  then  scunned  inclined  to  order  an  investigation.  I 
had  submitted  docinnentary  evidence  r<'fiit  iiig  all  the  charges.  Mr.  Welles  thought  the 
matter  had  better  drop;  that  it  was  unh)rtunate;  that  I  had  better  let  the  matter  die 
out.  I  told  him  it  was  a  matter  I  thoiigut  of  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  and  the  last 
thing  at  night,  and  that  I  would  be  Avillijig  to  go  out  on  the  station  and  place  myself 
under  arrest  for  an  official  investigation  into  tlu'se  troubles.  Ho  would  not  consent  to 
that,  and,  after  an  interview  which  lasted  half  an  hour,  I  left  him.  I  addressed  several 
letters  to  him  after  that,  and  on  ojie  occasion  was  shown  unofficially  by  a  clerk  in  the 
Navy  Department  the  charges  against  me,  which  were,  sending  up  a  report,  making 
false  indorsements,  remainini^  at  St.  Catharines,  stopping  at  the  Cape,  and  so  forth. 
That  was  the  first  and  only  time  I  ever  saw  those  charges.  They  never  were  sent  to 
me  ]jy  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  probably,  without  this  investigation  by  the  com- 
mittee, never  woulil  have  been  brought  to  light.  Secretary  Welles,  when  1  asked  for 
a  court  of  investigation,  said  there  was  nothing  on  the  records  of  the  department  which 
affected  my  standing  as  an  officer  and  a  gentleman ;  that  he  would  write  me  such  a 
letter  as  1  would  think  to  bo  satisfactory.  He  dismissed  the  case  and  did  write  a  letter 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Welles,  who  was  disposed  not  to  make  .trouble.  He  spoke  about 
the  voluminous  character  of  the  corresi>oudence ;  that  the  reports  of  each  officer  were 
exaggerated ;  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  feeling,  and  finally  dismissed  the  case,  so 
that  no  trial  or  investigation  ever  took  place. 

Q.  Have  you  that  letter? — A.  I  have.  Just  before  the  last  administration  expired  I 
heard  that  Admiral  Godon  had  never  been  furnished  with  a  copy  of  that  letter.  It  was 
intended  to  be  satisfactory  to  me,  although  there  were  some  passages  in  it  to  which  I 
took  exception;  it  was  a  considerable  reprimand  to  me,  and  also  to  him.  But  when  a 
jiniior  comes  in  contact  with  a  senior  the  difference  in  rank  governs  it  to  some  extent. 
'1  have  pressed  this  matter  again,  upon  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  have  been 
told  by  my  friends  that  if  the  investigation  was  not  granted  to  me  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  already  disposed  of  by  the  Secretary,  I  would  have  an  ample  opportunity  to  vin- 
dicate myself  before  this  committee.  That  is  one  reason  why  I  have  gone  so  fully  into 
the  nature  of  the  indignities  I  have  endured. 
By  Mr.  W^vshbuiin  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  was  the  reason  for  the  antipathy  of  Admiral  Godon  to  me  ? — 
A.  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Washburn  showed  so  much 
desire  to  reach  his  destination,  wrote  to  him  so  frequently  upon  the  subject,  and  also 
that  the  admiral  ignored  pretty  much  everybody  out  there  holding  official  position  who 
differed  with  him. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson: 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  him  use  any  discourteous  or  improper  language  in  regard  to  Mr. 
Washburn  f— A.  Unless  the  committee  insist  upon  it,  1  would  decline  to  answer  that 
question. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Why  do  you  decline  ?— A.  Because  he  did  make  use  of  an  expression  such  as  no 
naval  officer  should  make  use  of,  and,  for  the  sake  of  the  service,  I  would  prefer  not  to 
answer  that  question. 

Q.  You  are  not  a  voluntary  witness  at  all.  These  questions  are  put  to  you  by  the 
committee,  and  it  is  for  them  to  judge  of  the  propriety  of  the  questions.  Any  answer 
you  may  give  here  would  not  implicate  you  in  any  way,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  the  act 
of  the  committee,  and  not  your  act.— A.  Then  I  am  to  understand  that  you  msist  upon 
a  categorical  answer  to  a  categorical  question  ? 

Q.  We  would  like  to  have  it  in  order  to  show  the  animus.    There  is  some  reason  why 
this  transaction  has  assumed  this  peculiar  phase. 
By  Mr.  Willard: 

Q.  You  will  state  the  time  when  it  happened?— A.  It  occuned  on  or  about  December 
16,  186(3,  on  my  return  to  Buenos  Ayres,  when  I  went  on  board  the  ship,  on  Sunday,  to 
report  to  him  iny  arrival  from  Montevideo.    It  occurred  at  his  dinner  table. 

8p  I 


114  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  On  Sunday? — ^A.  Yes,  sir.    In  speaking  of  Mr.  Washburn,  ho  called  him  a  damned 
sou  of  a  bitch.    I  made  no  reply :  I  ate  my  dinner  in  silence,  and  shortly  afterwards 
left. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  You  think  his  enmity  grew  out  of  your  friendship  to  Mr.  Washburn  in  a  very  great 
measure  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  it  brought  it  to  an  open  rupture. 
By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  What  was  the  general  feeling  in  the  squadron  towards  the  admiral  and  towards 
me  among  the  officers? — A.  I  never  heard  any  otlicor  speak  in  an  unfriendly  manner  of 
Mr.  Washburn.    I  think  he  had  the  good  wishes  of  all  the  officers. 


Testimony  oj  Captain  Thomas  H,  Patterson. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  19,  1869. 
Thomas  H.  PattersoIs^,  captain  United  States  navy,  sworn  and  examined. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  connected  with  the  navy  ? — A.  I  have  been  in  the  navy 
33  years. 

Q.  Where  were  you  employed  during  the  years  1865  and  1866  ? — A.  I  was  on  the 
blockade  of  Charleston  until  June,  18o6.  I  was  on  leave  from  the  last  of  June  until 
the  19th  of  September,  1865 ;  I  was  then  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  Brooklyn,  and 
sailed  from  New  York  the  latter  part  of  October  for  the  coast  of  Brazil,  to  join  the 
squadron  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Godon.  I  reached  Eio  about  the  middle  of 
January,  1866. 

Q.  What  vessels  then  composed  the  squadron? — A.  I  did  not  find  any  vessels  of  the 
squadron  in  Rio  at  that  time ;  the  Kansas  and  the  Juniata  belonging  to  the  squadron 
had  been  sent  out  to  search  for  me,  the  ship  having  been  reported  lost.  They  returned 
to  Rio  before  I  left ;  I  left  there  early  in  February,  stopped  at  St.  Catherines  to  coal, 
and  proceeded  to  Montevideo,  where'  I  arrived  about  the  middle  of  March. 

Q.  Was  there  plenty  of  coal  at  St.  Catherines? — A.  About  a  thousand  tons. 

Q.  For  what  business  was  that  coal  there? — A.  It  had  been  deposited  there,  I  think, 
during  the  war ;  I  am  not  sure  how  long  it  had  Ijeen  there ;  it  was  government  coal, 
anthracite.  From  St.  Catherines  I  went  to  Montevideo,  as  I  stated,  where  I  reported 
to  Admiral  Godon  on  board  the  steamship  Susquehanna,  which  ship  the  Brooklyn 
relieved;  he  transferred  his  flag  to  the  Brooldyn,  and  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
weeks  afterwards  the  Susquehanna  left  for  the  United  States,  and  the  Brooklyn  remained 
the  flag-ship  of  Admiral  Godon  while  he  was  in  command  of  tlie  squadron,  and  he 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  her. 

Q.  You  have  had  command  of  her  during  the  whole  of  that  time? — A.  Yes,  sir* 

Q.  Where  did  the  Brooklyn  go  during  that  fall  and  summer? — A.  In  the  month  of 
May  she  went  to  Buenos  Ayres,  from  which  point  the  admiral  went  up  the  Uruguay 
river  in  the  Wasp ;  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  far  he  went;  he  did  not  inform  me 
where  he  was  going. 

Q.  You  never  learned  from  him  where  he  went  on  that  visit  ? — A.  I  heard  him  make 
some  allusion  to  General  Mitre  in  connection  with  that  visit. 

Q,  Did  he  make  any  allusion  to  General  Urquiza? — A.  He  did  not. 

Q.  Were  there  any  Ameri'can  interests  there  needing  the  protection  of  the  navy? — 
A.  There  was  an  American  house  at  Higueritas. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  him  sjjcak  of  Mr.  Kirk  advising  him  not  to  go  ? — A.  I  landed 
in  Buenos  Ayres  after  he  had  left.  I  received  a  communication  for  the  admiral  while 
he  Avas  gone ;  I  inquired  who  it  was  from,  and  was  told  that  it  was  from  the  Brazilian 
special  envoy ;  that  letter  I  forwarded  to  Huegeritas  by  mail ;  I  do  not  know  the  con- 
tents of  it ;  they  said  it  was  important. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Godon  never  allude  to  the  contents  of  that  letter  in  your  presence  ? — 
A.  No,  sir,  that  I  recollect,  after  he  returned  from  his  visit  up  the  Uruguay. 

Q.  To  what  point  did  the  Brooklyn  proceed? — A.  I  returned  to  Montevideo,  leaving 
the  admiral  at  Buenos  Ayres,  or  still  up  the  Uruguay,  I  do  not  remember  which ;  he 
rejoined  my  vessel  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  ten  days  afterwards.  From  Montevideo, 
in  May  or  June,  Ave  went  to  Rio,  and  from  there  to  Baliia ;  from  that  point  we  went 
north  1,200  or  1,400  miles. 

Q.  What  w^as  the  object  of  your  visit  on  this  occasion? — A.  I  do  not  know  that  there 
was  any  specified  object  more  than  to  visit  one  of  the  ports  on  the  coast  and  indicate 
our  friendly  feeling.    The  Brazilian  flag  had  been  saluted  there  by  order  of  one  of  our 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  115 

men-of-war,  and  we  followed  that  vessel  very  soon  afterwards  and  found  her  there  when 
we  arrived. 

Q.  What  had  that  salute  to  do  with  your  paying  the  visit  ?— A.  I  do  not  know  that 
it  had  anything,  directly;  it  seemed  to  be  a  mere  ordinary  visit  of  a  man-of-war  to  one 
of  the  i)orts  of  his  station ;  I  think  we  remained  there  two  Weeks  or  upwards ;  we  had 
a  long  passage  to  Bahia,  I  think  18  daj's ;  we  sailed  a  great  deal  on  our  return  trip, 
and  it  must  have  been  as  late  as  August,  or  later,  when  we  left  Bahia.  We  then  returned 
to  Rio,  and  I  was  sent  off  CO  or  70  miles  southAvard  to  practice,  and  was  absent  10  days 
perliaps,  when  I  returned  again  to  Rio.  We  remained  in  Rio  then  until  late  in  November 
if  I  am  not  mistaken.  ' 

Q.  Was  there  any  special  necessity  of  remaining  that  long,  that  you  know  ?~A.  None 
that  I  know  of.  Late  in  November  we  returned  to  Montevideo,  reaching  there,  I  think, 
the  latter  part  of  December. 

Q.  When  yon  reached  Montevideo  where  was  Captain  Crosby  with  the  Shamokin?— 
A.  I  cannot  say  whether  he  was  in  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres ;  he  was  in  the  river 
somewhere. 

Q.  Had  ho  returned  from  his  visit  to  Paraguay  ?— A.  I  really  cannot  say ;  I  do  not 
think  he  had  returned  when  wo  arrived  ;  I  never  met  Captain  Crosby  until  I  met  him 
in  this  committee-room  in  Washington. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  know  of  his  being  in  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres,  on  his  way 
to  Paraguay? — A.  I  knew  of  it  in  Mai'ch,  1866,  wlien  I  first  reached  Montevideo ;  I  was 
told  of  it  by  Admiral  Godon. 

Q.  What  did  Admiral  Godon  say  to  you  in  reference  to  Minister  Washburn  at  that 
time  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  that  ho  ever  said  anything  to  me  directly ;  in  conversation 
with  others,  he  hjis  8^>oken  freely  in  ray  presence ;  he  said  Mr.  Washbuni  had  applied 
for  passage  in  one  ot  the  vessels  of  the  squadron  to  go  to  Paraguay,  and  the  only  rea- 
son assigniid  for  his  refusal  to  take  him  was,  that  he  had  no  vessel  in  proper  condition 
which  could  carry  a  sufficient  amount  of  coal.  I  did  not  know  Mr.  Washburn  person- 
ally, and  took  very  little  i)er8onal  interest  in  the  matter. 

Q.  What  did  you  ever  hear  Admiral  Godon  say  of  Mr.  Washburn  as  to  his  character 
as  a  public  minister  or  as  a  man  ? — A.  I  nevH-r  lieard  him  use  any  harsh  language.  I 
have  heard  him  make  use  of  this  expression,  that  he  did  not  attach  any  importanc'C  to 
his  going  to  Paraguay.  I  have  heard  him  say  Mr.  Washburn  was  not  a  man  of  intelli- 
gence, but  that  was  so  connuon  an  expression  of  Admiral  Godon  in  speaking  of  people, 
that  I  did  not  think  anything  of  it. 

Q.  Wliat  have  you  lieard  him  say  in  regard  to  American  ministers  generally  ?  Did 
he  speak  of  them  favorably  or  unfavorably  in  your  presence  ? — A.  I  never  heard  him 
speak  unfavorably  of  them ;  I  think  he  was  favorably  impressed  with  Mr.  Kirk. 

Q.  He  regarded  him  as  a  man  of  intelligence? — A.  I  never  heard  him  say  he  was  not 
a  man  of  intelligence ;  he  always  spoke  very  pleasantly  of  him.  The  admiral  and  Gen- 
eral Webb  seemed  to  be  on  very  excellent  terms  until  a  very  few  days  before  we  left 
Rio  the  last  time,  and  General  Webb  was  a  guest  on  board  om*  vessel  for  about  a  week 
at  one  time. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  been  up  to  Asuncion  T — ^A.  I  have  not. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Did  the  admiral  over  manifest  any  hostile  feeling  towards  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A. 
Never  in  my  presence. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 
Q.  Did  the  admiral  speak  to  you  ever  in  regard  to  sending  a  gunboat  up  the  river 
under  sail  ?  And  would  it  not  require  three  times  as  much  coal  to  go  in  that  way  as  to 
go  directly  by  steam  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  river  was  winding  or  not ;  if  the 
turns  were  frequent  and  sharp,  it  would  require  less  coal  to  go  up  under  steam  all  the 
time ;  you  could  not  save  anything  by  using  sails. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  Wlien  you  say  Admiral  Godon  made  objection  to  taking  Mr.  Washburn  on  account 
of  the  small  quantity  of  coal  the  vessel  carried,  what  vessel  had  he  reference  to  ?— A. 
The  Wasp. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  capacity  of  the  Wasp  ?— A.  At  that  time  she  had  very  inferior 
accommodations ;  I  do  not  know  anything  as  to  her  capacity  for  carrying  fuel. 

Q.  The  Wasp  came  from  Liverpool  to  Rio,  did  she  not  ?— A.  Yes ;  but  in  making  that 
passage  she  would  stop  at  Madeira,  and  at  the  Cape  de  Verde  islands ;  still  I  do  not  sup- 
pose there  was  any  serious  question  as  to  her  capacity  for  carrying  coal  on  a  trip  to 
Paraguay.  We  had  no  coal  depots  on  that  river,  but  there  was  an  abundance  of  coal  at 
our  stations ;  there  was  a  very  large  depot  of  coal  at  Montevideo.  The  coal  at  Monte- 
video and  Buenos  Ayres  was  not  the  kind  of  coal  ordinarily  used  for  steamers,  but  was 
such  as  we  could  very  well  have  used 


116  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Was  tliere  a  depot  of  American  coal  at  Montevideo  ? — A.  Yes ;  and  I  suppose  there 
was  at  Buenos  Ayres;  I  cannot  positively  say  as  to  that.    I  know  that  mail  steamers 
were  in  the  hahit  of  going  backwards  aiid  forwards,  and  I  suppose  cojil  was  to  be 
obtained  there  of  the  proper  kind  and  quality. 


Testimony  of  Charles  A.  Washburn. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  W,  1869. 
Charles  A.  Washburx,  recalled  and  examined  as  follows : 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Question.  W'hat  do  you  know,  of  your  own  personal  knowledge,  in  reference  to  the 
supply  of  coal  at  Montevideo,  and  in  points  on  the  Paraguay  or  Uruguay  rivei's? — 
Answer.  I  have  been  up  and  down  the  river  a  great  many  times  from  Paraguay.  There 
was  always  a  large  quantity  of  coal  at  Montevideo ;  as  much  so,  according  to  my  ])elief, 
as  there  is  at  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  or  Boston.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  coal  dealers 
there  to  keep  a  supply  equal  to  any  emergency ;  sometimes  the  supply  becomes  short, 
but  it  is  only  for  a  few  days."  There  is  coal  in  abundance  at  Buenos  Ayres,  at  Monte- 
video, and  then  at  Rosario,  300  miles  above  Buenos  Ayres,  there  is  always  coal.  I  think 
I  never  passed  Rosario  in  a  steamer  (and  I  have  passed  it  15  or  20  times)  that  the 
steamer  did  not  take  in  coal  there ;  I  do  not  remember  of  there  ever  being  any 
scarcity  ;  the  supply  there  was,  I  think,  of  English  coal.  At  Parana,  about  150  miles 
above  Rosario,  there  is  another  coal  station  ;  and  there  is  still  another  point  between 
that  and  Corrientes.  In  regard  to  taking  a  steamer  up  that  river  without  burning  coal, 
the  idea  is  x>urely  ridiculous ;  it  would  require,  very  likely,  three  or  four  months  to 
make  the  trip  ;  the  river  is  very  Avinding,  in  some  j)laces  eight  or  ten  miles  broad,  look- 
ing like  a  succession  of  lakes  ;  the  channel  is  tortuous,  and  you  seem  at  one  point  to  be 
landing  into  an  island  in  this  direction,  and  then  into  another  island  in  that  direction, 
to  all  points  of  the  comi>ass.  The  idea  of  going  up  in  a  sailing  vessel  would  be  per- 
fectly absurd.  I  have  here  a  rough  sketch,  showing  the  situation  of  the  various  points 
up  the  Paraguay  river  to  Asuncion.  When  I  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  the  squadron  of  the  allied  forces  was  not  then  at  Corrientes,  but  was  scattered 
along  the  river.  I  waited  for  the  admiral  to  send  me  up  about  two  and  a  half  months, 
when  I  went  up  to  Corrientes  alone,  and  found  the  squadron  there. 

Q.  What  special  object  v/as  there  in  blockading  that  river  ?  Had  the  Paraguayans 
any  vessels  at  all? — A.  They  had.  The  object,  however,  was  particularly  to  prevent 
supplies  from  going  up  there.  They  had  allowed  a  French  and  an  English  gunboat  to 
go  up  through  what  they  call  their  blockade  before  I  reached  there.  I,  of  course,  did 
not  appeal  to  Mr.  Kirk  to  get  permission  for  our  gunboat  to  pass,  until  I  found  out 
whether  the  admiral  would  send  one,  as  it  would  place  us  in  a  ridiculous  light  to  ask 
permission  for  a  gunboat  to  pass,  and  then  find  the  admiral  would  not  send  a  gunboat. 
When  President  Mitre  told  me  they  had  no  right  to  stop  mo,  I  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres 
to  get  a  letter  from  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs ;  but  unfortunately,  the  steamer  on 
which  I  started  to  go  back  run  aground,  and  was  delayed  so  long  that  when  I  returned 
the  stpiadron  had  left  from  opposite  Corrientes.  The  armies  had  commenced  active 
operations,  and  President  Mitre  told  me  that  circmnstances  had  changed,  so  that  it 
would  bo  necessary  to  consult  the  allied  authorities  again  before  permission  could  be 
granted.  When  I  first  went  to  Corrientes,  Admiral  Tamandard  and  President  Mitre 
both  stated  they  would  have  no  right  to  stop  a  gunboat  from  going  up,  and  as  I  have 
stated,  when  I  returned  circumstances  had  changed.  Indeed,  I  had  waited  for  Admiral 
Godon  four  months  before  the  decision  was  made  again  not  allowing  me  to  go  through. 

By.  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Did  these  French  and  English  gunboats,  to  which  you  have  referred,  have  special 
permission  from  the  Argentine  government  to  pass  up  the  river. — A.  I  do  not  know  as 
to  that.  It  would  have  placed  me,  of  course  in  a  ridiculous  position  for  Mr.  Kirk  to 
have  obtained  permission  for  a  gunboat  to  take  me  up,  when  the  admiral  refused  to 
send  me.  The  admiral  did  not  refuse  to  send  me,  but  on  the  contrary  led  me  to  sup- 
pose he  would  do  so  until  the  middle  of  January,  and  I  did  not  therefore  write  home  for 
instructions.  He  delayed  me  by  his  course  in  this  way,  so  that  it  was  just  one  year 
from  the  time  I  landed  in  Buenos  Ayres  until  I  lauded  in  Paraguay.  And  all  this 
trouble,  it  seems  to  mo,  has  arisen  from  that. 


PAEAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  117 

EXHIBIT  I. 

Mr.  Webh  to  Mr.  Washburn. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Hio  de  Janeiro,  Octoher  22,  1866. 

Sir:  Admiral  Godon  has  just  shown  me  a  letter  from  you  dated  Bueuos  Ayres, 
October  1,  but  which  left  that  port  on  tlie  12th,  after  the  arrival  of  the  English  steamer 
Amo  in  the  river,  upon  which  our  recently  apijoiuted  minister  to  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic was  a  passenger.     In  that  letter  occurs  the  following  paragraph : 

"  On  the  receipt  of  that  letter,  (your  dispateh  to  Mr.  Seward,)  still  stronger  instruc- 
tions were  sent  not  only  to  me,  but  to  our  minister  at  Rio,  Mr.  Webb,  and  our  minister, 
who  it  was  supposed  would  be  here  before  this  time,  Mr.  Asboth.  Peremptory  orders 
were  given  to  the  two  latter  that  if  my  detention  was  continued,  aud  if  within  six  or 
eight  days  siitisfactory  explanations  were  not  given  them,  they  were  to  ask  their  pass- 
ports to  return  to  the  United  States,  if  the  hindrance  alluded  to  had  not  ceased  through 
some  proceeding  on  the  i)ait  of  the  allied  jjowcrs.  Ao  procading  to  cavsc  8uch  hindrance 
to  cease  has  yet  been  made  by  the  allies;  and  from  the  iact  that  Mr.  Asboth  has  not  yet 
anived,  whose  action  with  that  of  Mr.  Webb  was  to  have  been  concurrent  with  my 
own,  I  am  yet  obliged  to  remain  here,  to  await  still  fiu'ther  instructions,  unless  in  the 
meanwhile  you  shall  furnish  mo  a  vessel  of  war,  and  it  shall  be  allowed  to  pass  up  to 
Paraguay." 

It  would  appear  from  the  foregoing,  that  my  letter  of  the  22<l  of  August,  which  must 
have  anived  at  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  has  not  reached  you. 
Since  then,  three  mail  steamers  have  sailed  from  Buenos  Ayres  and  duly  delivered 
their  mails  at  this  city ;  but  no  acknowledgment  of  my  official  letter  to  you  has  been 
received,  aud  of  course,  the  inference  is  irresistible  that  it  did  not  reach  you.  This 
inference  would  seem  to  become  a  fact,  when  you  inform  Admiral  Godon  ^Hhat  no  pro- 
ceeding to  cause  such  hindrance  to  cease  has  yet  been  made.^'  But,  then  again,  the  accuracy 
of  this  statement  is  directly  called  in  question  by  the  fact  set  forth  by  you  in  the  pre- 
ceding sentouce  of  your  letter,  viz:  "My  instructions  also  were  to  return  to  the  United 
States  il  t  lie  liiiidrance  alluded  to  had  not  ceased  through  some  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  allieil  powers." 

The  question  then  arises,  why  you  have  not  obeyed  those  instructions  and  returned 
as  instructed,  to  the  United  States,  within  the  time  to  which  wo  were  limited,  if,  as 
you  gravely  informed  the  admiral,  "  no  proceeding  to  cause  such  hindrance  to  cease 
iias  yet  been  made  by  the  allies."  If  this  be  so ;  if  niy  letter  of  the  22d  of  August,  advis- 
ing you  that  all  such  hindrance  and  obstruction  to  your  repairing  to  youi-  i)ost  of  duty 
had  been  withdrawn,  not  only  by  Brazil,  but  by  the  allies,  did  not  reach  you,  I  cannot 
understand  under  what  possible  reading  of  our  respective  instructions  you  could  have 
remained  in  the  river,  or  have  asked  of  Admiral  Godon  a  vessel  of  war  or  "  a  portion 
of  his  squadron, "  to  convoy  you  to  Asuncion. 

True,  at  the  tirst  blush  of  an  afiair  in  which  the  allies  were  so  manifestly  in  the 
wrong,  our  government  very  naturally  determined  that  you  should  be  conveyed  to 
your  post  of  duty  by  our  sqiiadron  at  any  and  every  hazard.  But  it  would  seem,  that 
from  considerations  of  our  strength  and  the  weakness  of  the  three  powers  at  war  with 
Paraguay,  this  decision  was  reversed ;  and  instead  of  war,  a  suspension  of  dijdomatic 
relations  was  determined  upon.  And  in  the  contingency,  which  you  say  has  actually 
and  oflensively  occurred,  a  continued  refusal  to  permit  an  American  minister  to  pass 
the  military  lines  of  the  allies,  your  right  to  ask  for  a  vessel  of  war  to  convey  you  to 
Asuncion,  and  the  right  of  Admiral  Godon  to  force  those  lines,  was  distinctly  revoked, 
and  you  as  distinctly  and  peremptorily  ordered  to  return  to  the  United  States.  I 
received  similar  instructions,  but  in  no  possible  event  were  my  movements  made 
dependent  upon  youi-s ;  nor  could  they,  as  you  allege,  have  been  "  concurrent."  I  was 
directed  to  demand  of  Brazil  that  all  let  or  hindrance  to  your  passage  to  Asuncion 
should  be  at  once  withdrawn;  and  if  not,  then  to  demand  my  passports  and  return 
home.  I  did  make  such  demand,  although  it  had  been  peremptorily  refused  only  a 
few  days  previous.  Such  refusal,  no  matter  how  oflensively  made,  could  not  be  con- 
sidered by  me  any  excuse  for  disregarding  my  instructions  Irom  our  common  chief,  and 
therefore,  while  a  peremptory  refusal  to  permit  you  to  pass  was  made  by  Brazil  in  her 
own  name  and  on  the  part  of  the  allies,  aud  while  that  refusal  was  or  its  way  to  the 
United  States,  instead  of  considering  it  a  bar  to  further  action  on  my  part,  I  demanded 
that  your  rights  should  be  respected.  To  that  demand,  made  in  obedience  to  orders, 
while  the  ink  of  the  previous  peremptory  and  oftensive  refusal  was  scarcely  dij,  I 
received  the  fullest  written  assui-ance  that  the  previous  action  of  the  allies  would  at 
once  be  reversed,  and  that  you  were  at  full  liberty  to  pass  their  military  and  blockad- 
ing lines,  on  your  way  to  your  post  of  duty,  whenever  you  thought  proper  t^  do  so. 
That  withdrawal  of  all  hindrance  to  your  passage  to  Asuncion  I  communicated  to  you 
on  the  same  day,  Aagust  22,  and  beyond  all  question  my  letter  reached  Bhenos  Ayres 


118  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

on  the  28th  of  the  samo  mouth.  And  so  important  did  I  consider  the  reversal  of  the 
action  of  the  allied  powers,  that  I  forwarded  on  the  24th  of  August  to  Mr.  Adams,  in 
London,  the  substance  of  my  letter  to  you,  to  he  telegraphed  across  the  Atlantic  to  the 
government  of  Washington. 

But  suppose  that,  in  consequence  of  the  i)reviou8  peremptory  and  offensive  refusals, 
I  had  not  made  any  sucli  denumd  as  that  Avhich  both  you  and  I  wore  ordered  to  make, 
or  suppose  the  demand  made  had  again  been  refused;  what  then?  Why,  /  should 
have  returned  to  the  United  States  by  the  first  conveyance,  well  knowing  that  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  ''concurrent  action"  with  you  or  General  Asboth  contemplated, 
but  that  each  of  us  were  ordered  to  do  our  duty  irrespective  of  the  others,  and  that  we 
were  invested  with  no  discretion  to  refuse  obedience  to  such  order  by  reason  of  any 
possible  previous  discourteous  actions  toward  us,  on  the  part  of  those  to  w^hom  we  are 
respectively  accredited. 

And  that  which  was  clearly  my  duty  in  the  premises,  was,  most  assuredly,  your  duty 
under  your  equally  plain  and  significant  instructions.  If  you  did  not  receive  my  letter 
of  the  22d  of  August,  advising  you  that  all  obstructions  by  the  allied  powers,  to  your 
passing  up  the  Paraguay,  had  been  removed,  and  if,  as  you  advised  Admiral  Godon 
six  weeks  after  my  letter  should  have  reached  you,  and  a  longer  period  after  you  were 
ordered  to  return  to  the  United  States  in  a  certain  contingency — if,  I  say,  as  late  as  the 
date  of  your  letter  to  the  admiral,  "  no  i^roceeding  (of  which  you  are  advised)  to  cause 
such  hindrance  to  cease  has  yet  been  made  by  the  allies" — then,  beyond  all  peradveu- 
ture,  you  should  long  since  have  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  you  had  no  authority 
whatever,  to  ask  or  demand  of  Admiral  Godon  a  vessel  of  war  to  convey  you  to  Asun- 
cion. That  authority  was  revoked  when  our  government  decided  upon  a  suspension 
of  diplomatic  intercourse  instead  of  war,  for  the  forcing  of  a  blockade  is  war ;  and 
instead  of  calling  uj)on  the  admiral  to  send  you  to  Paraguay,  it  appears  self-evident  to 
me  that  your  duty  was  to  have  returned  home  without  any  unnecessary  delay.  I 
rejoice,  however,  verj^  sincerely,  that  there  existed  not  the  slightest  necessity  for  your  so 
doing ;  and  I  again  officially  advise  you,  that  on  the  22d  day  of  August,  notwithstanding 
its  previous  peremptory  refusal  to  do  so,  the  government  of  Brazil  authorized  me  to 
communicate  to  tlie  government  of  Washington,  for  itself  and  in  the  name  of  its  allies, 
that  all  obstructions  to  your  passing  to  your  post  of  duty  in  Paraguay  had  been 
removed. 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  my  letter  of  the  22d  August,  conveying  to  you  this  intelli- 
gence and  also  Admiral  Godon's  letter,  apprising  you  that  I  had  officially  communi- 
cated to  him  the  important  fact  contained  in  my  letter  of  22d  August,  should  have 
miscarried,  and  that  by  the  steamer  which  left  Buenos  Ayres,  more  than  six  weeks  after 
you  should  have  received  my  letter,  you  should  have  informed  Admiral  Godon  that 
there  has  been  no  change  in  the  offensive  and  illegal  action  of  the  allies.  That  you  so 
thought,  I  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt,  but  that  is  entirely  the  result  of  a  grave  misconcep- 
tion of  your  instructions.  You  and  I  were  respectively  ordered  to  demand  that  all  obstruc- 
tions to  your  going  to  Asuncion  should  at  once  cease,  and  unless  our  demand  was 
promptly  acceded  to,  we  were  instructed  to  return  to  the  United  States.  Both  of  us 
had  been  peremptorily  and  discourteously  refused  a  precisely  similar  demand  within  a 
few  days  of  our  receiving  the  final  instructions  alluded  to.  Both,  unquestionably, 
experienced  the  same  feelings  at  being  ordered  to  do  x)recisely  that  which  we  had  just 
done  without  success.  But  I,  as  an  old  soldier,  at  once  bottled  up  my  pride,  tried  to 
discharge  my  duty,  and  obeyed  the  order,  while  you,  consulting  joiir  feelings  instead  of 
your  dut}/,  refused  to  renew  your  demand,  and  so  informed  Admiral  Godon.  In  so 
determining,  and  neglecting  to  follow  out  both  the  letter  and  spirit  of  your  instruc- 
tions, you  have  for  nearly  two  months  remained  in  ignorance  of  the  fact,  that  beyond 
all  question,  if  you  had  followed  out  the  course  indicated  to  us  by  Mr.  Seward,  you 
would  not  now  be  laboring  under  the  extraordinary  miscarriage  of  my  letter  of  the 
22d  of  August,  and  Admiral  Godon's  letter  advising  you  that  I  had  officially  communi- 
cated to  liim  the  substance  of  my  very  important  letter  of  the  22d  August. 

A  copy  of  that  letter  you  will  find  inclosed. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  WATSON  WEBB. 

His  excellency  Charles  A.  Washburn, 

United  States  Minister  Resident  to  Paraguay. 

P.  S. — The  fact  that  you,  Mr.  Kirk,  and  I,  were  all  ordered  home,  in  the  event  of  the 
obstructions  to  your  proceeding  to  Paraguay  not  being  removed,  was  a  state  secret, 
known  only  to  you  and  to  myself.  I  confined  it  as  a  "  state  secret"  strictly  to  my 
office,  not  even  communicating  it  to  our  consul  here.  Not  a  whisper  of  what  had 
occurred  ever  got  before  the  public,  but  on  the  return  of  the  steamer  from  the  river  it 
was  known  to  everybody,  and  had  been  published  in  the  press  of  Buenos  Ayres !  Of 
course  this  government  was  exceedingly  irritated,  and  I  am  annoyed  at  such  a  pro- 
ceeding, and  of  course  you  were  very  generally  censured  for  having  made  or  pe^-mittsd 
such  an  unnecessary  exposure.  It  was  known  to  this  government  and  to  me,  that  Mr. 
Kirk  had  gone  home ;  and  consequently  that  you  only,  at  the  river,  could  have  received 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  119 

the  information  and  promulgated  it.  Here,  it  did  not  get  out  of  my  possession  and  the 
possession  of  this  government,  and  you  may  judge,  therefore,  of  their  astonishment  and 
indignation  at  the  pubhc  being  apprised  through  the  Argentine  press,  that,  to  use  theii- 
own  language,  "they  had  been  bullied''  into  pcrmittmg  yom-  passage  through  their 
lines.  In  addition  to  this,  it  was  stated  to  this  government  and  written  to  mo  from 
the  river,  that  you  publicly  boasted  of  your  intention  to  force  their  line  of  blockade 
with  the  United  States  squadron  on  this  station. 

To  all  this,  and  the  annoying  complaints  made  against  you  by  this  government  I 
could  only  urge  that,  moat  probably,  some  friend  in  tvhow,  you  had  imprudently  confided  had 
betrayed  your  confidence. 

WEBB. 


EXHIBIT  J. 


Asuncion,  April  3,  1867. 

Sm:  Your  very  long  letter  dated  October  21,  1866,  was  received  by  me  on  the  23d 
ultimo.  Had  you  quoted  any  law  or  cited  any  order  or  regulation  of  the  State  Depart- 
ment by  which  you  were  constituted  iny  cf-nsor  and  .were  authorized  to  lecture  me  on 
my  ofiBcial  shortcomings,  you  would  have  done  me  a  great  favor.  I  had  previously 
supposed  that  I  was  only  responsible  to  our  common  chief,  the  Secretary  ot  State,  for 
my  oflScial  acts,  but  I  was  doubtless  wrong  in  that,  for  without  due  authorization  from 
the  government,  you,  "as  an  old  soldier,"  would  not  have  written  a  letter  to  me  the 
propriety  of  which  might  bo  questioned.  But  as  the  letter  is  written  and  received  and 
a  copy  has  doubtless  been  sent  to  Washington  for  no  other  object,  as  I  can  see,  but  to 
prejudice  mo  at  the  department,  I  must  in  self-justification  reply  to  it. 

The  occasion  that  seems  to  have  called  forth  this  extraordinai-y  indictment  is  a  letter 
from  me  to  Admiral  Godon  dated  October  1,  186(5.  Why  the  admiral  did  not  answer 
his  own  letter  I  know  not.  Whether  his  temper  was  too  much  ruffled  or  he  felt  he  was 
not  adequate  to  defend  himself,  or  whatever  may  have  been  his  motive  for  calling 
in  your  assistance,  I  do  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  compliment  you  pay  me  when  you,  a 
veteran  diplomatist,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary,  and  the 
admiral  of  the  squadron,  unite  your  ponderous  intellects  to  overthrow  and  confound 
one  unpretending  minister  resident.  Indeed  " '  tis  a  fearful  odds, "  but  as  "  thrice  is  he 
armed  who  hath  his  quarrel  just"  and  as  my  only  defense  will  be  a  simple  statement  of 
facts  as  they  transpired,  I  warn  you  beforehand  to  "mark  now  how  plain  a  tale  shall 
put  you  down. " 

It  was  the  25th  of  January  of  last  year  that  I  left  Buenos  Ayres  to  make  my  way  to 
Paraguay.  It  was  not  till  about  the  middle  of  that  month  that  the  admiral  gave  me  a 
definite  answer  to  the  question  whether  he  would  send  me  up  on  a  national  Avar  vessel 
or  not.  When  I  met  him  at  Eio  in  the  month  of  October  preceding,  he  had  said  that  he 
would  do  it  if  the  usual  channels  of  communication  should  be  found  closed,  but  when 
he  reached  the  Plato  he  at  first  hesitated,  quibbled,  and  chattered,  and  finally  when  he 
reached  Buenos  AjTies  on  the  14th  of  January,  he  positively  declined  to  send  a  gunboat. 
So  on  the  25th  I  took  passage  on  a  merchant  steamer,  leaving  my  wife  with  some  friends 
in  Buenos  Ayres.  I  made  my  way  to  Corrientes  and  thence  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
army,  when  I  told  President  Mitre  I  desired  the  usual  facilities  to  pass  through  the 
lines  to  my  post.  His  reply  was  that  in  his  opinion  I  had  a  right  to  go  through,  but  it 
was  a  question  for  his  government  rather  than  himself  to  decide.  He  would  at  once 
refer  the  matter  to  it  and  as  soon  as  he  should  get  an  answer  he  doubted  not  I 
could  pass  through  with  every  convenience  provided.  I  replied,  "  If  that  is  the  case  I 
can  go  down  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  if  your  government  agrees  with  you  I  can  return  with 
Mrs.  Washburn  in  the  same  time  that  you  are  waiting  for  the  reply  of  your  govern- 
ment." So  I  returned  to  Buenos  Aja-es  and  had  a  conference  with  Senor  Elizalde,  the 
minister  for  foreign  relations,  and  he  said  the  government  were  of  the  same  opinion  as 
President  Mitre,  and  ho  accordingly  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  latter  requesting  him  to 
ftirnish  me  all  the  facilities  for  passing  through  that  the  government  had  promised  me. , 

With  this  document  I  came  back  to  Corrientes,  and  from  there  I  went  to  Paso  de  la 
Patria,  where  I  asked  the  minister  of  war,  Gelly  y  Obes,  to  take  me  to  President  Mitre's 
camp.  Ho  said  the  president  would  come  to'^tho  Paso  the  next  morning  and  I  could 
see  him  there.  He  did  not  come,  however,  but  sent  Gelly  y  Obis  to  me  with  a  request 
that  I  should  first  see  Admiral  Tamandar6,  with  whom  matters  could  be  arranged  as 
well  as  with  himself  So  I  went  on  board  the  flag-ship,  When  the  admiral  told  uie  I 
could  not  and  should  not  go  through  under  any  circumstances.  He  said  his  orders  were 
to  stop  any  and  everybody,  and  he  had  a  perfect  right  to  stop  me,  as  was  acknowledged 
by  Admiral  Godon  in  an  interview  he  had  with  him  while  in  Buenos  Ayres.  I  then 
went  to  see  President  Mitre,  and  gave  him  Elizalde's  letter.    But  he  declined  to  respect 


120  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

it.  He  said  circunistauces  Lad  chauged  since  I  was  there  before  and  he  must  again 
consult  his  government  before  he  could  give  me  a  final  reply ;  and  he  kept  me  there  in 
Corrientes  for  five  months  waiting  his  answer.  At  length,  after  repeated  evasions  and 
requests  for  more  time,  now  to  refer  the  matter  to  his  government,  now  to  await  the 
anival  of  the  Brazilian  special  envoy,  and  then  again  on  some  other  miserable  j)retext, 
I  deteimined  to  stand  it  no  longer.  So  I  wrote  to  him  a  letter  reciting  his  evasions, 
quibbles,  and  general  bad  faith,  and  concluded  by  making  a  protest  not  only  against  my 
detention,  but  against  the  ilisingenuous,  tricky  way  in  which  it  had  been  effected.  I 
sent  this  letter  of  a  Sunday  morning  and  the  next  Wednesday  at  noon  I  received  dis- 
patch No.  43  from  Mr.  Seward,  (a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to  you,)  in  which  I  was 
instructed  if,  after  proper  and  respectful  application,  I  was  still  refused  the  facilities  for 
passing  through  to  Paraguay,  I  was  to  apply  to  the  admiral  for  a  war  vessel  and  the 
necessary  convoy  to  take  me  to  my  post.  The  same  day,  at  4  p.  m.,  I  received  President 
Mitre's  reply  to  my  protest,  the  same  which  you  stigmatized  in  your  letter  of  August 
21,  to  Senhor  Andrada,  as  "more  remarkable  for  its  special  pleading  than  for  its  friendly 
or  logical  conclusions. "  You  will  recollect  that  President  Mitre  in  this  letter  to  me, 
after  his  labored  "  special  pleading, "  in  which  he  lays  great  stress  on  the  fact  that 
Admiral  Godon  had  distinctly  admitted  that  the  allies  had  a  perfect  right  to  stop  my 
passage,  concludes  by  saying  that  the  correspondence  on  his  part  must  there  close. 
Now  imder  those  circumstances  what  was  I  to  do  ?  Had  I  desired  notoriety  or  sought  to 
aggravate  the  case  in  which  they  had  got  themselves  involved  by  their  own  folly  and 
with  the  approval  of  our  admiral,  I  should  have  written  him  again  the  next  day,  telling 
him  that  If  he  did  not  back  directly  out  of  his  position  and  send  me  through  without 
any  more  hesitation  or  delay,  I  was  authorized  to  force  his  blockade  with  the  whole 
American  squadron,  if  necessary,  and  should  certainly  do  it }  he  must  and  would  have 
answered  that  he  was  not  to  be  bullied  in  that  Avay.  My  idea  was  that  it  was  not 
best  to  renew  my  demand  till  the  gunboat  was  ready,  and  then  they  would  see  that  if 
they  still  persisted  it  was  and  must  be  war.  By  so  doing  I  gave  them  a  chance  to 
retreat  and  thus  saved  our  government  from  the  necessity  of  a  serious  difficulty.  I  had 
every  personal  motive  to  follow  the  other  course.  I  had  been  treated  with  great  dis- 
courtesy by  Minister  Octaviano,  and  subjected  to  infinite  annoyance  and  disrespect  by 
President  Mitre,  but  I  knew  it  was  not  the  interest  or  desire  of  our  government  to 
become  a  party  to  this  war,  and  so  that  the  national  dignity  were  vindicated,  as 
it  would  be  by  my  going  through  on  one  of  our  own  war  vessels,  I  knew  it  was  my  duty 
to  smother  all  feelings  of  personal  wrong  or  private  resentment.  And  yet  you  tell  me 
that  in  doing  so  I  was  ''consulting  my  own  (your)  feelings  instead  of  my  (your)  duty." 

I  therefore  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  on  my  arrival  there  I  found  that  the  sub- 
stance of  my  instructions  had  already  been  published  some  days  before  in  the  newspa- 
pers. How  the  information  was  obtained  I  know  not.  There  were  but  three  persons 
who  could  have  had  it  direct  from  our  government,  you.  Admiral  Godon,  and  myself, 
and  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  that  it  should  have  come  from  me.  And  these 
instructions  were'  as  much  confidential  as  those  that  came  afterwards,  and  which  you 
say  in  your  postscript  were  a  "  state  secret."  The  responsibility  for  that  publication 
must,  therefore,  rest  with  you  or  the  admiral. 

But  on  what  authority  do  you  say  that  either  of  those  dispatches  was  a  "  state  secret  ?" 
Nothing  of  that  kind  appears  on  the  face  of  either  one  of  them.  Neither  of  them  is 
marked  confidential,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Secretary  of  State  desired 
the  matter  to  be  kept  secret  or  regarded  as  confidential.  On  the  contrary,  I  know  he 
did  not ;  for  in  his  dispatch  to  you.  No.  180,  dated  September  23,  1866,  he  says  that, 
"although  you  have  marked  one  of  your  dispatches  touching  on  the  subject  of  my  deten- 
tion 'confidential,'  you  will  please  inform  the  government  of  his  Majesty  that  I  (Mr. 
Seward)  am  not  able  to  allov/  it  to  maintain  that  character." 

The  first  instructions  from  our  government,  directing  that  in  a  given  contingency  the 
blockade  should  be  forced,  having  thus  been  made  public,  I  knew  of  no  reason  for  keep- 
ing silent  in  regard  to  those  subsequently  received,  in  which  we  were  all  ordered  to  return 
to  the  United  States  in  the  event  that  all  opposition  to  my  passage  was  not  promptly 
withdrawn.  You  speak,  however,  of  the  great  astonishment  and  indignation  of  the 
Brazilian  government  that  the  public  should  learn  through  the  Argentine  press  that 
they  had  been  "bullied."  But  they  were  bullied,  as  you  know,  and  I  know,  and  every- 
body knows.  They  never  yielded  gracefully,  or  admitted  they  were  wrong.  On  the 
contrary,  they  insisted  all  through  that  they  were  right,  and  the  last  thing  they  did  was 
to  protest.  Are  they  ostriches  to  stick  their  heads  in  the  sand  and  then  think  they  can- 
not be  seen  ?  If  not,  what  do  they  comi)lain  of  ?  You  wrote  me  in  a  former  letter  that 
when  the  French  admiral  complained  of  favoritism,  the  reply  was:  "There  was  no 
favoritism  in  what  we  did :  the  knilb  was  held  at  our  throat  and  we  yielded  to  compul- 
sion." And  yet  they  want  people  to  think  they  did  not  yield  to  force — they  were  not 
bullied !  Undoubtedly  they  were  greatly  mortified  at  the  absurd  and  ridiculous  figure 
they  had  made  throughout  the  whole  transaction.  And  so  they  ought  to  bo  made  to 
feel ;  and  they  certainly  had  no  reason  to  expect  that  I  v/ould  put  myself  out  to  spare 
their  tender  sensibilities.     Had  not  I  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  delayed  my 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  121 

retuni  to  the  United  States  for  nearly  two  mouths,  in  order  that  theii-  minister,  Viaua  do 
Lima,  might  have  safe  and  comfortable  egress  Irom  the  coimtry  ?  Did  I  not  have  a 
shar])  and  prolonged  conespoudence  in  his  behalf,  telling  President  Lopez  to  his  lace  if 
h<}  did  not  alloAv  him  (Viano  de  Lima)  to  leave,  I  should  demand  my  own  passpoi-ts? 
Of  what  I  did  then  you  and  the  Brazilian  govermnent  are  already  informed ;  but  you 
may  now  know  that  Lopez  has  never  forgiven  mo  yet  for  the  part  I  then  took.  And 
what  retmn  have  they  made  me  ?  Certainly  you  n'mst  admit  it  has  not  been  such  as 
to  entitle  them  to  any  particular  gratitude  or  consideration  from  me. 

The  chief  count  in  your  indictment,  however,  seems  to  be  that  after  I  had  or  should 
have  received  your  note  of  August  22,  telling  me  that  the  Brazilian  government  had 
issued  instructions  to  its  representatives  iii  the  river  Plate,  withdrawing  all  ob.stnictions 
to  my  i)assage,  I  wrote  to  Adjuiral  Godon  saying  that  no  proceeding  to  cause  such  hin- 
drance to  cease  has  yet  been  made  by  the  allies.  Tliat  statement,  made  at  the  time  on 
belief,  is  now  re-asserted  on  absolute  knowledge.  That  the  Brazilian  government  prom- 
ised you  that  they  would  have  all  obstructions  with(hawn,  of  com-se  I  could  never 
doubt  for  a  moment.  But  with  all  deference,  I  must  be  permitted  to  believe  that  1  knew 
the  peophi  I  had  to  deal  with  as  well  as  you  did ;  I  knew  they  did  not  mean  that  I 
should  i»ass  if  anything  short  of  war  with  the  United  States  could  prevent  it.  I  knew 
they  had  not  kept  faith  with  mo  in  any  respect  from  the  start.  When  I  lirst  arrived  at 
Buenos  Ayres,  Octaviano  supposing  that  I  should  othei-wise  go  up  on  an  American  gun- 
boat, to  which  the  allies  were  ailverse,  offered  to  send  me  up  on  a  Brazilian  steamer.  I 
declined  the  offer  for  many  reasons,  saying  that  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  go  on  an 
American  war  vessel.  But  when  Admiral  Godon  reachird  Buenos  Ayres,  and  I  foimd  that 
ho  would  not  send  me  through  as  he  had  promised  while  at  Rio,  I  wrote  a  note  to  Octa- 
viano, intimating  that  I  would  accept  his  pre\ious  offer.  He  did  not  condescend  to 
answer  the  letter.  He  ha<l  found  Admiral  Godon  was  "all  right,"  and  what  did  he  then 
care  for  a  helpless  minister  resident,  repudiated  by  liis  a<lmiral,  and  who  could  not  hear 
from  his  government  till,  in  all  probability,  the  war  should  be  over. 

After  tliis  I  went  twice  to  Corrientes.  With  what  result  I  have  already  informed 
you.  Rebuffed  and  repulsed  on  all  sides,  I  reached  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  7th  of  August. 
And  now  you  will  probably  say  that  I  should  have  then  again  applied  to  the  Argentine 
minister  for  foreign  relations,"  and  not  have  written  to  the  admiral  for  a  vessel  from 
the  squadron  till  I  hiul  received  a  negative  reply.  I  had  no  doubt  then,  and  have  none 
now,  that  if  I  had  so  api)lied  to  Elizalde  he  would  have  given  me  just  as  good  a  letter 
to  Mitre  as  he  had  done  six  months  before,  and  that  if  I  had  taken  it  and  returned  to 
headquarters  with  it,  it  could  have  been  treated  with  precisely  the  same  respect.  The 
idea  of  a  minister  of  a  government  at  least  respectable  being  batted  about  like  a  shut- 
tlecock, begging  and  supi)licating  for  liis  clearest  rights,  was  too  nmch  for  me,  and  I 
was  deteiiniued  that  if  1  returned  again  it  would  be  in  a  way  that  my  official  charac- 
ter should  be  respected. 

I  therefore  wrote  to  the  admiral  for  a  vessel  of  war,  and  after  waiting  till  near  the 
end  of  September  I  got  an  answer  declining  to  furnish  it.  What  then  was  I  to  do  ? 
Should  I  retuni  to  the  blockading  sqinidron  and  ask  to  be  passed  through.  Though  I 
Ixad  youi-  letter  in  which  you  had  stated  that  orders  had  been  given  for  the  obstruc- 
tions to  be  withdrawn,  I  then  thought  and  now  know  that  Tamandar6  would  not 
have  allowed  nm  to  pass  the  blockade.  In  this  embarrassing  position  I  thought  it  was 
my  duty,  before  forcing  things  to  a  crisis,  to  await  the  anival  of  General  Asboth.  Had 
I  left  for  the  United  States  before  his  arrival,  as  I  would  have  been  perfectly  justified 
in  doing,  he  would  have  been  even  in  a  worse  position  than  I  had  been.  Fortunately 
he  came  before  I  had  left  or  had  given  the  allies  a  chance  to  refuse  me  again,  and  the 
same  steamer  that  brought  him  brought  the  orders  from  the  admiral  to  Captain  Crosby 
to  take  me  to  Paraguay  on  the  Shamokin. 

As  soon  as  the  vessel  was  ready  for  the  trip  I  embarked  with  my  family,  and  great 
was  my  surprise  when  we  reached  the  Tres  Bocas  and  came  to  anchor  just  below  the 
squadron,  to  be  told  by  the  Brazilian  officer  commanding  the  lowest  gunboat  of  the 
blockading  fleet,  and  who  immediately  came  on  board  the  Shamokin,  that  we  could  go 
no  higher ;  that  the  orders  were  imperative  to  stop  any  and  everybody,  and  no  counter- 
instructions  had  been  received.  Captain  Crosby  replied  that  his  orders  were  t^  go 
through  to  Asuncion,  and  he  wished  to  send  a  letter  to  Admiral  Tamaudar6  advising 
him  of  the  fact.  The  commander  offered  a  steamer  to  take  an  officer  from  the  Sham- 
okin with  the  letter,  and  the  same  evening  they  started  for  the  flag-ship.  The  admiral 
took  the  leiter  and  replied  it  was  impossible  for  the  Shamokin  to  pass,  or  anybody  on 
board  of  her.  The  orders  from  his  government  were  to  stop  absolutely  and  entirely  all 
communication  wath  Paraguay,  and  he  had  no  counter-orders,  and  had  never  had  a 
word  from  the  Brazilian  government  either  in  regard  to  the  passage  of  the  Shamokin 
or  myself.  He  said,  however,  he  would  come  and  visit  me  the  next  morning  on  board 
the  Shamokin.  With  this  report  the  officer.  Lieutenant  Pendleton,  came  back,  and 
arrived  on  board  about  3  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Now  then  a  collision  seemed  immi- 
nent. Captain  Crosby  had  peremptory  orders  to  go  through,  and  Admiral  Tamaudar6 
had  a&  imperative  orders  to  stop  him.    Evidently  somebody  must  give  way  or  there 


122  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

■woTild  be  a  fiijlit.  The  Sliamokiii  was  ready  for  the  latter  alternative,  and  wo  awaited 
the  lOitiiuL?  of  (he  adiuiral  to  see  if  the  brave  words  would  be  followed  by  correspond- 
iiiji'  net  ions. 

At  about  11  a.  m.  he  came  on  board,  and  his  story  was  the  same  that  he  had  told 
Lieutenant  l\uullcton.  He  had  received  no  orders  in  regard  to  my  passage,  or  that  of 
the  steamer.  The  only  infornuition  he  had  received  on  the  subject  was  contained  in 
the  copies  of  your  letter  to  me  of  August  22d,  and  of  a  letter  from  Admiral  Godon 
either  to  Crosby  or  myself,  stating  that  the  Brazilian  government  had  promised  that 
all  obstructions  to  my  passage  should  be  withdrawn.  But  not  a  word  of  advice  or 
instruction  had  he  received  from  his  own  government.  And  this,  you  will  recollect, 
was  in  November,  four  months  at  least  after  the  Brazilian  government  had  begged 
Admiral  Godon  not  to  send  his  orders  for  a  gunboat  to  go  up  the  river  until  they  could 
have  time  to  send  forward  their  instructions  in  advance  to  their  subordinates  in  the 
Plate;  advising  them  of  the  withdrawal  of  all  opposition  to  my  passage.  And  Admi- 
ral Godon,  you  will  recollect,  was  so  anxious  to  favor  them  in  that  respect  that  he  took 
a  cruise  to  the  northward,  so  that  no  letter  from  me  asking  for  a  vessel  could  soon 
reach  him.  And  yet,  after  all  this,  after  they  had  assured  you  so  explicitly  that  all 
obstructions  were  withdrawn;  after  having  bamboozled  Admiral  Godon,  or  arranged 
■with  him  in  an  interview  "entirely  private  and  conlidential"  to  violate  the  spirit  of 
his  instructions  by  procrastinating  and  going  off  in  the  opposite  direction.  Admiral 
TamandariS  said  that  not  a  word  or  hint  or  lino  had  ever  been  communicated  to  him  on 
the  subject.  This  statement  may  perhaps  convince  you  that  by  pursuing  the  course  I 
did,  I  achieved  the  object  of  our  government;  I  reached  my  destination,  I  vindicated 
my  right  to  pass  the  military  lines,  I  put  the  allies  in  the  wrong,  and  compelled  them 
to"^  concede  a  right  which  they  at  first  refused ;  I  shoAved  them  that  the  American  flag 
must  bo  respected,  and  that  if  they  ventured  to  infringe  on  the  rights  of  an  American 
minister  they  must  eat  humble  pie  afterwards;  and  all  this  I  did  without  involving  our 
government  in  any  more  serious  question  with  the  allied  powers  than  that  of  the  per- 
sonal damages  I  have  suffered,  and  the  indemnification  to  which  I  am  entitled.  The 
domestic  question  between  the  admiral  and  myself  must  be  decided  by  the  proper  tri- 
bunal, as  provided  for  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  But  that  can  in  no  Avay  affect 
our  foreign  relations,  unless  the  Brazilian  government  should  take  it  as  an  affront  that 
an  American  admiral,  who  has  served  them  so  faithfully  and  ''confidentially,"  should 
be  put  upon  his  trial. 

You  appear  to  think  it  very  strange  that  after  receiving  your  letter  of  the  22d  of  August, 
(which  I  acknowledge  I  did  receive  in  due  course  of  mail,)  I  should  write  to  the  admiral 
that  no  proceedings  had  been  taken  by  the  allies  to  cause  the  hinderance  to  my  passage 
to  cease.  I  attached  no  value  to  that  x>romi8e  on  the  part  of  the  Brazilian  government, 
and  subsequent  events  showed  I  was  right  in  that.  Stronger  and  more  definite  promises 
had  been  made  to  me  before  by  the  allies,  and  were  broken  without  scruple.  Besides,  I 
had  written  to  Admiral  Godon  for  a  vessel  before  the  receipt  of  that  letter  from  you, 
and  at  the  time  I  was  not  aware  that  the  Brazilian  government  had  even  made  you  a 
promise  to  withdraw  their  obstructions.  My  second  letter  to  the  admiral,  which  you 
have  undertaken  to  answer  for  him,  written  after  the  receipt  of  that  letter  from  you, 
was  not  written,  as  I  then  said,  with  any  view  to  influence  his  action,  but  to  show  that 
I  had  done  all  that,  under  the  circumstances,  I  could  do  to  efiect  my  passage  witbout 
the  aid  of  a  national  war  vessel,  and  to  remind  him  that  it  would  be  just  as  well  if  he 
would  confine  himself  to  his  own  legitimate  diities,  and  not  interfere  in  questions  that 
do  not  concern  him,  and  of  the  merits  of  which  he  is  as  ignorant  as  he  is  of  social  cour- 
tesies. My  letter  asking  for  the  gunboat  was  written  on  the  8th  of  August,  12  days  before 
yours,  and  before  I  received  the  subsequent  instructions,  directing  me  in  a  certain  con- 
tingency to  return  to  the  United  States ;  and  yet  you  express  wonder  that  I  could  have 
remained  in  the  river  Plate  or  have  asked  of  Admiral  Godon  for  a  vessel  of  war  or  a 
portion  of  the  squadron  to  convey  me  to  Asuncion.  I  never  did  anything  of  the  kind 
after  receiving  the  dispatch  directing  me  under  given  circumstances  to  return  to  the 
United  States.  Those  circumstances'^  were  such  that  had  they  occurred,  I  should  have 
been  obliged  to  return  home,  and  the  same  circumstances  that  would  have  required  me 
to  return  would  have  required  you  and  General  Asboth  to  do  the  same,  and  though  we 
should  all  have  acted  independently,  yet  the  same  oftensive  course  persisted  in  by  the 
allies  would  have  required  us  all  to  do  the  same  thing — that  is  to  return  to  the  United 
States ;  so  that  though  acting  separately  our  action  would  have  been  concurrent.  But 
you  say  in  no  possible  event  were  your  movements  made  dependent  on  mine.  Now 
suppose  that  when  I  arrived  at  the  Tres  Bocas  and  Admiral  Tamandard  came  on  board 
the  Shamokin  and  told  us  we  could  not  go  through,  that  his  orders  were  to  stop  us,  and 
then  supposing  I  had  replied  that  I  would  not  force  the  blockade  but  return  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  had  actually  done  so,  and  thence  gone  to  the  United  States,  what  then  would 
you  have  done  ?  Would  you  have  obeyed  instructions  framed  for  a  contingency  much 
less  provoking  and  insulting  than  that  ?  Would  you  have  demanded  your  passports,  or 
would  you  have  asked  for  further  explanations  ? 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  man  of  your  large  experience  and  high  position  should  take 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  123 

it  Tipon  himself  to  advocate  so  bad  a  cause  as  that  of  the  admiral.  And  that  such  attempt 
to  justify  and  scieen  him  at  my  expcnscj^and  to  my  detriment,  should  proceed  from  one 
who  ha«  long  professed  the  wannest  friendship  for  me,  is  not  only  cause  for  regret  hut 
of  surprise.  He  has  been  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble.  Had  he  acted  with  that  alacrity 
that  becomes  a  naval  commander,  he  would  have  sent  a  gunboat  up  the  river  imme- 
diately on  my  arrival,  when  there  would  have  been  no  obstacle  in  the  way,  and  the 
vessel  could  have  come  up  and  returned  in  two  weeks,  and  there  an  end  of  the  matter. 
But  if  he  did  not  feel  authorized  to  do  that  without  orders  from  the  Navy  Department 
he  should  have  told  me  so  while  at  Rio  in  October,  1865 ;  then  I  could  have  written  from 
there  and  the  necessary  instructions  would  have  reached  Buenos  Ayres  by  the  middle 
of  January ;  and  it  was  not  till  then  that  he  said  he  would  not  send  a  steamer.  I  could 
not  then  tliink  of  waiting  four  or  live  months  longer  for  instructions  to  come  out,  with- 
out, in  the  meanwhile,  making  an  effort  to  reach  my  post  in  any  way  that  might  offer. 
The  result  of  those  efforts  you  are  already  informed  of.  But  the  whole  difficulty  was 
caused  by  the  strange  conduct  of  the  admiral.  And  having,  through  his  conceit  or  bad 
temper,  or  stupidity,  got  himself  into  an  awkward  position,  I  do  not  blame  him  for 
enlisting  your  able  pen  to  extricate  him.  My  only  surprise  is  that  you  should  employ 
it  in  BO  bad  a  cause  and  for  so  bad  a  man.  I  presmne,  however,  that  finding  himself  at 
odds  with  everybody  oLse  holding  ofiBcial  position  (of  course  I  except  the  Brazilians) 
on  the  coast,  he  has  l^een  extremely  bland  and  sweet  and  deferential  towards  you. 
When  in  Buenos  Ayres  lifteen  months  ago,  ho  seemed  to  take  great  delight  in  boasting 
of  his  contempt  for  the  ministers  of  his  government  and  his  complete  independence  of 
them.  His  language  in  that  respect  was  very  offensive,  and  after,  in  the  presence  of 
my  wife.  But  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  to  keep  my  vantage  ground  I  must  keep 
my  temper,  and  I  suffered  his  tedi(ms  gaipility  ad  nauseam,  even  to  the  extent  that  ho 
admitted  to  Mr,  Kirk  that  he  could  not  but  a<lmire  the  courteous  and  candid  manner  in 
which  I  bore  myself  under  circumstances  that  he  knew  were  very  trying.  But  nobody 
accused  him  either  of  courtesies,  deportment,  or  of  a  civil  tongue.  On  the  contrary,  had 
he  tried  to  secure  the  ill-will  and  contempt  of  every  American  in  the  river  Plate  he 
could  not  have  done  it  more  effectually.  The  officers  of  the  squadron  generally  regard 
him  as  the  very  incarnation  of  spiteful  tyranny,  and  he  has  made  it  his  particular  busi- 
ness since  we  came  up  here  to  persecute  those  officers  who  were  on  intimate  and  friendly 
terms  with  us.  Mr.  Kirk  regarded  him  as  an  intolerable  nuisance,  and  I  judge  from  tho 
last  letter  of  General  Asboth  that  in  that  respect  he  fully  coincides  with  his  predeces- 
sor. When  the  Wasp  was  coming  up  to  bring  my  dispatches.  General  Asboth  thought 
he  could  bj^  a  personal  interview  with  mc  and  the  opposing  commanders  learn  much  of 
the  actual  situation  of  the  respective  belligerents  and  could  more  intelligibly  advise 
our  government  in  regard  to  it,  besides  being  better  prepared  to  carry  out  the  instruc- 
tions he  had  already  received  or  might  receiver  afterwards.  But  the  admiral  said  that 
though  the  steamer  was  going,,  the  minister  could  not  go  on  her.  I  had  hedtd  beforehand, 
however,  that  he  was  not  to  come ;  for  when  I  was  in  the  camp  of  the  Marquis  de  Caxias, 
he  read  me  part  of  a  letter,  apparently  official,  in  which  they  (the  authors  of  letter)  said 
that  Genernl  Asboth  had  intended  to  come  up  to  Paraguay  to  confer  with  mc,  but  that 
they  had  made  a  confidential  arrangement  xvith  Admiral  Godon  so  that  though  a  steamer  would 
conic  to  bring  my  dispatches  the  minister  teas  not  to  come  in  it.  Will  you  please  tell  me 
what  you  think  of  that  proceeding  on  the  part  of  tho  admiral  ?  In  my  opinion  it  is 
scandalous,  and  I  should  be  false  to  my  duty  did  I  not  report  this  strange  conduct  and 
demand  an  investigation  by  a  competent  tribunal.  How  the  Navy  Department  may 
regard  his  proceedings  I  do  not  know,  but  I  hardly  think  it  will  sustain  him  in  his 
confidential  interviews  and  arrangements  with  the  allies  to  defeat  the  poMcy  of  the  State 
Department.  At  any  rate  I  shall  do  what  I  can  to  give  the  whole  subject  a  thorough 
ventilation,  and  have  arranged  my  plans  so  that  at  tho  meeting  of  the  next  Congress, 
or  soon  after,  I  can  be  on  the  ground  to  give  the  affair  my  personal  attention. 

Your  long  letter  of  the  2l8t  of  October,  to  which  this  is  an  answer,  was  not  written  till 
you  thought  the  Brazilians  had  withdrawn  all  obstructions  to  my  passage,  and  all  diffi- 
culties and  questions  in  regard  to  it  had  been  arranged.  You  could,  therefore,  have  no 
other  object  in  writing  that  letter  than  to  reprimand  me,  and  to  prejudice  me  with  the 
Secretary  of  State.  If  you  think  that  you  have  succeeded  in  the  latter  respect,  you  are 
welcome  to  all  the  consolation  to  be  derived  from  such  belief.  But  as  I  do  not  admit 
you  had  any  right  whatever  to  arraign  me,  or  pass  judgment  on  my  official  acts,  I  must 
beg  of  you  before  jou  attempt  that  role  again,  to  show  under  what  authority  you  act. 
I  repudiate  all  iijh  ference  in  my  official  duties  that  does  not  proceed  from  the  State 
Department,  and  will  not  yermi't  it.  I  have  written  this  reply  to  your  charges  as  I 
would  have  written  to  any  private  individual  who  might  accuse  me  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  send  me  a  copy  of  his  indictment.  The  Secretary  has  sent  me  copies  of  your 
corresi>ondence  with  the  Brazilian  government  in  relation  to  my  detention,  in  order  that 
I  might  be  enabled  to  complete  the  record.  As  a  copy  of  your  letter  to  me  was  doubt- 
less sent  to  the  department,  I  shall  also  send  a  copy  of  this.  I  only  desire  that  the 
record  be  made  complete,  and  then  I  shall  invite  a  searching  scrutiny  of  the  whole  case. 

You  will,  I  trust,  be  kind  enough  to  excuse  the  long  delay  that  has  occurred  since  the 


124  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION 

date  of  your  letter  and  this  answer  to  it,  as  more  than  five  months  ])ass(d  aftcu-  the  date 
of  yours  before  it  was  reciuved  by  me.  I  shall  send  this  by  the  first  opportunity  that 
occurs  for  sending  throu^t;h  Ihe  uiilUaiy  lines,  which  may  be  within  a  week,  and  may  not 
be  Avithin  two  months. 

And  now,  again  repeating  the  request  that  you  will  show  me  the  law  or  the  authority 
under  which  you  act,  before  you  again  take  upon  yourself  the  ofiice  of  instructor  or 
censor  of  other  ministers, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 
His  excellency  James  Watson  Webb, 

Envoij  Extrcuyrdinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  Bio  de  Janeiro. 


Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Fetropolis,  June  10,  1867. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  a  copy  of  a  communication  addressed  by  me  to  Mr. 
Washburn,  in  answer  to  his  letter,  of  which  he  forwarded  a  copy  to  the  department  by 
the  last  steamer. 

Mr.  Washburn  charges  that  I  wrote  my  letter  to  him  in  defense  of  Admiral  Godon. 
This  is  not  only  a  gratutious,  but  a  most  unjust  accusation.  While  I  have  taken  no  part 
in  the  controversy  between  Admiral  Godon  and  Mr.  Washburn,  and  have  not  permitted 
myself  to  express  an  opinion  to  either  of  them  in  approval  or  disapproval  of  their  pro- 
ceedings, I  have  a  very  clear  conviction,  ^hat  if  the  admiral  had  been  so  disposed,  he 
could  have  sent  Mr.  Washburn  to  his  post  of  duty  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  the  river, 
without  any  interference  on  the  x)art  of  the  allies.  But  it  api)ears  that  the  admiral 
made  it  a  matter  of  pride  to  ignore  the  rights  and  privileges  of  ministers  and  consuls, 
and  has  quarreled  v,rith  nearly  all  of  them  except  myself;  that  is  to  say,  with  Ministers 
Kirk,  Washburn,  and  Asboth,  and  with  Consul  Munroe,  and  one  or  two  others ;  and  I 
am  sorry  to  add,  that  he  has  no  friends  among  the  officers  of  the  squadron.  With  me, 
he  has  never  had  one  word  of  diiference,  but  it  is  impossible  to  shut  my  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  the  difficulties  which  have  taken  place  and  now  exist  on  this  coast,  between  the 
admiral  and  the  officers  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  which  are  widely  known,  and 
discreditable  to  our  country,  are  mainly  attributable  to  the  admiral's  meddling  with 
what  does  not  concern  him.  His  own  statement  to  me  in  regard  to  his  difi^erence  with 
Mr.  Asboth  is  an  illustration  of  his  mistaken  conception  of  his  rights  and  duties.  In 
reply  to  my  question,  why  he  did  not  permit  General  Asboth  to  go  up  the  river  in  the 
United  States  vessel  which  took  up  letters  and  dispatches  to  Mr.  Washburn,  his  answer 
was,  that  ]VIr."Asboth  had  no  right  to  leave  his  legation  without  the  assent  of  the  State 
Department.  I  said  that  was  true ;  but  the  minister  was  the  only  person  to  judge  of 
his  responsibility  in  so  doing.  He  rejolied,  ^'No,  it  was  my  right  to  demand  of  him 
whether  he  had  authority  from  the  State  Department  to  leave ;  and  because  he  did  not 
produce  such  authority,  t  would  not  permit  him  to  go  up  in  the  steamer  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  Washburn,  which  was  quite  unnecessary." 

I  told  the  admiral  that  he  entirely  misapprehended  his  relations  with  Mr.  Asboth,  and 
that  when  he  assumed  the  right  to  question  the  propriety  of  the  minister's  conduct,  his, 
Mr.  Asboth's  reply,  should  have  been,  that  he  was  meddling  with  what  did  not  concern 
him,  and  that  he,  the  minister,  should  have  insisted  upon  his  right  to  jiass  up  the  river 
in  the  national  vessel,  then  about  to  go  up  with  dispatches ;  the  propriety  of  his  doing 
so,  and  of  his  absenting  himself  from  his  legation,  being  questions  between  him  and  the 
Department  of  State,  with  which  the  admiral  could  not  interfere. 

Then  again,  in  the  admiral's  quarrel  with  Consul  Munroe  and  his  contemptuous  treat- 
ment of  him,  he  is  altogether  in  the  wrong;  and  in  my  judgment,  without  any  excuse 
whatever.  JVIi".  Munroe  is  a  model  of  a  Christian  gentleman;  intelligent,  courteous, 
kind-hearted,  hospitable,  and  patriotic ;  in  truth,  the  most  accomplished  consul  I  have 
ever  known,  and  one  who  has  never  given  oflense  to  any  man  in  Brazil.  Nobody  but 
the  admiral  has  ever  found  fault  with  him ;  and  the  fact  that  he  quarreled  with  him 
immediately  on  his  arrival,  goes  far  to  prove  to  me  that  the  admiral's  difficulties  are  the 
consequences  of  his  infirmities  of  temper,  and  an  arrogance,  offensive  alike  to  all  with 
whom  he  comes  in  contact. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  .  -i""  > 

.^        J.  \srATSON  WEBB. 

Hon.  William  H.  Sewaed, 

Secretary  of  State. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  125 

Testimony  of  Porter  C.  Bliss. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  22, 1869. 
PORTKR  C.  Bliss  sworn  aud  examined. 

By  Mr.  Okth  : 

Question.  State  your  age  and  place  of  nativity.— Answer.  I  am  30  years  of  age  and 
was  born  in  tbe  county  of  Erie,  New  York  State. 

Q.  Are  you  stUl  an  American  citizen? — A.  I  am. 

Q.  You  have  never  in  any  way  forfeited  your  right  of  citizenship? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  been  in  South  America  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  At  what  time  and  under  what  circumstances  did  you  go  there  ? — A.  I  went  to 
South  America  as  private  secretary'  of  General  James  Watson  Webb,  minister  to  Brazil. 
I  left  the  United  States  in  the  month  of  July,  18ul,  and  went  by  way  of  England;  I 
embarked  from  Southampton  on  the  l)th  of  September,  and  arrived  at  Rio  the  4th  of 
October,  18G1.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Washburn  was  a  fellow-passenger  upon  his  voy- 
age to  Paraguay.  I  remained  in  Bra:/.il  nearly  a  year  and  a  lialf,  until  the  last  month  of 
the  year  IH&Z.  The  date  of  my  arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres  was  the  3l8t  of  Deccmbir,  18613. 
I  proceeded  from  Rio  to  Buenos  Ayres,  aloug  with  General  Webb,  on  board  tbe  United 
States  corvette  Jamestown,  Captain  Price,  then  bound  to  China,  with  th(!  intention  of 
traveling  in  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  collecting  information  which  miglit  be  use- 
ful in  a  literary  point  of  view,  more  especially  with  the  object  of  visiting  the  Indian 
tribes  in  that  country  and  collecting  iulonnation  m  regar«l  to  them. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  Paraguay?— A.  I  have  been  in  Paramiay  twice;  the  first  time  I 
reached  there  on  the  Ist  of  March,  1803,  being  then  in  tlio  employ  of  the  Argentine 

f;overnment  as  special  commisaioner,  to  visit  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Argentine  Repub- 
ic.  I  obtained  that  employment  through  the  influence  of  Edward  A.  Hopkins,  foi-merly 
United  States  consul  at  Asiincion,  and  also,  as  I  liave  since  been  given  to  understand, 
tlirough  the  iulluence  of  General  Webb. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  paid  any  attention  to  the  history  and  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Indian  tribes? — A.  Yes;  I  have  been  a  good  many  months  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Argentine  Republic,  and  also  to  a  certain  extent  among  those  in  the  republic  of  Paraguay. 
I  did  not  spend  any  time  among  them  i»rior  to  my  ai)pointment.  I  was  appointed  on 
the  strength  of  having  passed  much  of  my  life  among  the  Indians  in  this  country,  and 
of  having  been  employed  in  the  Indian  dei)artnient  here  in  Washington,  being  familiar 
with  the  manner  in  which  our  Indian  bureau  is  conducted.  Immediately  upon  arriv- 
ing in  Buenos  Ayres,  I  made  application  to  the  officer — called  there  the  minister  of  the 
interior — corresponding  to  our  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  soon  manifested  great 
interest  in  the  matter.  As  I  understand,  ho  had  an  interview  with  General  Webb 
upon  the  subject,  and  also  derived  much  information  from  Mr.  Edward  A.  Hopkins.  It 
was  through  these  means  that  I  was  appointed  in  about  a  month  from  the  time  of  my 
arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres  to  accompany  an  expedition  up  the  river  Vermejo,  which  rises 
in  Bolivia.  We  proceeded  up  to  the  head  of  navigation  of  that  river  in  Bolivia,  and 
in  the  course  of  that  voyage  I  made  ray  first  visit  to  Paraguay,  having  been  obliged  to 
go  to  Asuncion  for  repairs  to  the  engine  of  our  steamer.  I  remained  in  Paraguay  forty 
days  on  that  visit,  most  of  the  time  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Washburn  as  an  old  acquaint- 
ance. I  first  became  acquainted  with  him  shortly  after  the  9th  of  September,  1861,  he 
being  a  passenger  on  the  steamer  Tyne  on  his  way  to  Paragiiay.  I  have  been  acquainted 
with  him  ever  since.  We  exchanged  letters  while  I  ^v^as  in  Brazil  and  he  in  Paraguay. 
Q.  You  will  now  proceed,  in  narrative  form,  to  state  what  duties  you  performed 
under  this  appointment  by  the  Argentine  government.— A.  I  received  no  special 
nstructions  from  the  Argentine  government,  as  my  appointment  was  of  my  own  initia- 
tion. I  was  left  to  adopt  such  a  plan  as  I  desired,  and  accompanied  this  expedition  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  information  concerning  the  character,  languages,  wants,  man- 
ners, customs,  habits  aud  mode  of  life  of  the  Indians  in  the  country  througli  which  the 
expedition  Avould  pass.  I  desired  to  learn  their  disposition  towards  the  white  popula- 
tion, and  whether  auytliing  could  be  done  towards  civilizing  them  and  settling  them 
in  colonies  with  a  view  to  the  ultimate  settlement  of  this  region  by  the  Argentine  gov- 
ernment. I  desired  more  especiallv,  for  my  own  behoof,  to  investigate  the  language 
of  the  different  tribes  with  a  view  of  classifying  them,  and  ascertaining  their  relations 
and  divisions  into  tribes  and  nations.  The  Argentine  government  allowed  me  to  take 
my  own  course  and  manner  in  carrying  out  this  purpose.  In  the  exercise  of  the  dis- 
cretionary power  vested  in  me,  I  visited  the  Indians  inhabitiii^  the  principal  points  on 
the  banks  of  the  Vermt^jo  river,  including  more  than  thirty  ditterent  bands,  and  collect- 
ing much  valuable  information.  I  made  a  report  to  the  minister  of  the  interior  on  my 
return,  which  was  published  in  Spanish  by  the  government,  and  has  since  been  trans- 
lated into  various  languages,  and  published  in  English  and  in  French  both  in  South 
America  and  in  Europe. 

Q.  What  compensation  did  you  receive  for  your  services  on  this  occasion  ?— A.  I 
received  6,000  paper  dollars  of  the  Argentine  government ;  the  paper  dollar  of  that 


126  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

republic  has  recently  been  fixed  at  four  cents  in  value ;  at  that  time  it  was  worth  a 
little  less. 

Q.  Could  you  have  had  more  if  you  had  desired  ? — A.  I  had  not  made  any  dehnite 
contract.  My  expenses  on  board  the  steamer  were  defrayed,  it  being  an  Argentine 
steamer.  My  connection  with  tlie  Argentine  government  continued  for  oiglit  months. 
My  next  step  was  to  engage  in  some  miscellaneous  employments  of  no  importance,  con 
tinning  two  or  three  months.  About  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  1864,  I  engaged 
in  editing  a  historical  magazine  at  Buenos  Ayres,  entitled  The  River  Plate  Magazine; 
it  had  two  editors,  of  whom  I  was  one ;  it  was  a  review,  consisting  of  64  pages,  monthly, 
principally  devoted  to  the  history  and  geography  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  I  con- 
tinued to  edit  that  magazine  until  the  end  of  the  year  1864.  The  reason  for  my  remain- 
ing in  Buenos  Ayres  during  that  time  was  that  niost  of  my  effects  had  remained  on 
board  the  steamer  in  which  I  had  made  the  expedition  to  Bolivia.  The  steamer  was 
grounded  at  the  head  of  navigation,  and  could  not  get  down  until  the  next  freshet, 
remaining  there  a  good  many  months ;  otherwise  I  should  have  immediately  returned 
to  the  United  States.  But  being  obliged  to  Avait  so  long  I  engaged  in  editing  this  mag- 
azine, which  continued  to  the  end  of  the  year  1884.  Shortly  before  this  time  I  had 
received  my  effects  from  the  steamer,  and  then  proposed  returning  to  the  United 
States.  I  had  collected  information  which  I  considered  of  a  good  deal  of  value  concern- 
ing the  Argentine  and  Oriental,  or  Uruguayan  Re]Dublics,  as  well  as  concerning  Brazil,  and 
I  proposed  writing  a  work  upon  the  history  of  these  countries,  including,  perhaps,  the  nar- 
ratives of  my  own  personal  experience.  The  republic  of  Paraguay  being  the  one  I  knew 
least  of,  having  been  there  but  a  few  weeks,  I  desired  to  spend  two  or  three  months 
there  before  returning  to  the  United  States,  in  order  to  make  further  investigation  in 
regard  to  the  history  and  characteristics  of  the  country,  and  also  to  visit  the  Indians 
of  that  republic,  and  in  that  manner  to  complete  the  information  I  needed  to  enable 
me  to  x^repare  the  work  upon  these  countries  which  I  had  in  view.  For  that  purpose 
I  embarked  for  Paraguay  the  1st  day  of  January,  in  the  year  1865,  with  the  intention 
of  remaining  there,  at  most,  not  more  than  three  months.  I  arrived  at  Asuncion,  the  ^ 
capital  of  Paraguay,  on  the  21st  of  January,  1865.  I  had  supposed  I  should  find  there  " 
Mr.  Washburn,  the  American  minister.  Although  my  visit  had  no  special  connection 
with  his  being  there,  yet  he  being  an  old  friend,  it  v/onld  have  been  very  pleasant  for 
me  to  have  found  him  there.  I  found,  however,  that  he  had  left  a  week  before  my 
arrival,  passing  me  on  his  way  down  the  river  while  I  was  at  Corrientes.  I  arrived, 
as  I  have  stated,  on  the  21st  of  January,  and  immediately  commenced  the  inv(;sti<2;a- 
tion  of  the  Guarani  language,  which  is  the  language  of  the  country ;  it  is  an  Indian 
tongue,  but  is  spoken  by  the  Paraguayans.  One  special  object  of  my  investigation 
was  to  make  a  classification  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  tliat  region,  as  indicated  by  the 
languages  or  dialects  spoken  by  them.  My  first  inquiries,  therefore,  were  directed  to 
learning  the  Guarani  language,  and  also  the  Faygud  dialect,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
the  Paraguayan  Indians  residing  in  the  neighborhood.  At  this  time  the  republic  of 
Paraguay  was  engaged  in  war  with  Brazil.  The  war  had  been  commenced  during 
the  previous  autumn,  and  several  months  before  my  going  there.  Paraguay  Avas 
then  just  on  the  eve  of  commencing  war  also  with  the  Argentine  Republic.  This  was  a 
fact  of  which  I  had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  at  the  time  I  left  Buenos  Ayres,  and  there 
was  no  reason  whatever  on  thepart  of  the  Argentine  Republic  for  anticipating  any  such 
war ;  it  had  given  no  cause  of  complaint  whatever  to  the  Paraguayan  government, 
and  the  commencement  of  that  war  was  a  piratical  act  on  the  i^art  of  President  Lopez. 
Immediately  after  my  arrival  in  Paraguay  I  found  I  was  the  object  of  suspicion  on  the 
part  of  the  Paraguayan  government.  That  government  could  not  understand  how  any 
person  could  come  to  Paraguay,  especially  at  such  a  time,  when  the  atmosphere  was 
so  thick  with  war  rumors,  purely  for  seientific  and  ethnological  objects;  and  a  great 
many  rumors  had  consequently  been  set  afloat  in  regard  to  the  object  of  my  visit.  The 
fact  that  I  had  been  employed  by  the  Argentine  government,  and  had  formerly  been 
in  Brazil  as  the  private  secretary  of  the  American  minister  to  that  government — a  fact 
which  I  took  no  pains  to  conceal,  as  I  had  no  reason  whatever  for  concealing  it — gave 
directions  to  the  rumors  and  suspicions  in  regard  to  me.  It  was  very  soon  known  to 
the  Paraguayan  government  that  I  had  been  in  Brazil  as  a  member  of  the  American 
legation ;  that  I  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Argentine  government,  and  that  I 
was  acquainted  with  many  of  the  prominent  politicians  as  well  in  Brazil  as  in  the 
Argentine  and  Uruguayan  republics.  And  it  was  suspected  that  I  had  come  to  Para- 
guay as  a  spy,  or  as  a  secret  agent  of  one  or  all  of  these  governments.  Some  said  I 
was  a  Brazilian  spy,  others  that  I  was  an  Argentine  spy.  Whatever  they  thought,  the 
government  soon  set  spies  on  my  track  to  watch  all  my  actions.  Wherever  I  went  I 
was  followed  by  several  spies,  the  effect  of  which  was  that  many  persons  who,  on  niy* 
arrival  in  the  country,  had  received  me  with  pleasure  as  a  visitor,  found  it  convenient 
not  to  cultivate  my  acquaintance  further.  My  position  began  to  be  disagreeable  just 
at  th(}  time  when  the  Paraguayan  dictator,  Lopez,  suddenly  brouglit  together  a  so- 
caUed  Congress,  and  declared  war  upon  the  Argentine  Republic,  without  any  just  cause 
or  pretext;  and  refused  to  aUow  any  foreigners  to  leave  the  coimtry.    This  was  about 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  127 

the  middle  of  March.    I  had  been  there  then  less  than  tsvo  mouths  when  this  event 
took  place. 

By  ]yir.  SvvAXN : 
Q.  Had  you  been  connected  at  any  time  with  a  political  paper  while  in  the  Argentine 
Republic  f — A.  I  ha<i  not.  The  review  which  I  conducted  in  Bueuos  Ayres  was  a  purely 
historical  and  literary  enterprise.  Beyond  an  occasional  article  in  a  neutral  English 
paper,  the  Standard,  I  had  not  written  anything  relating  to  the  politics  of  the  times,  or 
in  relation  to  the  war  which  had  then  begun  between  Paraguay  and  Brazil,  except  in 
making  up  a  monthly  summary  of  the  current  events,  and  in  that  I  had  expressed  opin- 
ions which  were  not  very  flatteriug  to  the  Brazilian  government  nor  very  Hattering  to 
the  Paraguayan  government  either,  but  I  wrote  merely  as  an  impartial  spectator. 

By  Mr.  Okth  : 

Q.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  were  in  the  employment  of  the  Paraguayan 
govei-nineut  at  any  time  f— A.  I  subsequently  was  after  the  course  taken  by  President 
Lopez  towards  me,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  which  rendered  my  stay  in  Paraguay 
very  unpleasant.  In  i)ur8uance  of  my  object  of  collecting  information  about  that  coun- 
try, its  present  condition,  its  tribes  of  Indians,  &c.,  1  found  it  necessary  to  have 
some  intercourse  with  memb<ir8  of  the  government.  Very  shortly  after  my  arrival,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  minister  of  foreign  relations,  a  gentleman  by  the  name 
of  Josd  Berges ;  I  brought  no  letter  of  introduction  to  him  nor  to  any  one  else,  but  I 
found  it  easy  to  make  his  ac(iuaintance.  1  requested  him  to  alFord  me  what  assistance 
on  the  part  of  the  government  he  could  in  pursuance  of  my  object,  and  continued  to  see 
him  occasionally  in  an  informal  uiauncr  for  some  time.  This  was  during  the  time  I  was 
under  this  suspicion  and  surveillance,  a  matter  which  I  never  brought  to  his  notice, 
because  I  did  not  wish  to  have  anything  to  say  on  that  subject.  When  I  found  that  my 
stay  in  Paraguay  was  the  reason  of  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  government,  in  connec- 
tion with  tlu5  fact  that  no  AnuTican  minister  was  there,  and  that  Lopez  was  in  the  habit 
of  treating  loreigners  as  he  pleased  in  regard  to  allowing  them  to  leave  the  country,  it 
became  necessary  to  take  some  measures  for  my  own  protection.  Lopez  never  had 
allowed  any  obnoxious  person  to  leave  the  country  even  before  the  war.  If  he  had  any 
reason  or  ijjclination  to  prevent  it,  he  always  found  a  pretext  for  whatever  he  did,  but 
his  own  will  was  the  moving  cause.  In  respect  to  myself,  I  was  convinced  that  Lopez 
would  not  allow  me  to  leave  the  country  unless  I  could  conciliate  him  in  some  manner, 
and  render  my  presence  there  less  suspicious  to  him.  I  was  desirous  of  leaving  the 
country  as  soon  as  possible,  and  it  became  my  i)uq)ose  from  that  time  to  do  so  as  soon 
as  I  could.  I  had  taken  previously  much  pains  to  become  acquainted  with  the  early 
history  of  both  the  Paraguayan  and  Argentnie  republics.  During  the  previous  year  I 
had  written  a  good  deal  on  the  subject.  It  was  supposed  then  that  the  war  with  Bra- 
zil would  come  to  an  end  speedily,  the  object  on  the  part  of  Brazil  being  merely  to 
reduce  Paraguay  to  certain  boundaries  about  which  there  was  a  dispute. 

Q.  Were  there  any  police  regulations  in  Paraguay  in  reference  to  foreigners  coming 
and  resitling  there  ?— A.  I  was  obliged  to  report  to  the  chief  of  police  on  my  arrival  there, 
and  i)assi»ort.s  to  leave  the  country  had  to  be  obtained  from  the  police  office,  although 
in  liut  no  passports  were  given  except  by  the  direct  order  of  Lopez,  Avho  gave  or  with- 
held them  according  to  his  own  pleasure.  He  had  previously  been  in  the  habit  of  send- , 
ing  people  arbitrarily  out  of  the  country  without  any  cause,  or  of  detaining  them  there 
against  their  will  in  an  equally  arbitrary  manner.  There  was  a  treaty  m  existence 
between  Paraguay  and  the  United  States,  by  which  all  American  citizens  were  guar- 
anteed the  right  of  leaving  the  country  at  any  time ;  but,  as  I  have  said,  no  American 
minister  was  there,  and  no  consul  present  for  my  protection,  and  Lopez  not  being  in  the 
habit  of  obeying  the  stipulations  of  treaties  excej^t  so  far  as  he  chose  to  do  so,  there 
was  no  prospect  whatever,  so  long  as  he  regarded  me  with  suspicion,  that  he  would 
allow  me  to  leave. 

I  commenced  saying  that  at  that  time  it  was  supposed  that  the  war  then  in  existence 
between  Paraguay  and  Brazil  would  speedily  come  to  a  termination,  as  the  principal 
question  at  issue  to  be  determined  was  that  of  the  boundary  between  the  two  countries. 
It  was  a  question  in  dispute  when  these  countries  were  colonies  of  the  Portuguese  and  \ 
Spanish  governments;  was  in  dispute  when  those  governments  relinquished  their  claim 
to  these  countries,  and  had  never  been  settled  since.  I  was  very  familiar  with  the 
disputes  on  this  subject  that  had  occurred  between  the  Spanish  and  Portiiguose  govern- 
ments, a  hundred  years  or  more  previous,  and  I  thought  I  would  write  a  little  pamphlet 
which  would  occupy  a  month  or  two,  diuing  which  time  I  might  prosecute  other  inquiries 
which  were  to  me  of  more  importance.  I  thought  this  occupation,  without  connecting 
me  directly  with  the  government  in  any  way,  would  make  me  of  some  use  to  Lopez,  and 
would  serve  to  set  me  right  in  my  relations  with  him.  I  engaged  then  with  the  minister 
of  foreign  affairs  of  Paraguay  to  write  a  pamphlet  upon  the  boundaries  between  Paraguay 
and  Brazil,  under  the  supposition  that  it  would  probably  have  a  good  effect  when  the 
war  was  over  and  the  settlement  came  to  be  made.    I  therefore  inttnediately  set  to  work 


128  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION 

to  write  that  pamphlet,  and  was  engaged  upon  it  when  I  was  surprised  by  the  sudden 
declaration  of  war  upon  the  Argentine  government,  followed  hy  an  embargo  put  upon 
all  foreigners.  This  did  not  relate  to  me  particularly,  but  to  all  "foreigners  then  residing 
in  Paraguay,  prohibiting  them  from  leaving  that  country.  From  the  middle  of  March 
onward  nobody  was  allowed  to  leave  the  country,  and  "^the  same  continued  to  be  the 
case  during  the  entire  war;  although  foreigners  might  have  availed  themselves  of  the 
route  through  Bolivia  Avhich  was  still  left  open;  the  order  of  President  Lopez,  however, 
was  that  no  foreign  subject  should  leave  the  cotmtry. 

In  the  month  of  May,  finding  that  [  would  have  to  remain  in  the  country  for  the 
present,  and  my  stock  of  funds  being  ex  hausted,  the  enterprise  which  I  had  first  proposed 
to  the  government  having  become  ono  of  no  particular  consequence,  the  usefulness  ol 
which  would  have  to  be  postponed  for  an  indeiinite  period  of  time,  I  saw  Marshal  Lopez 
(he  then  having  received  the  title  of  marshal  in  addition  to  that  of  xjresident  of  the 
republic)  and  stated  that  as  I  had  no  funds,  and  no  other  means  of  support  in  Paraguay, 
I  had  desired  to  leave  before  that  time,  but  finding  myself  unable  to  do  so,  I  proposed 
to  write  the  history  of  the  republic  of  P.iraguay,  commencing  with  the  beginning  of  the 
settlement  of  that  country,  and  continu  ing  down  to  a  period  not  definittdy  fixed  upon, 
but  withiti  the  present  century.  President  Lopez  approved  of  that  i)osition  and  accepted 
it  verbally,  but  no  formal  contract  was  e^  er  made  out  and  signed ;  it  was  agreed  verbally 
that  I  was  to  receive  six  gold  ounces  per  month,  that  is  to  say  $96  in  gold,  during  the 
time  I  was  engaged  upon  this  literary  work.  In  addition  to  this,  I  was  to  receive  a 
further  and  larger  compensation  when  the  work  should  be  completed,  and  another 
allowance  for  the  purpose  of  publishing  the  work  simultaneously  in  French  and  English 
in  Europe.  That  is  to  say,  I  was  to  receive  $9Q  in  gold  monthly, /or  my  support,  not  to 
be  considered  in  the  nature  of  compensation,  and  I  was  to  receive  a  larger  allowance  at 
the  completion  of  the  work,  which  depended  on  the  satisfaction  which  the  results  of  my 
labor  might  give.  There  was  no  stipulated  sum  mentioned,  but  it  was  understood  that 
it  woukl  amount  to  several  thousand  dollars,  not  including  the  further  allowance  which 
I  have  mentioned  to  defray  the  expense  of  translating  and  printing  the  work  in  French 
and  English.  This  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1885.  My  residence  from  first  to  last  wliile 
in  Paraguay  was  at  Asuncion. 

Q.  State  what  progress  you  made  with  the  work,  and  what  facilities  were  afforded 
you  by  the  government. — A.  I  made  my  proposition  to  the  government,  expecting  to 
find  material  to  a  certain  extent  for  my  work  among  their  archives.  I  had  already  in 
my  possession  a  good  many  materials.  I  had  already  consulted  several  authorities  on 
the  subject  and  was  pretty  well  prepared  to  begin  the  works,  having  written  somewhat 
upon  the  subject  of  the  early  historj^  of  Paraguay  for  the  magazine  I  had  edited  before 
my  visit  to  Paraguay.  I  expected  the  minister  of  foreign  afiairs  would  afford  me  the 
means  of  consulting  different  works  I  might  need,  and  I  therefore  applied  to  be  allowed 
to  consult  the  archives  of  the  government,  where  there  would  be  found  a  great  many 
manuscripts  useful  for  my  purposes.  The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  gave  a  conditional 
assent  to  my  request,  and  I  was  allowed  to  consult  a  few  documents  under  the  eye  of 
the  person  who  was  their  keeper,  and  who  allowed  me  to  do  it  with  a  great  deal  of 
jealousy.  I  was  permitted  to  have  access  to  but  very  few  documents  in  the  public 
archives,  and  these  not  of  the  character  I  desired  to  examine.  In  point  of  fact  the  docu- 
ments I  was  allowed  to  see  in  the  archives  were  of  very  little  use  to  me,  and  though  I 
made  repeated  efforts  to  obtain  a  free  range  througli  the  archives  for  this  purpose  it 
was  never  conceded  to  me.  There  was  always  a  manifest  distrust  on  the  part  of  Lopez, 
whose  system  of  espionage  was  habitual,  not  only  in  regard  to  foreigners,  but  applied 
even  to  officers  of  his  own  government ;  in  fact  every  officer  was  supposed  to  be  a  spy 
upon  every  other. 

By  Mr.  Swaxn  : 

Q.  How  long  had  this  embargo  been  in  operation  before  you  made  your  arrange- 
ments to  write  the  Avork  you  have  mentioned  ? — A.  The  embargo  upon  foreigners  went 
into  operation  the  middle  of  March,  and  I  made  my  arrangements  with  President  Lopez 
for  writing  this  work  in  the  early  days  of  the  month  of  May.  I  continued  upon  that 
work,  I  can  scarcely  say  for  how  long ;  my  contract,  which  was  a  verbal  one,  Avas  never 
carried  into  effect  on  the  part  of  the  government.  I  never  received  a  single  month's 
pay  as  stipulated  in  the  contract.  When  I  had  commenced  my  work  and  made  some 
progress  in  it,  I  visited  the  minister  and  told  him  I  wished  to  draw  some  pay,  as  more 
than  a  month  had  elapsed  since  the  arrangement  made  with  Lopez  went  into  operation ; 
I  requested  him  to  make  out  an  order  for  the  amount  due  me.  He  represented  himself 
as  too  busy  at  that  time  to  attend  to  it ;  he  wanted  to  look  further  into  the  matter,  but 
said  he  would  give  mean  order  for  my  immediate  expenses  without  rf)ference  to  the 
contract ;  he  did  give  me  an  order  for  that  purpose,  I  think,  in  the  month  of  June. 
The  amount  I  received,  as  nearly  as  I  recollect,  on  that  occasion  was  $300  in  Para 
guayan  currency.  The  value  of  the  Paraguayan  dollar  fluctuated  during  the  war;  at 
that  time  it  was  depreciated  about  one-half  from  the  value  of  gold,  as  I  remember. 

Q.  Did  they  examin^  your  manuscripts  during  the  xjrogress  of  your  work? — ^A.  They 
did ;  every  month  I  submitted  the  manuscripts  as  far  as  I  had  progressed. 


PARAGUAYAN    LSVESTIGATION.  129 

• 

Q.  Did  Lopez  treat  yon  at  this  time  with  apparent  kindness? — A.  The  minister  of 
foreign  affairs,  to  whom  I  have  refeiTed,  was  the  person  with  whom  I  communicated 
the  most  of  the  time.  I  never  had  more  than  two  or  three  interviews  with  Lopez. 
Very  shortly  after  my  last  interview  with  him  he  left  his  capital  and  put  himself  iii 
campaign,  as  the  expression  was;  that  is  to  say,  he  took  command  of  his  army  person- 
ally. On  the  8th  of  June  he  left  his  capital  to  take  command  of  the  Paraf^uavan  armies 
aj^ainst  the  three  allied  powers ;  the  alliance  having  been  made  on  the  1st  day  of  May. 
Since  that  time  I  have  never  seen  Lopez ;  my  intercourse  with  him  was  carried  on 
entirely  through  his  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 

I  ought  to  have  said  previously  that  that  embargo  put  upon  foreigners  against  leav-" 
mg  the  country  applied,  nominally,  only  to  routes  through  the  countries  then  at  war 
with  Paraguay,  and  I  conceived  a  desire  to  leave  the  country  through  Bolivia.  By 
virtue  of  treaty  stipulations  with  the  United  States  it  was  guaranteed  that  American 
citizens  should  always  have  the  right  to  leave  the  coimtry,  makiug  no  excpton  in 
case  of  war ;  and  as  there  was  a  route  open  through  Bolivia  I  wished  to  leave  that 
way.  This  was  after  the  time  I  had  commenced  writing  the  pamphlet ;  I  was  still 
enduring  the  annoyance  of  the  system  of  espionage  under  which  I  had  been  suffering 
for  some  time.  But  1  had  come  to  receive  more  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  supposed  myself  to  be  on  better  terms  with  it.  This  was  before  making 
my  terms  with  President  Lopez  about  writing  the  history  of  the  repuLlic.  I  then 
made  application  through  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  leave  the  country  by  way  of 
Bolivia,  promising,  in  case  I  was  allowed  to  do  so,  that  I  would,  when  in  Bolivia,  use 
my  inlluence  by  writing  some  articles  for  the  papers  of  that  countrj-  in  favor  of  the 
cause  of  Paraguay  or  against  BrazO.  At  that  time  I  made  no  statement  in  respect  to 
the  other  two  powers.  I  considered  the  war  at  that  time  solely  as  regarded  Brazil,  and 
my  opinion  then  was,  that  in  so  far  as  the  question  of  limits  was  concerned,  the  Para- 
<;uayan  government  was  in  the  right.  I  considered  that  Brazil  had  always  been  In  the 
habit  of  grasping  unjustly  at  the  boundaries  or  limits  of  the  republics  around  her,  not 
only  in  resjjcct  to  I'araguay,  but  in  respect  to  all  the  other  countries  on  which  she 
bordered — the  Argentine  liepublic,  Uruguay,  Bolivia,  Peru,  Equador,  Colmnbia,  Vene- 
zuela, and  the  three  provinces  of  English,  French,  and  Dutch  Guiana.  Except  in  cer- 
tain cases  in  which  these  boundaries  have  been  very  recently  settled,  there  is  no  man 
living  who  can  tell  to-day  what  are  the  limits  of  Biazil  with  any  of  the  surrounding 
countries ;  I  mean  to  say,  unless  some  detiaite  treaties  have  been  negotiated  since  the 
time  I  went  to  Paraguay,  of  which  I  am  not  cognizant.  Brazil  has  always  played  the 
part  of  dog  iu  the  vianger ;  has  always  exercised  a  gra8i)ing  spirit  in  respect  to  these 
countries ;  and  I  considered,  so  far  as  the  question  of  limits  was  concerned.  Paraguay 
was  in  the  rigbt;  and  that  Bolivia  being  from  time  to  time  in  difficulty  with  Brazil 
upon  the  same  question  of  limits,  might  be  expected  to  sympathize  with  Paraguay  in 
this  struggle  so  far  as  that  question  extended.  I  cared  nothing  about  the  issues 
between  Paraguay  and  other  nations  beyond  my  desire  of  getting  away ;  but  I  made  the 
proposition  to  Lopez  in  good  faith,  and  would  have  canied  it  out  in  good  faith,  if  he 
had  agreed  to  the  jnoposition  I  nuide ;  that  is,  I  would  have  endeavored  to  exert  an 
inffuence  while  in  Bolivia,  througu  the  press  and  otherwise,  upon  public  opinion  there 
as  against  Brazil  in  respect  to  her  grasping  disposition  towards  the  suiTounding  coun- 
tries. This  proposition  wtus  favorably  received  by  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  and 
he  reported  upon  it  favorably  to  Lopez,  but  it  did  not  receive  the  assent  of  Lopez.  I 
saw  Lopez  in  person  after  tlus,  but  knowing  it  to  be  useless  to  attemjit  to  get  out  of 
the  country,  I  proposed  to  occupy  myself  during  my  involuntary  stay  iu  writing  the 
ancient  history  of  Paraguay,  as  before  stated. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  continue  engaged  upon  that  history  ? — A.  I  cannot  exactly  state,, 
for  the  reason  that  my  contract  was  not  complied  with  on  the  part  of  Lopez.  I  never 
received  a  single  monthly  payment,  although  I  repeatedly  requested  to  have  my  verbal 
contract  complied  with ;  but  I  was  always  met  by  some  excuse  or  delay ;  in  point  of 
fact  the  minister  of  foreign  affaii's  kept  the  matter  in  his  o\vn  hands  by  telling  me  he 
would  furnish  me  with  the  money  I  needed  as  fast  as  I  required,  and  for  about  a  year  I 
did  receive  the  money  I  actually,  needed  for  my  own  personal  expenses.  I  think  I 
received  four  payments  in  all,  amounting  to  a  thousand  dollars  in  the  currency  of  the 
country ;  the  value  of  the  paper  dollar  constantly  varying,  and  continually  becoming 
more  depreciated,  so  that  the  average  value  of  the  money  I  received  was  considerably 
less  than  half  its  nominal  value  in  gold.  I  therefore  reply  specifically  to  your  questiou 
that  I  supposed  myself  to  be  in  the  employ  of  Lopez  for  a  little  more  than  a  year;  but 
at  last  Lopez,  apparently  dissatisfied  with  my  progress  in  the  work,  and  perhaps  not 
liking  the  cautious  way  in  which  I  spoke  of  other  nations,  he  being  eager  that  I  should 
bring  my  history  down  to  more  modern  times,  and  especially  eager  that  I  should  write 
something  which  would  be  of  use  to  him  in  the  war,  which  I  Avas  as  equally  desirous, 
to  avoid.  I  was  at  last  met  with  a  refusal  to  supply  me  with  any  more  money.  This 
occiuTed  near  the  middle  of  1866,  as  near  as  I  can  remember.  (Mr.  Washburn  aiTived 
in  the  country  the  2d  of  November,  1866.)  And  when  finally  I  was  met  with  a  refusal 
to  give  me  any  more  money,  I  considered  myself  as  disengaged  and  ceased  to  write  any 

9pi 


130  PARAGUAYAN  *  INVESTIGATION. 

•  , 
further.    I  had  th^n  brought  my  history  down  to  about  tho  year  1810,  and  during  all 
this  time  I  had  continued  to  be  more  or  less  an  object  of  suspicion.    The  reason  of  tiiat, 
I  suppose,  was  that  I  had  not  met  his  anticipations  in  the  history  I  had  written. 

I  should  have  stated  that  different  instalments  of  my  history  were  sent  regularly  to 
Lopez's  headquarters  and  examined  by  him.  The  official  Paraguayan  style  of  writing 
there,  has  always  been  a  most  fulsome  style  of  adulation  of  the  powers  that  be.  During 
the  war  there  has  not  been  a  single  article  allowed  to  appear  in  the  official  x>apers  which 
did  not  have  some  reference  to  the  war,  and  did  not  contain  extravagant  praise  of 
Lopez.  I  wished  to  write  this  liistory  in  a  manner  that  should  meet  tho  approbation 
of  my  own  conscience;  I  wished  to  write  it  dispassionately,  and  to  keep  as  free  from 
the  appearance  of  being  a  partisan  as  possible ;  I  wished  to  write  something  which  I 
might  publish  in  Europe  without  being  ashamed  of.  I  suppose  Lopez  was  disappointed 
in  my  not  making  more  frequent  reference  to  him,  and  in  my  not  paying  more  adulation 
to  him;  at  all  events  I  was  at  last  met  with  a  refusal  to  give  me  any  more  money. 
From  that  time  I  sank  into  extreme  poverty ;  sometimes  I  really  did  not  know  how  to 
obtain  my  daily  food,  and  I  was  obliged  to  seek  loans  of  money  from  persons  who  had 
become  my  personal  friends  there.  I  lived  in  a  most  miserable  stylo,  and  had  become 
reduced  to  the  lowest  condition  of  poverty  some  time  before  Mr.  Washburn  arrived.  I 
might  have  obtained  large  sums  of  money  from  Lopez  if  I  had  chosen  to  accei)t  the 
part  of  a  flatterer,  or  if  I  had  chosen  to  place  myself  in  his  service  absolutely,  and  to 
do  what  he  might  desire  mo  to  do  in  respect  to  the  war ;  but  I  did  not  choose  to  be  so. 
There  was  nothing  in  my  manuscript  which  ought  to  have  given  Lopez  any  offense ;  it 
was  a  fair  and  impartial  account  of  the  settlement  of  that  country  in  the  earaly  part  of 
its  history,  and  was  never  brought  down  later  than  1810 — that  is,  later  than  a  period  of 
nearly  CO  years  ago. 

Q.  Did  Lopez  retain  your  manuscript? — A.  No;  it  was  returned  to  me.  Not  being 
used  by  Lopez,  his  minister  of  foreign  affairs  returned  it  to  me  with  some  suggestions 
as  to  changes  in  the  early  portions  of  it;  the  latter  portions  submitted  to  him  were 
returned  to  me  without  remark.  They  remained  in  my  jjossession,  as  they  ought  to 
have  done,  I  having  never  been  paid  for  my  labor  in  writing  at  all ;  and  I  considered 
myself  released  from  all  obligations  to  the  Paraguayan  government  in  connection  with 
the  matter.  When  Mr.  Washburn  left  Paraguay  as  I  had  previously  confided  the  manu- 
script to  his  care,  he  took  it  with  him,  and  it  is  now  in  this  country  in  his  custody. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  After  jMi\  Washburn  arrived,  what  relations  came  to  exist  between  you  and 
him  ? — A.  I  met  Mr.  Washburn  as  an  old  friend.  I  had  been  cut  off  for  many  months 
from  a  knowledge  of  all  events  outside  of  Paraguay.  From  the  time  of  the  blockade  of 
that  country,  about  the  middle  of  March,  1865, 1  had  received  scarcely  any  information 
<>ither  from  the  United  States  or  from  any  other  part  of  the  world  outside  of  Paraguay. 
I  did  not  hear  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  until,  I  think,  the  month  of 
September,  1865,  and  I  then  heard  of  his  assassination  at  the  same  time  that  I  received 
the  news  of  the  final  collapse  of  the  confederacy,  and  of  various  measures  of  reconstruc- 
tion, covering  two  or  three  months  of  the  administration  of  the  new  President.  The 
arrival  of  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  eagerly  anticipated,  not  only  by  myself  but  by  a 
great  many  foreigners  there,  who  then  anticipated  a  close  of  the  Paraguayan  war  at 
almost  any  time.  They  were  under  the  same  delusion  that  the  people  of  tluis  country 
were  under  in  resi)ect  to  tho  late  civil  war.  Believing  all  the  time  it  would  close  within 
a  few  months,  the  foreigners  in  Paraguay  looked  upon  Mr.  Washburn  as  the  coming  man, 
.  and  believed  that  when  the  Avar  should  terminate  he  would  be  able  to  afford  them  the 
protection  of  which  they  expected  to  stand  in  very  great  need.  Great  apprehension 
was  felt  by  the  residents  of  Asuncion,  both  native  and  foreign,  that  the  allied  armies  on 
the  fall  of  the  capital  of  Paraguay  would  sack  and  pillage  the  city  and  country ;  and 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Washburn  as  the  only  foreign  minister  there,  was  believed  to  be  of 
the  greatest  importance  in  that  event,  supposing  he  might  exert  his  authority  and 
influence  for  the  protection  of  persons  and  property  from  tlie  general  j>illage  which  was 
■  expected  by  the  allied  forces.  His  arrival  certainly  occasioned  me  great  joy.  I  met 
him  as  soon  as  he  arrived,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  him  two  or  three  times  a  day 
for  a  long  time,  even  before  an  arrangement  which  I  subsequently  made  with  him  to 
coUect  information  to  be  used  by  him  in  the  preparation  of  a  work  on  Paraguay. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Were  you  then  a  member  of  his  family  ? — A.  I  was  not;  I  resided  in  my  own 
house.  I  did  not  reside  under  the  same  roof  with  him  until  more  than  a  year  after  his 
return  there.  As  I  have  stated,  shortly  after  Mr.  Washburn's  arrival,  I  was  engaged  by 
him  to  collect  information  to  be  used  by  him  in  his  work  on  Paraguay.  I  continued  in 
that  employment  for  a  number  of  months.  It  was  for  a  work  which  has  not  yet  been 
published,  and  which  partakes  in  its  character  both  of  history,  of  impressions  of  the 
country,  and  other  features  of  a  miscellaneous  character.  My  own  quota  of  the  mate- 
rial contributed  to  it  was  chiefly  historical  in  its  character.  I  also  placed  at  his  ser- 
vice, to  be  used  in  the  way  of  consultation,  the  matter  I  had  been  writing  for  the  Para- 


PARIGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  131 

giiayan  government.  They  having  hroken  their  conti-act  with  me,  and  I  being  no 
longer  in  their  service,  as  I  have  said,  I  deemed  the  material  collected  to  be  properly 
my  own,  and  I  loaned  it  to  Mr.  Washburn  to  be  consulted  by  him  in  writing  some  his- 
torical chapter  for  his  own  work.  The  manuscript  written  by  him  was  in  the  Spanish 
language. 

Q.  Was  it  known  by  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  there  that  you  were  engaged  in 
this  work  in  common  ^vith  Mr.  Washbnm  ?— A.  It  was  known  extra-ofiacially.  I  never 
stated  it  to  him  as  a  matter  of  duty  on  my  part^  because  I  considered  my  relations  with 
the  government  as  having  ceased.  My  private  relations  to  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs  continued  to  be  tolerably  satisfactory,  and  I  would  sometimes  see  him,  generally 
on  public  occasions.  I  made  no  secret  of  the  circumstance  that  I  was  collecting  facts 
for  Mr.  Washburn,  but  I  did  not  consider  myself  bound  to  make  any  official  report  on 
the  subject. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  The  relations  between  yourself  and  Mr.  Washburn  were  perfectly  agreeable  ? — A. 
Generally  speaking,  they  were.  Mr.  Washburn  at  that  time  enjoyed  great  favor  with 
the  government  ot  Lopez.  I  was,  in  connection  with  this  matter,  under  the  nece^ssity 
of  consulting  a  great  many  of  the  old  residents  of  Paraguay.  I  especially  consulted 
them  respecting  the  historj'  of  the  dictator.  Dr.  Francia.  They  amounted  to  30  or  40 
of  the  oldest  and  most  intelligent  persons  whom  I  could  tind,  and  I  obtained  much 
information  from  them  for  Mr.  Washbuni,  and  also  for  myself,  as  I  still  cherished  an 
expectation  of  being  able  to  make  some  use  of  this  material  at  another  period.  My 
business  in  this  connection  was  of  course  perfectly  well  known  to  the  Paraguayan  gov- 
ernment, because  that  government  makes  itself  acquainted  with  everything  that  m 
going  on  by  means  of  its  system  of  espionage. 

Mr.  Washburn  apparently  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  Paraguayan  government  for  more 
than  a  year  after  iiis  arrival  in  that  country.  So  far  as  I  can  understand  from  his 
expressions,  then  and  since,  I  should  judge  that  Mr.  Washburn  sympathized  in  a  meas- 
ure witli  the  Paraguayan  peo])le  in  their  struggle.  He  never  sjTnpatliized  with  Lojicz, 
personally,  because  he  always  knew  his  character,  but  he  did  sympathize  to  a  certain 
extent  with  the  people  of  Paraguay. 

It  is  somewliat  irrelevant  to  this  investigation,  but  I  nevertheless  think  it  well  for 
me  to  state  another  fact  showing  Mr.  Washburn's  friendly  relations  with  the  Para- 
guayan government.  Without  even  the  previous  knowledge  of  our  government, 
although  in  conformity  with  its  spirit,  he  tendered  his  mediation  in  the  struggle  going 
on,  which  mediation  was  accepted  by  Lopez  in  the  mcmth  of  March,  1867.  In  that 
month  Mr.  Washburn  had  an  interview  with  Lopez  at  his  headquarters.  Afterwards 
he  passed  through  the  Paraguayan  lines  for  the  purpose  of  an  interview  with  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  allied  forces.  Mr.  Washbuiii  spent,  I  think,  two  days  in  the 
camp  of  the  allies  as  a  guest  of  their  commander-in-chief,  who  was  then  the  Marquis 
of  Caxias,  a  Brazilian  nobleman.  Mr.  Washburn's  offer  of  mediation  was  upon  the 
basis  of  the  reciprocal  independence  of  the  countries,  including  the  retention  of  Lopez 
himself  as  the  head  of  the  government  of  Paraguay.  The  offer  was  refused  by  the 
allies,  upon  the  ground  that  they  had  bound  themselves  by  treaty  never  to  make  any 
terms  with  Lopez,  and  never  to  desist  from  war  until  they  had  overthrown  him.  After 
recei\dng  this  reply  from  the  Marquis  of  Caxias,  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  him  a  somewhat 
indignant  letter,  which  has  been  published,  in  which  he  took  the  ground  that,  what- 
ever might  be  the  facts  of  the  case  as  regarded  the  conduct  of  Marshal  Lopez  in  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  the  allies  ought  to  be  willing  to  treat  with  him  as  the  head  of 
an  independent  government,  and  that  their  expressed  determination  to  desist  from 
war  only  on  the  overthrow  of  that  government  ought  not  to  be  satisfactory  to  neutral 
governments.  This  letter  of  Mr.  Washbuni  was  considered  by  Lopez  as  being  a  masterly 
production  and  very  satisfactory  to  himself.  He  said  that  Mr.  Washburn  in  that  letter 
had  rendered  him  a  very  essential  service,  by  protesting  in  behalf  of  neutral  governments 
against  the  positions  assumed  by  the  allies.  After  two  days'  conference  within  the  allied 
lines,  as  I  have  stated,  Mr.  Washburn  returned,  saw  Lopez  again  and  gave  an  account 
of  the  unsatisfactory  result  of  his  interview.  Lopez  expressed  himself  grateful  for  the 
spirit  he  had  shown,  and  the  efforts  he  had  made  in  favor  of  the  independence  of  Para- 
guay, and  Mr.  Washburn  returned  to  Asuncion,  enjoying  apparently  the  high  favor  of 
Lopez.  I  mention  this  because  one  of  the  charges  against  Mr.  Washburn,  in  connection 
with  the  supposed  conspiracy  which  was  trumped  up,  and  which  caused  the  death  of 
80  many  victims,  was  that  under  the  shelter  of  his  position  as  an  American  minister  he 
had  ingratiated  himself  with  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces,  and  had  there 
been  concerned  in  maneuvers  directed  against  the  Paraguayan  government.  This  was 
in  March,  1867.  ^ 

Affairs  continued  dming  the  entire  year  of  1867  apparently  without  any  change  in 
the  friendly  relations  between  Mr.  Washbiu-n  and  the  Paraguayan  government.  The  first 
serious  cause  of  disagreement  between  them  was  as  late  as  the  month  of  February, 
1868.    In  that  month  the  iron-clad  fleet  of  the  allies  succeeded  in  forcing  its  way  pa«t 


132  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  principal  fortress  of  the  Paraguayans  called  Humayt^,  and  two  of  their  iron-clads, 
meeting  with  no  further  opposition,  ascended  the  river  as  far  as  Asuncion,  the  capital 
of  tlu)  republic.  On  the  approach  of  these  iron-clads,  the  vice-president  of  the  republic, 
Don  Francisco  Sanchez,  wlio  Avas  at  the  head  of  a  sort  of  phantom  government  at 
Asuncion,  being  cut  off  from  communication  with  Marshal  Lopez,  took  the  responsi- 
bility upon  himself,  (probably  in  conformity  with  previous  instructions  from  Lopez,  in 
the  possible  contingency  which  had  now  occurred,)  to  order  the  entire  evacuation  of 
Asuncion  by  all  its  inhabitants ;  declaring  at  the  same  time  the  toA\Ti  a  military  post, 
to  be  garrisoned  by  the  few  hundred  Paraguayan  soldiers  whom  he  had  at  his  disposal. 
Forty-eight  hours  was  given  for  tlie  evacuation ;  and  all  tlie  residents,  both  native  and 
foreign,  in  that  time  evacuated  the  city,  going,  in  accordance  with  orders  given,  to  cer- 
tain towns  in  the  interior. 

Q.  What  was  the  population  of  Asuncion  ? — A.  The  population  has  been  variously 
stated  by  different  authorities.  By  some  it  has  been  stated  as  high  as  40,000 ;  in  my 
opinion  the  city  never  contained  more  than  20,000.  I  should  state  that  I  believe  the 
passports,  directing  parties  to  go  to  particular  towns  named  in  the  interior,  applied  only 
to  foreigners,  of  whom  there  were  several  hundred  then  in  Asuncion.  Natives  were 
allowed  a  larger  liberty,  and  permitted  to  choose  the  i^lace  of  their  new  residence,  but 
no  facilities  were  furnished  them  to  move  their  effects.  A  great  majority  of  them  had 
no  beasts  of  burden  or  conveyances,  and  were  obliged — including  many  people  of  rank — 
to  make  the  transit  of  20  or  40  miles  with  their  families  and  little  ones  on  foot.  Ui)  to 
this  time  I  had  never  had  any  nominal  connection  with  the  legation,  although  being 
in  daily  intercourse  with  Mr.  Wasliburn  and  in  his  employ  for  the  purpose  of  collect- 
ing the  information  I  have  stated  and  otherwise,  as  was  perfectly  well  known.  I  had 
occasionally  kno-UTi  of  his  correspondence  with  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and  had 
frequently  assisted  him  in  the  translation  of  official  documents.  I  had  known  the  con- 
tents of  some  of  liis  dispatches  written  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  Washing-ton,  and 
was  living  with  him  on  terms  of  great  familiarity.  I  was  pretty  well  posted  in  all  he 
did  in  discharging  the  duties  of  his  position.  At  this  time,  however,  as  it  was  supposed 
by  us  all  that  the  arrival  of  the  two  Brazilian  iron-clads  would  be  speedily  followed  by 
all  the  other  vessels  of  the  allied  squadron,  and  by  the  allied  army,  none  of  us  having 
any  impression  that  the  war  would  be  continued  for  more  than  a  few  days  longer,  and 
as  there  certainly  was  good  reason  for  supposing  the  war  would  then  close,  Mr.  Wash- 
burn took  upon  himself  to  render  a  very  essential  service,  to  the  Paraguayans,  as  well 
as  others,  by  protecting  the  X)roi)erty  of  prominent  families  from  sack  and  pillage  by  the 
allies.  I  know  that  it  was  his  hope  that  he  might  render  available  the  protection  which 
his  position  afforded,  not  oidy  in  behalf  of  his  friends,  but  also  in  behalf  of  prominent 
natives  and  foreigners  who  were  there,  by  allowing  them  refuge  under  his  flag.  Bie 
resided  in  a  building  which  covered  an  entire  square,  and  in  which  there  was  room 
enough  to  give  protection  to  hundreds  of  people.  Mr.  Washburn  was  actuated  by  the 
best  intentions  in  that  respect,  and  had  always  looked  forward  to  the  probability  of  his 
being  able  to  render  important  services  under  such  circumstances.  It  was  probable, 
then,  that  he  would  have  a  great  deal  of  correspondence  on  his  hands,  not  merely  with 
the  Paraguayan  government  then  in  existence,  but  with  another  de  facto  government 
that  might  be  set  up,  and  also  with  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  armies.  In 
these  labors  I  could  be  of  great  service  to  him,  because  I  was  familiar  with  Spanish  and 
Portuguese,  as  also  with  the  Guarani  language  of  the  Paraguayans.  It  was  probable 
that  my  being  with  him  would  be  of  great  importance  to  him  under  the  circumstances 
anticipated.  He  invited  me  therefore  to  become  a  member  of  his  legation,  as  I  had  been 
in  fact  for  a  long  time  connected  with  it.  I  was  appointed  translator  to  the  legation,  and 
as  such  I  was  not  subject  to  the  requisition  of  the  police  department  to  go  to  its  head- 
quarters and  receive  a  passport  to  some  interior  town.  Mr.  Wasliburn  himself  declined 
to  obey  that  order,  which  was  communicated  to  him,  not  technically  in  the  fonn  of  an 
order,  but  in  a  way  which  showed  the  government  expected  he  would  retire  with  every- 
body to  the  interior.  He  informed  the  government  that  he  considered  himself  as 
accredited  to  the  capital  of  the  republic,  and  that  he  should  not  retire  to  the  interior. 

Q.  Was  that  order  complied  with  generally  by  the  citizens? — A.  It  was  enforced 
unsparingly,  and  was  complied  with  by  all  the  citizens,  and  also  by  the  foreign  consuls 
there.  They  first  consulted  Mr.  Washburn  as  to  whether  or  not  they  should  obey  it ; 
Mr.  Washburn  gave  them  his  advice  to  remain  and  stand  up  for  their  rights ;  but  a 
maiiority  of  them  seemed  to  think  it  would  be  best«to  leave,  although  Mr.  Washburn 
stated  to  them  that  he  would  not  leave  Asuncion  himself.  He  was  the  only  diplomatic 
representative  there,  and  with  his  legation  and  those  under  his  protection  were  the  only 
persons  who  remained  in  Asuncion,  except  the  soldiers  who  formed  the  gari'ison,  the  town 
having  been  declaa-ed  a  military  post.  Besides  myself,  Mr.  Washburn  also  invited 
another  American  citizen,  by  the  name  of  James  Manlove,  to  become  a  member  of  his 
legation,  and  we  both  of  us  expected  that  in  the  multiplicity  of  persons  who  had 
deposited  their  valuables  there  for  his  protection — at  least  100  in  number — we  sljoukl 
be  of  great  use  in  the  business  he  had  to  transact.  Many  persons  of  wealtli  brought 
their  valuables  and  deposited  them  with  Mr.  Washburn  for  safe-keepiug,  without  requir- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  133 

ing  or  receiving  any  receipt  from  him.  They  had  such  confidence  in  his  integrity  that 
they  brought  their  money  and  jeweh-y.  and  intrusted  them  to  his  good  faith.  He 
expressly  stated  to  them  that  he  could  not  give  receipts,  that  he  would  endeavor  to 
restore  to  each  his  property,  but  that  he  could  make  no  conditions  connected  with  the 
deposit.  He  did  not,  as  was  subsequently  asserted,  demand  a  percentage  for  their  safe- 
keeping, but  on  the  contraiy  said  he  would  make  no  conditions  at  all.  He  said  to 
them:  "Whatever  property  you  leave  with  me  will  receive  the  full  protection  of  mv 
flag,  as  far  as  I  can  give  it,  and  will  be  returned  to  you  when  possible  under  better 
auspices."  In  order  to  take  cognizance  of  this  large  amount  of  property,  it  was 
very  expedient  and  pro])cr  that  an  additional  force  should  be  attached  to  the  legation, 
especially  in  view  of  the  contingencies  tljat  might  arise.  The  same  day  that  Mr.  Man- 
love  and  myself  received  our  api)oiutmeuts,  Mr.  Washburn  sent  to  the  minister  of  for- 
eign affairs  a  list  of  the  members  of  his  legation  for  his  information.  From  this  list,  by 
inadvertence,  the  name  of  Mr.  Masterman  was  omitted.  Mr.  Mastennan  had  been  a 
member  of  his  family  for  nearly  six  mouths,  or  sinc^  some  time  in  October  previous, 
after  he  was  lilxi  alcd  from  prison  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Washburn.  The  next  day  after- 
ward, Mr.  Washburn  sent  a  sup})lemental  list  which  included  Mr.  Masterman. 

Q.  The  minister  of  foreigii  aifairs  had  not  retired  from  the  city  ? — A.  He  did  retire ; 
this,  however,  occurred  during  the  48  hours  given  for  persons  to  leave.  At  the  end  of 
that  48  hours  both  the  Vice-President  and  the  minister  of  foreign  aft'airs  retired. 

Q.  Did  they  remove  the  public  archives  ? — A.  They  did  remove  them  to  Luque,  a  point 
about  10  miles  east  of  Asuncion,  on  the  lino  of  railroad — the  only  railroad  in  Paraguay. 
At  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion,  several  of  the  English  residents,  formerly  in 
the  employ  of  the  government,  solicited  pel-mission  to  occupy  some  of  the  buildings 
belonging  to  the  American  legation,  for  the  pni-pose  of  living  there  until  the  storm  should 
be  over,  as  it  was  expected  the  war  would  be  fanished  in  a  few  days.  They  had  been  in 
the  sersuce  of  the  Paraguayan  government  as  engineers,  mechanics,  &c.,  but  their 
contracts  had  expired.  There  were  20  or  25  of  them,  including  women  and  children. 
There  were  also  two  Uruguayan  gentlemen,  one  of  whom,  Don  Francisco  Rodriguez 
Larreta,  had  come  to  the  country  as  charg6  d'afliiires,  and  the  other,  Dr.  Carreras,  had 
formerly  been  minister  from  the  republic  of  Uruguay  to  Paraguay,  and  had  been  prime 
minister  in  his  own  country. 

By  Mr.  Washburn  : 

Q.  In  what  capacity  did  Mr.  Rodriguez  come  to  Paraguay? — A.  He  was  a  Uruguayan 
gentleman  who  came  to  Paraguay  in  the  month  of  May,  1864,  as  secretary  of  the 
legation  of  what  is  called  the  Oriental  republic  of  Uruguay,  of  which  Montevideo 
is  the  capital.  When  the  war  commenced,  the  minister  who  was  over  him  left  the 
country,  and  ho  remainexl  as  charg6  d'affaires.  He  continued  there  until  his  execution, 
which  took  place  in  August  last;  he  having  been  executed  by  order  of  Lopez.  The 
other  gentleman,  Dr.  Cju'reras,  was  a  Uruguayan  statesman  of  very  large  experience  in 
public  life,  having  been  three  times  a  cabinet  minister  in  tliat  country,  and  on  the  last 
occasion  having  been  virtually  the  head  of  the  government.  He  had  also,  before  the 
war.  been  the  minister  of  Uraguay  in  Paraguay,  and  had  been  a  decided  friend  of  Lopez 
before  the  war,  sympathizing  very  hearfily  with  him  in  his  enterprise  as  against  the 
Brazilians.  This  Dr.  Carreras,  having  opposed  the  Brazilians,  and  the  govenmient  to 
which  he  belonged  having  been  overtlirown  by  them  in  February,  1865,  was  obliged  to 
leave  Montevideo  with  a  few  of  his  friends.  They  succeeded  in  crossing  the  lines  of  the 
allies  into  Paraguay,  where  he  ottered  his  services  to  Lopez.  His  advice  would  have 
been  of  great  importance  to  Lopez,  who  received  him  apparently  upon  friendly  terms, 
but  did  not  assign  him  to  any  situation.  Ho  gave  him  no  pecuniary  assistance,  but 
recommended  him  to  go  to  the  cajiital  and  live  there,  which  he  did,  in  a  very  quiet 
secluded  way,  taking  no  part  in  public  aifairs  and  making  no  public  manifestations. 
This  continued  until  the  time  of  the  evacuation,  as  I  have  stated. 

Q.  Did  he  state  to  Lopez  what  valuable  service  he  could  perform  for  him? — A.  He 
did;  he  on  more  than  one  occasion  proposed  to  the  government  of  President  Loyiez  to 
go  to  Bolivia,  and  from  there  to  the  other  republics,  Chili  and  Peru,  with  a  special  mis- 
sion from  Lopez,  to  stir  up  public  opinion  in  these  republics  in  favor  of  Paraguay  and 
against  Brazil.  His  influence  could  have  been  exerted  most  potently  in  this  direction, 
and  he  would  have  desired  nothing  better  than  to  exert  it  against  Brazil,  in  whatever 
part  of  the  world  he  could.  However,  a  short  time  before  the  circumstances  to  which 
I  am  refeiTiug,  an  uncle  of  his  had  died  in  Bolivia,  leaving  him  a  large  property  ther 
in  mines,  amounting  to  $150,000,  which  gave  him  an  additional  reason,  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  it,  for  desiring  to  go  to  that  country. 

ByMr.  OiiTH: 

Q.  What  became  of  Carreras?— A.  He  was  shot  on  the  27th  of  September  last, 
by  order  of  Lopez,  for  the  alleged  crime  of  conspiracy,  as  having  been  an  accom- 
plice of  Mr.  Washburn,  Mr.  Masterman,  myself,  and  many  others.  The  purpose  of  this 
conspiracy  was  charged  to  be  the  removal  of  Marshal  Lopez  from  the  government. 

I  have  previously  stated  that  up  to  this  time  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that 


134  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Mr.  Washburn  was  iu  bad  odor  with  the  goverument  of  President  Loj^ez,  but  rathei 
the  reverse,  as  Mr.  Washbiuii  had  certainly  given  Lopez  reason,  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion, to  thank  him  for  his  conduct.  Mr.  Washburn  had  exercised  his  influence  repeat- 
edly to  olitain  the  pacification  of  the  conflict  going  on  with  the  enemies  of  the  republic 
of  Paragniay,  and  had  done  all  that  he  could  to  acconii)lish  that  object,  without  exacting 
any  stipulations  or  conditions  in  respect  to  his  services ;  and  at  the  very  time  this  evac- 
uation Was  going  on,  he  endeavored  to  render  a  great  service  by  receiving  valuable 
property  of  residents  of  Paraguay  under  his  protection.  This  fact  ought  to  have 
recommended  him  still  further  to  Lopez;  but,  probably  owing  to  the  circumstance 
that  Mr.  Washburn  declined  to  leave  the  city  of  Asuncion,  when  it  was  exi)ected  that 
he  would  lcav(i,  and  of  his  taking  under  his  protection  these  Uruguayan  gentlemen, 
jfrom  that  time  onward  he  seems  to  have  become  an  object  of  suspicion.  In  reply  to 
the  note  of  Mr.  Washburn  sending  the  supplemental  list  of  the  members  of  Ids  lega- 
tion, including  Mr.  Masterman,  Mr.  Manlove,  and  myself,  he  received  a  note  from  the 
minister  of  foreign  affairs  in  which,  acting  probably  under  previous  instructions  from 
Lopez,  he  declared  that  he  would  not  recognize  Mr.  Manlove  or  myself  as  being  attaches 
to  the  legation,  entitled  to  have  the  freedom  of  the  city.  In  the  notes  sent  by  Mr. 
Washburn  giving  the  list  of  the  members  of  his  legation,  he  used  the  word  service.  He 
stated  that  owing  to  the  extraordinary  circumstances  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  take 
into  the  service  of  the  legation  Mx.  Bliss,  Mr.  Manlove,  and  several  other  persons  named. 
Of  course  the  word  semce  does  not  necessarily  imply  d'om^s/jc  service;  the  officers  of 
a  government  are  in  the  service  of  that  government ;  but  the  translator  of  that  note 
into  Spanish  rendered  the  word  service  by  a  Spanish  vf  ord  which  implied  that  we  were 
seiX'ants;  and  in  reply  the  minister  expresses  his  surprise  that  Mr.  Manlove  and  myself 
should  consent  to  accept  the  positions  of  servants,  and  stated  that  as  he  had  known 
these  gentlemen  not  to  belong  to  that  condition  of  life,  he  could  not  recognize  them  as 
servants  of  the  legation,  and  as  the  police  have  orders  to  arrest  all  persons  in  the  street, 
not  especially  privileged,  we  had  better  not  go  outside  of  the  legation.  Mr.  Washburn 
had  not  previously  stated  in  what  capacity  we  were  taken  into  the  service  of  the  lega- 
tion ;  this  circumstance,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Washburn's  refusal  to  leave  the  city, 
served,  I  presume,  to  prejudice  Lopez  against  him.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  on 
the  day  on  which  the  evacuation  was  decreed,  a  consultation  took  place  between  Mr. 
Washburn  and  the  foreign  consuls  in  which  Mr.  Washburn  advised  them  to  remain, 
while  they  by  a  majority  of  voices  thought  it  best  to  leave. 

By  Mr.  Washburn: 
Q.  Do  you  know  what  reason  was  given,  for  instance  by  the  French  consul,  for 
leaving? — A.  I  have  the  impression  that  it  was  from  personal  fear  of  the  bombardment 
of  the  city;  I  do  not  remember  distinctly.  Before  the  expiration  of  a  complete  month 
from  the  evacuation  according  to  my  recollection,  Mr.  Manlove  was  arrested  in  the 
streets  in  accordance  with  what  the  government  had  previously  announced,  but,  of 
course,  in  utter  violation  of  his  rights  as  a  member  of  the  American  legation.  The 
authorities  had  notified  us  that  they  would  not  regard  him  as  a  member  of  the  legation, 
and  he  was  accordingly  arrested  while  in  the  streets  for  nothing  except  the  fact  of  his 
being  in  the  street  contrary  to  general  orders'.  On  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  March, 
1868,  he  left  the  legation  and  went  over  to  the  house  of  a  Frenchman,  which  was 
of  course  deserted,  as  all  the  houses  in  the  city  were ;  the  keys  of  the  house  had  been 
left  in  his  possession  by  the  owner,  and  he  went  over  with  the  intention  of  getting 
something  from  the  house ;  the  contents  of  the  house  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal. 
He  was  just  in  the  act  of  entering  the  house  when  some  policemen  passed  by  and 
questioned  him  as  to  what  he  was  doing ;  he  replied  that  he  had  authority  from  the 
owner  to  enter  the  house.  They  insisted  on  his  going  with  them  and  presenting  him- 
self to  the  chief  of  police ;  he  declined  to  go  and  returned  to  his  house  followed  by  the 
police,  who  still  continued  to  insist  upon  his  going.  He  did  not  have  to  pass  through 
Mr.  Washburn's  house  to  get  to  his  own  quarters.  Mr.  Washburn  was  not  at  home 
at  the  time.  I  was  living  at  my  own  house  at  that  time,  but  shortly  after  that  I  came 
over  to  Mr.  Manlove's  residence,  while  the  altercation  with  the  police  was  going  on.  I 
knew  nothing  of  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  but  informed  myself  quickly,  and  as  Mr. 
Washburn  was  not  there  and  the  police  insisted  on  Mr.  Manlove's  going  down  to  their 
headquarters,  Mr.  Washburn's  relations  not  having  been  up  to  this  time  of  a  disagree- 
able character,  it  was  supposed  the  matter  could  be  easily  explained  by  going  down  to 
the  office  of  the  chief  of  police,  and  I  offered  to  accompany  Mr.  Manlove  there.  Mr. 
Manlove  consented  to  go,  but  said  to  the  policemen,  "  I  will  not  go  with  you  under  arrest ;  ' 
if  you  simply  request  me  to  go  down  and  make  an  explanation  to  the  chief  of  police,  I 
will  go."  They  said,  "  No,  we  will  not  arrest  you."  In  order  to  make  the  matter  per- 
fectly clear,  we  insisted  that  the  jwlicemen  should  take  one  street  and  we  another, 
which  was  done,  and  we  arrived  at  the  police  headquarters  by  different  routes  about 
the  same  time.  I  went  in  with  Mr.  Manlove,  acting  as  his  interpreter,  as  he  did  not 
speak  Spanish.  I  had  hardly  commenced  the  explanation  before  the  chief  of  police  very 
rudely  sent  me  outside,  where  I  sat  down  on  a  bench.  After  some  time  Mr.  Manlove 
came  out  and  sat  down  by  me;  the  chief  of  police  then  stated  that  I  was  to  return  to 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  135 

the  legation,  but  that  Mr.  Manlovo  must  remain,  without  giving  any  further  explana- 
tion. Wo  se[>arate(l  then,  I  saying  to  Mr.  Manlovc  that  Mr.  Washburn  would  soon  be 
at  home,  and  tliat  whatever  little  difficulties  there  might  be,  he,  Maulove,  would  doubt- 
less return  b(^fore  ni^ht  and  everything  would  be  straightened.  I  had  no  doubt  then 
that  the  matter  would  be  arranged  and  that  Mr.  Maulove  woidd  return  and  sleep  at 
home  that  night,  but  that  was  the  laat  time  I  ever  saw  him ;  he  was  executed  by  order 
of  Lopez  in  August  last. 

Q.  StJito  whether  Mr.  Washburn  had  any  difficulty  on  account  of  an  obnoxious  per- 
son being  present  in  Mr.  Manlove's  house,  whom  he  (Mr.  Washburn)  regarded  as  a  spy? 
— A.  There  was.  The  facts  of  the  case,  I  think,  are  well  known  to  the  committee, 
through  the  published  documents,  and  I  will  only  say  that  Mr.  Maulove,  i)reviou8  to 
his  leaving  for  the  last  time,  had  a  misunderstanding  with  Mr.  Washbura,  and  had 
concluded  to  leave  the  legation  premises  and  go  to  reside  in  another  house.  Mr.  Man- 
love  remained  in  prison  in  Asiuicion  imtil  July  14,  1868,  during  which  time  his  meals 
were  sent  to  him  in  pri.'3on  every  day  from  the  American  legation.  Mr.  Washbiirn 
engaged  in  coiTespondence  in  his  behalf  with  the  minister  of  foreign  affaire,  but  unsuc- 
cessfully. 

Q.  What  became  of  the  persons  Mr.  Washburn  employed  to  take  Mr.  Manlove's 
meals  to  him  ? — A.  Tliey  were  successively  an*<;sted  in  tli'e  streets  while  carrying  his 
meals,  but  Mr.  Waslil)urn  continued  still  to  provide  hun  with  the  necessaries  of  life 
until  the  14th  of  July,  when  Mr.  Manlove,  along  with  hundreds  of  other  persons,  includ- 
ing many  prominent  persons,  natives  and  foreigners,  were  taken  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  army,  subjected  to  the  farce  of  a  trial,  which  consisted  principally  in  starvation 
and  torture,  upon  the  charge  of  conspiracy,  and  were  finally  executed  in  August  and 
suueecding  mouths.  Respecting  Mr.  Manlove,  I  cannot  8])eak  of  this  from  my  own 
knowledge,  but  I  know  what  those  pretended  iriah  are,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  none  of  the  persons  arrested  at  this  time  or  subse(iuently,  escaped  these  horrors. 
I  have  seen  testimony  which  shows  that  he,  with  others,  was  most  cruelly  tortured; 
hideed,  I  do  not  think  there  was  a  single  one  of  the  500  or  more  political  prisoners  who 
escaped  torture. 

Shortly  after  this  difficulty  about  Mr.  Manlovo,  we  began  to  hear  every  day  or  two 
of  the  arrest  of  prominent  individuals,  who  were  taken  in  irons  to  the  headquarters  of 
the  army.  It  was  a  subject  of  frequent  8i)eculation  among  the  circle  residing  at  the 
American  legation,  numbering  about  40  individuals,  what  coidd  be  the  reason  of  these 
smumary  and  arbitrary  aiTests;  many  plausible  conjectures  were  made,  but  not  one 
of  us  had  any  idea  of  the  charge  of  conspiraaj  until  the  last  phases  of  the  crisis.  Some 
time  about  the  middle  of  the  month  of  J  nut;,  I  think  on  the  16th,  the  Portuguese  con- 
sul, Mr.  Ltite  I'ereira,  who  had  been  obliged  to  leave  the  city  with  the  other  residents, 
and  had  estaldished  himself  three  or  four  miles  from  the  city,  (having  first  applied  to 
the  government  for  permission  to  remain  in  the  city,  without  success,)  came  galloping 
into  town  with  his  wife,  bringing  the  iufommtion  that  he  had  just  received  a  note  from 
the  government  by  which  his  exequatur  was  canceled ;  that  is  to  say,  he  was  no  longer 
to  be  recognized  as  consul;  and  he  believing  that  this  was  only  the  bepnning  of  sor- 
rows and  of  persecutions,  lost  not  a  moment  in  packing  up  his  principal  valuables  and 
galloping  into  the  city  with  his  wife  to  take  refuge  in  the  Aiueiican  legation.  After  a 
tew  days  there  came  a  note  from  the  government  inquiring  as  to  the  fact  of  the  person 
(mentioning  him  by  name,  as  he  was'no  longer  recognized  by  them  as  Portuguese  con- 
sul) being  at  the  legation;  to  w^hich  Mr.Wa.slil)urn  replied  in  the  affirmative,  denying, 
however,  that  the  government  luid  any  right  to  ask  such  a  question.  A  little  later 
came  a  demand  from  the  government  that  this  gentleman  should  be  surrendered  up  as 
a  criminal,  upon  some  charge  which  was  not  mentioned  mid  which  none  of  us  could 
guess.  This  Mr.  Washburn  declined  to  do  after  consultation  with  the  x)rincipal  per- 
sons residing  in  his  family,  including  the  Uruguayan  gentlemen  I  have  mentioned,  Mr. 
Masterman,  and  myself.  'We  supposed  the  charge  might  arise  from  some  misunder- 
standing sprmging  from  the  fact  that  the  Portuguese  consul  had,  like  many  others, 
sought  to  rcUeve  the  necessities  of  destitute  Brazilian  prisoners  of  war  who  came  under 
his  observation.  We  were  satisfied  if  that  misapprehension  existed  there  was  no  foun- 
dation for  it,  beyond  the  fact  I  have  mentioned.  As  to  the  charge  of  conspiracy,  none 
of  us  at  that  time  had  any  such  idea.  On  the  11th  of  July  a  very  long  note  was 
received  by  Mr.  Washburn  from  Don  Gumesindo  Benitez,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 
In  this  note  Mr.  Benitez  discussed  the  question  of  the  rUjlit  of  asylum,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  not  entitled  to  extend  asylum  to  any  persons,  and 
that  consequently  he  was  summoned  to  dismiss  from  the  buildings  of  the  American 
legation  before  sunset  of  the  ensuing  day,  (Sunday,)  all  the  persons  Avho  were  not  mem- 
bers of  that  legation ;  this,  of  course,  included  the  gentlemen  I  have  referred  to  from 
Montevideo.  There  was  no  insinuation  that  any  of  these  individuals  were  guilty  of 
any  crime.  Nothing  was  said  in  this  note  of  any  charge  made  against  any  one  of  them. 
Mr.  Washburn  consulted  with  the  English  engineers  and  mechanics,  who,  with  theii' 
families,  concluded  it  was  best  for  th^i  to  leave,  and  they  did  so.  Mr.  Leite  Pereira 
came  to  the  same  conclusion  and  surrendered  himself.    The  Uruguayan  gentlemen,  on 


136  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

consultation  with  Mr.  Waslibnrn,  thought  it  was  best  that  Mr.  "Washburn  shoukl  mako 
a  special  api)licatiou  in  tlioir  behalf  for  them  to  be  allowed  to  remain.  Mr.  Washburn 
wrote  on  Sunday,  the  12tli  of  July,  to  the  eflect  that  the  Englishmen  and  their  families 
and  jNIr.  Leite  Pereu-a  had  left,  that  Dr.  Carreras  and  Mr.  Rixlriguez  desired  to  remain, 
if  the  government  did  not  object  to  it.  He  declined  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the 
matter  as  to  the  right  of  asylum,  but  simply  stated  that  the  Englishmen  and  their 
families  consented  to  leave,  while  the  other  gentlemen  rctjuested  that  the  government 
would  waive  its  objections  aiul  allow  them  to  remain.  To  this  a  letter  was  received 
the  next  morning,  July  13,  in  which  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  Mobile  thanking 
Mr.  Washburn  for  his  courtesy,  as  it  was  called,  in  meeting  the  views  of  the  govern- 
ment in  having  the  English  leave,  &c.,  stated  that  they  could  not  grant  him  the  favor 
he  asked  of  allowing  the  Uruguayan  gentlemen  to  remain,  because  they  were  (yi^iminah, 
and  ^'that  fact  had  not  been  mentioned  in  the  note  of  the  day  before  because  the 
government  had  desired  to  avoid  any  unpleasant  allusions,  preferring  to  arrest  them 
on  the  street ;  as  Mr.  Washburn  had,  however,  spoken  of  them  as  \\\^  friends  and  entered 
into  some  statements  in  their  behalf,  the  government  was  obliged  to  state  that  they 
were  criminals  and  consequently  that  they  could  not  be  allowed  to  remain,  and  that 
the  government  would  not  concede  the  right  of  asylum  to  any  persons  not  members  of 
the  legation."  It  was  a  day  of  agony  in  the  legation.  All  of  us  had  felt,  latterly,  as 
if  we  had  halters  about  our  necks.  Some  of  us  were  at  first  inclined  to  i)ut  a  bold  face 
upon  the  matter  and  deny  the  right  of  the  Paraguayan  government  to  take  any  such 
steps,  and  to  insist  on  the  i)rotection  of  these  gentlemen ;  but  they  themselves^  fearing 
that  such  a  step  might  involve  Mr.  Washburn  in  difficulty,  it  being  doubtful  how  long 
he  might  remain  in  Paraguay,  having  already  sent  on  his  resignation,  and  believing 
they  might  be  in  greater  danger  by  remaining  than  by  voluntarily  delivering  them- 
selves up,  proposed  to  surrender  themselves.  They  also  hoped  to  clear  themselves  from 
these  mysterious  charges.  Mr.  Washburn  could  not  promise  them  protection  till  the 
end  of  the  war,  because  he  might  be  recalled  by  his  own  government  at  any  moment. 
He  had  said  in  his  letters  to  the  govermnent  that  specific  charges  must  be  made  before 
he  could  feel  himself  bound  to  turn  anybody  out  of  his  legation,  and  we  well  under- 
stood that  specific  charges  would  be  made  if  they  did  not  go  voluntarily.  On  the 
whole,  these  gentlemen,  confiding  in  their  innocence,  and  entirely  ignorant  of  any 
charge  that  could  be  made  truthfully  against  them,  having  always  sympathized  heart- 
ily with  the  Paraguayan  government  in  so  far  as  the  issue'between  her  and  Brazil  was 
concerned,  knowing  they  had  done  nothing  which  could  projierly  render  them  objects 
of  suspicion,  preferred  to  give  themselves  u^),  and  did  so  that  day.  They  were  arrested 
on  the  corner  of  the  street  in  our  sight. 

These  gentlemen  having  left  at  1  o'clock  in  the  day,  the  same  evening  Mr.  Washburn 
received  another  dispatch,  in  which  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself  were  demanded  as  being 
guilty  of  crimes  "not  less  serious  than  the  persons  who  had  previously  delivered  them- 
selves up,"  but  without  specifying  those  charges,  as  indeed  no  charge  had  been  specified 
against  anybody.  As  we  were  claimed  by  Mr.  Washburn  as  members  of  his  legation, 
he  determined  that  he  not  only  would  not  surrender  us  up,  but  advised  us  not  to  sur- 
render ourselves,  and  immediately  replied  to  that  effect,  stating  that  avc  were  members 
of  his  legation,  that  he  could  not  assent  to  our  extradition,  and  asking  for  his  passi)ort8 
in  order  to  leave  the  country  along  with  us.  He  continued  to  maintain  a  correspond- 
ence on  the  subject  for  about  two  months.  I  should  have  mentioned  that  on  the  jire- 
vious  day,  the  12th  of  July,  the  four  corners  of  the  street  around  the  legation  were 
occupied  by  pickets  of  soldiers  doing  police  duty  in  the  city.  Their  munber  varied  from 
time  to  time,  but  there  were  never  less  than  from  20  to  30,  and  sometimes  more.  They 
remained  there  for  two  months,  night  and  day,  with  orders  to  seize  Mr.  Masterman  and 
myself  if  we  should  present  ourselves  in  the  street.  We  were  consequently  obliged  to 
remain  in  the  legation  all  this  time.  I  could  not  at  any  time  go  to  my  own  private  resi- 
dence, where  I  had  left  my  own  proi)erty,  including  valuable  documents  and  manu- 
scripts, which  on  my  imprisonment  remained  there,  and  which  I  have  never  recov- 
ered. At  this  time  no  one  in  the  legation  was  called  for  but  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself, 
all  the  others  having  previously  left.  In  the  last  days  of  August,  the  United  States  gun- 
boat "Vi^asp  arrived  in  Paraguayan  waters,  to  take  away  the  members  of  the  American 
legation.  Mr.  Washburn  "then  applied  for  passports  for  meraljers  of  that  legation, 
expressly  including  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself;  to  which  the  government  replied,  stat- 
ing that  passports  would  be  given  to  Mmself,  and  his  legation  onhi,  the  members  of  his 
present  household ;  expressly  excluding  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself,  and  a  negro  servant 
who  had  come  to  tjie  house  as  the  servant  of  Dr.  Carreras.  On  the  10th  of  September, 
after  making  my  will,  which  was  attested  by  Mr.  Washburn  and  delivered  to  him,  and 
writing  letters  to  my  parents,  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  members  of  his  legation  started 
from  his  residence  to  go  on  board  the  Paraguayan  steamer,  to  embark  on  the  United 
States  gunboat  Wasp,  which  lay  several  miles  below  in  the  river,  not  having  been 
.allowed  to  come  nearer  to  the  city. 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION  137 

Washingtox,  D.  C,  April  24,  1869. 
Examination  of  Porter  C.  Bliss  continued. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 
Question.  When  you  closed  your  testimony  on  Thursday,  you  had  proceeded  to  your 
point  of  departure  from  the  Amcnioau  legation  in  Asuncion.  You  will  now  j)roceed  to 
relate  in  narrative  from  what  occurred  subsequent  to  that  time. — Answer.  On  the  lOth  of 
September,  186S,  Mr.  \Va.shburn  and  the  members  of  his  legation  started  from  the  lega- 
tion building  on  the  way  to  the  Parapiayan  steamer,  which  had  been  set  apart  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  him  to  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp,  three  or  four  miles  down  the 
river.  At  tlu;  first  corner  of  the  street  Mr.  Iilasterman  and  myself  were  surrounded  by 
30  or  40  Paraguayan  police  soldiers,  the  same  who  had  been  on  guard  for  two  months  on 
the  lookout  for  us  ;  and  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  of  the  French  and  Italian 
consuls,  wo  were  driven  away  to  the  police  prison ;  Mr.  Washburn  making  no  useless 
demonstration  at  the  time,  other  than  to  salute  us  in  departing  by  a  wave  of  his  hat. 
W(J  had  just  gone  through  the  ceremony  of  parting  inside  tht^  legation,  as  we  were  per- 
fectly well  aware  that  we  would  be  seized,  and  Mr.  Washburn  had  advised  us  to  accuse 
him  of  conspiracy,  if  necessary  to  save  our  lives.  The  Paraguayan  government  had 
stated  expressly  that  it  would  seize  our  persons  by  force,  if  necessary,  and  had  demanded 
our  suiTcnder  in  peremptory  terms  on  live  different  occasions  during  the  previous  two 
months. 

The  troops  formed  a  hollow  square,  and  accosting  us  in  the  Gnarani  language,  with 
shouts  and  jeers  told  us  to  go  to  tin;  police  hoadfiuart  crs.  Wo  were  each  of  us  provided 
with  a  satch(d,  in  which  we  had  packed  up  such  necfssaries  as  we  considered  were  most 
absolutely  necessaiy  for  our  comfort  during  imprisonment,  and  which  we  supposed  we 
would  be  allowed  to  retain,  including  several  changes  of  linen,  combs,  biscuit,  cigars, 
a  little  money,  one  or  two  books,  and  other  articles  of  tlu;  first  necessity.  On  reaching 
the  police  headquarters,  the  negro  servant  named  Baltazar  Carreras,  who  was  also 
arrested  at  the  same  time  with  us,  was  first  taken  inside  and  ironed.  Mr.  Master- 
man  and  myself  were  remaining  outside  until  that  operation  was  finished.  My  turn 
came  next.  I  was  taken  in,  my  satchel  taken  from  me,  I  was  ordered  to  strip  off  all  my 
clothing,  which  was  most  cansfuUy  searched,  even  the  seams  being  rigorously  exam- 
ined, to  see  if  we  had  concealed  any  cutting  iiii])lements  or  other  aiMcles  considered  con- 
traband. Everything  in  my  pockets  was  taken  from  me,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
cigars  which  were  left  me.  I  was  then  returned  the  clothing,  and  told  to  put  it  on,  and 
then  to  sit  on  a  stone  in  the  presence  of  a  large  circle  of  soldiers  mounting  guard.  The 
blacksmith  was  called  to  put  fetters  upon  my  ankles,  upon  which  I  turned  to  the  chief 
of  police,  who  sat  by,  and  asked  p«'rmi.ssion  to  light  a  cigar  ;  he  looked  rather  surprised 
at  the  audacious  request,  but  allowed  me  to  pick  out  a  cigar,  and  handed  mo  a  light.  I 
sat  smoking  but  silent  while  the  irons  (of  30  or  40  pounds'  weight)  were  riveted  upon 
my  ankles.  I  was  then  taken  to  a  dark  dungeon  in  the  interior  of  the  police  depart- 
ment, and  tlie  door  closed  but  left  slightly  ajar.  Mr.  Masterman  was  treated  in  the 
same  manner  a  few  moments  later. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  Was  it  in  your  presence  that  he  was  ironed  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  had  been  iu'st  taken 
to  my  dungeon  before  ho  was  brought  in  to  be  ironed,  but  I  could  hear  the  ham- 
mering going  on.  When  I  speak  about  what  happened  to  me,  I  wish  to  be  under- 
stood as  stating  substantially  what  happened  to  both  of  us,  except  in  cases  where  I 
refer  particularly  to  one  of  us  only.  Mr.  Masterman  not  being  here  and  having  sub- 
mitted only  a  suuuuary  statement,  I  can,  in  great  part  in  my  depositions,  speak  also 
for  him.  I  Avas  left  there  without  any  further  visits  from  any  person,  except  on  one 
occasion,  a  small  jar  of  water  being  brouglit  to  me,  but  no  food  until  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  which  time  I  spent  lying  on  my  ))ack  on  the  brick  floor  of  tlie  dungeon,  count- 
ing the  quarter  hours  struck  by  the  cathedral  clock  and  smoking.  As  fast  as  one  cio:ar 
was  finished  I  would  light  another,  because  a  cigar  being  company  for  mo  I  did  not  wish 
to  lose  the  light. 

At  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  was  called  on  by  a  guard  and  told  to  follow  them.    I 
marched  as  fast  as  I  could  with  the  heavy  weight  of  my  fetters,  which  allowed  me  to 
take  steps  only  about  two  inches  in  length.    Proceeding  to  the  principal  entrance  of 
the  police  department,  I  found  there  a  number  of  soldiers  with  torches ;  I  found  also  ^ 
horses  and  mules,  with  the  rough  saddles  of  the  country,  all  prepared  as  for  a  night  of  , 
exertion.    The  chief  of  police  met  me  there  and  told  mo  to  get  on  one  of  the  horses,  ; 
which  was  brought  up  alongside  of  the  steps.    I  looked  at  him  for  some  time,  not  being 
able  to  get  my  wits  about  me  at  once,  or  to  imagine  how  I,  with  those  fetters  on  me, 
was  to  mount  a  horse !    After  waiting  to  receive  some  further  intimation  from  him,  he 
hinted  that  I  was  expected  to  get  on  sideways,  which  Avas  the  only  w-ay  I  could  ride.    I 
was  finally  assisted  to  the  saddle  and  then  strapped  on.    Mr.  Masterman  and  the  negro 
were  immediately  brought  out  and  mounted  upon  the  other  beasts.    I  was  the  only 
one  who  had  the  honor  of  being  mounted  uj)ou  a  horse.    The  others  were  mounted 


138  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATIOX. 

upon  mules,  I  think.  We  then  started  upon  a  fearful  night-journey  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  army,  about  3G  miles  distant.  The  sufferings  of  that  uigiit  to  all  of  us  were 
such  as  I  never  endured  in  an  equal  period  before  or  since,  thougli  I  Avas  subsequently 
put  to  the  torture  on  various  occasions ;  but  the  tortures  to  which  we  were  subjected 
were  tolerable  when  compared  with  the  agony  we  suffered  on  that  fearful  night.  I  had 
received  no  food  since  our  arrest,  weighed  down  by  my  fetters,  which  dragged  me  off* 
the  horse  a  number  of  tiuies,  liaving  to  be  assisted  on  again  by  attendant  soldiers,  being 
obliged  to  make  a  constant  effort  to  maintain  my  equilibrium  upon  the  beast,  sulfering 
for  lack  of  sleep,  before  morning  I  became  nearly  exhausted.  The  weight  of  the  fetters 
upon  my  ankles  liad  become  excruciating  torture  until  I  nearly  fainted,  but  neverthe- 
less was  obliged  to  maintain  my  position,  still  without  food  or  relief  until  noon  of  the 
next  day,  when  we  arrived  at  the  headquarters  of  Lopez's  army,  36  miles  from  Asun- 
cion. The  roads  were  very  bad.  We  had  to  cross  hills  and  valleys  and  the  beds  of  moun- 
tain streams.  I  fell  off  several  times  and  was  dragged  a  considerable  distance  by  the 
horse  I  rode. 

More  dead  than  alive,  we  were  dismounted  from  our  animals,  Mr.  Mastcrman  having 
suffered  perhaps  still  more  than  myself  during  this  journey.  Our  persons  Avere  then 
examined  again  for  contraband  implements,  which  not  being  found  we  were  taken 
within  a  hollow  square  each  side  of  which  might  be  perhaps  of  40  or  50  yards.  It  was 
in  an  open  lield,  the  interior  having  been  cleared  from  bushes,  and  each  side  of  the  square 
was  guarded  by  half  a  dozen"  soldiers.  I  found  within  this  hollow  square  I  think  65 
prisoners,  each  one  or  each  squad  being  designated  a  particular  spot  where  he  or  they 
could  sit,  and  obliged  to  continue  in  that  x^osition  all  the  time  and  not  allowed  to  spealc 
to  their  neighbors.  A  majority  of  these  were  prisoners  of  war,  a  number  of  them  being 
Brazilian  neoroes,  who  wore  almost  naked  and  in  the  last  state  of  exhaustion  and 
extenuation  from  hunger ;  they  received  no  food  excex)t  bits  of  the  entrails  of  animals 
thrown  to  them  twice  a  day  which  they  were  obliged  to  cook  for  themselves.  My  soul 
revolted  with  horror  as  I  saw  these  entrails  stuck  upon  sticks,  from  which  the  poor 
wretches  were  endeavoring  to  obtain  some  nutriment  with  occasionally  a  bone  which 
they  were  gnawing.  Tliere  were  also  several  political  prisoners  there,  one  of  whom 
was  our  friend.  Dr.  Carreras,  the  Uruguayan  prime  miiuster  before  mentioned,  vrlio  was 
induced  to  surrender  himself  from  the  American  legation,  as  I  have  before  stated  in  my 
previous  cxaminatiftn.  He  was  in  infirm  health,  and  worn  down  almost  to  a  skeleton ; 
his  clothes  had  been  cut  away  by  the  fetters  he  Avore ;  his  nose  seemed  to  be  broken 
across  the  middle  and  was  covered  by  a  white  patch.  He  was  so  haggard  that  I  had 
to  look  at  him  again  and  again  for  a  long  time,  before  I  could  recognize  him  as  my  intimate 
friend  with  whom  I  had  so  recently  passed  many  months  in  the  American  legation.  The 
other  Uruguayan  gentleman,  Mr.  Kodriguez,  was  not  there  and  I  was  never  able  to  as- 
certain anything  about  his  fate  until  after  leaving  Paraguay,  when  I  learned  by  the  list 
of  victims  irablished  that  he  had  been  prcAdonsly  executed  in  the  month  of  August. 
Other  political  prisoners  were  there,  all  of  them  heavily  ironed  and  in  the  most  squalid  and 
emaciated  condition.  Many  of  them  Avere  my  acquaintances,  and  several  were  intimate 
friends.  Six  or  eight  of  them  Avere  priests,  some  of  whom  I  kncAv.  They  seemed  to  be  a 
little  more  comfortable  than  the  other  prisoners,  although  they  were  u'oned  equally 
heavily,  but  as  the  cloth  has  ahvays  been  held  in  A^ery  great  respect  in  Paraguay,  they 
seemed  at  that  time  to  haA'e  got  along  a  little  better  than  most  of  the  other  prisoners. 
There  were  three  or  four  other  similar  squares  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  in  which  were 
the  great  body  of  the  prisoners  then  sur\-iA^ing.  Of  all  these  not  more  than  four  or  fiA'e 
besides  ourselA^es  are  noAV  living,  as  I  have  since  learned  from  trustworthy  evidence :  all 
the  political  prisoners  having  been  executed,  if  not  before,  in  the  general  massacres  of 
the  11th  and  21st  of  December. 

Q.  Wliat  Avere  the  massacres  of  which  you  speak? — ^A.  On  December  11  many  prison- 
ers were  shot  in  consequence  of  an  attack  by  the  allies.  On  Lopez  being  routed  in  his 
encampment  on  the  2l8t  of  December  last  and  the  outer  entrenchment  of  his  camj) 
being  taken,  he  ordered  all  the  remaining  political  prisoners,  with  two  or  three  excep- 
tions, to  be  shot.  From  first  to  last,  nearly  500  prisoners  were  executed  or  tortured  to 
death,  as  appears  by  the  list  communicated  the  other  day,  Avith  other  documents,  to  this 
conunittee  by  the  Secretaiy  of  State,  and  which  has  been  published.  Among  these  500 
victims,  at  least  150  Avere  persons  with  Avhom  I  had  a  personal  acquaintance  and  \'ery 
many  of  them  Avere  intimate  friends.  A  few  Avere  executed  singly,  but  the  greatei:  parb 
in  groups  of  from  six  or  eight  or  ten  up  to  the  number  of  83,  which  was  the  highest 
number  executed  one  day.  On  a  single  day,  the  22d  of  August,  there  appeared  in  the 
list  of  persons  executed  44  victims  Avith  whom  I  had  a  personal  acquaintance,  and  on 
other  days  there  appeared  10,  20  or  other  large  numbers  Avho  Avere  equally  my  friends, 
and  scarcely  a  day  passed  during  several  months  in  which  some  one  of  my  friends  is  not 
mentioned  as  having  died  a  natural  death  in  prison,  Avhich  means  simply  being  tortured  - 
to  death.  I  am  a  witness  myself  to  the  treatment  of  these  prisoners,  I  have  seen  the 
torture  inflicted  on  repeated  occasions,  as  I  shall  detail  hereafter,  have  suffered  it  myself. 
These  hundreds  of  prisoners  suffered  torture,  causing  their  death  in  many  instances,  for 
the  purpose  of  extorting  confessions.    I  believe  that  not  a  single  one  of  these  Adctims 


^i'C> 


C3  A 


^^^"^^  PAKAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  139 

over  voluutarily  confessed  himself  guilty  of  any  conspiracy.  And  it  would  hiive  been 
ab.surd  to  have  done  so,  because  every  person  at  all  acquainted  with  the  condition  of 
things  in  Paraguay  knows  very  well  that  under  the  peculiar  system  of  espionmje  so  vig- 
orously and  universally  canied  out,  ofiScers  of  the  government  being  cxo^icjo  spies  upon 
each  other,  brother  being  spy  upon  brother,  friend  upon  friend,  husband  upon  wife,  no 
such  thing  as  a  conspiracy  could  pi^ssibly  liave  existed.  The  theory  of  that  government 
has  always  been  that  the  President  should  know  everything  that  is  passing  in  the  bo- 
som of  families.  I  have  w  ithiu  my  reach  a  great  amount  of  evidence  which  I  could 
present  in  support  of  this  fac  t,  if  the  committee  desire  it.  The  official  documents  published 
by  the  house  coming  from  the  dillerent  agents  of  the  government  in  Paraguay  in  years 
past,  the  reports  publishe<l  in  IJucncjs  Ayrcs  and  Kio  Janeiro  jiapfrs,  coming  from  ofhcers 
of  other  legations  as  well  as  th<jse  in  I'araguay,  andlettters  which  had  been  i)ublished  from 
credible  witnesses  in  Paraguay,  all  go  to  support  this  view  of  the  case — that  a  cou- 
spii-acy  is  a  thing  absolutely  impossible  in  that  country.  And  yet  there  is  no  country 
in  the  world  in  wliich  ther<5  has  been  for  the  last  few  years  so  large  a  number  of  imputed 
conspuacies.  During  the  dictatorship  of  Dr.  Francia,  which  lasted  from  1815  to  1840, 
he  executed  on  dillerent  occasions  all  the  most  important,  wealthy,  talented  inhabitants 
of  the  country  to  the  number  of  HO  or  100  heads  of  fanalics  upon  the  charge  of  conspiracy. 
During  the  di(;tatorship  of  the  late  president,  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez,  father  of  the  pre- 
sent ^farshal  Lopez,  another  conspiracy  was  Kn[)posed  to  have  been  found  out,  for  which 
another  installment  of  wealthy  and  influential  citizens  lost  their  lives.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  dictatorship  of  the  present  ^laishal  Lopez  still  another  comspiracy 
was  said  to  have  been  discovered,  in  which  many  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the 
country  were  implicated,  their  head  beinj;  the  priest  2Iaiz,  who  was  one  of  my  judges! 
Their  offense  was,  that  they  had  not  really  favored  the  election  of  Lopez  as  President. 
Although  the  Congress  which  elected  him  gave  the  imanimous  suttrages  of  all  its  mem- 
bers for  Lopez,  that  did  not  satisfy  him  ;  ho  know  that  the  uuanijnity  on  the  surface 
was  really  lictitious;  that  among  the  members  of  the  Congress  who  gave  their  votes 
for  hini;  many  of  them  did  so  under  compulsion,  the  CongTc^ss  being  watched  by  the 
militaiy  authorities  and  every  mode  of  influence  being  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  which 
was  well  known  to  persons  living  in  Paraguay.  During  all  these  years  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  almost  every  foreigner  who  had  any  pecuniary  interest,  anything  to 
constitute  uealth  in  that  country,  has  lost  his  life  and  his  property,  and  every  native 
family  possessed  of  any  wealth  or  inlluonco  in  the  state  has  suffered  confiscation  on  the 
execution  of  its  load ing  members.  Not  a  person  has  remained  alive  in  Paraguay  of 
any  social  rank  or  position  or  intelligence.  It  has  been  a  massacre  of  all  that  was 
respectable  and  intiueutial  in  that  coimtry  fi'om  time  to  time,  all  upon  the  absurd 
charge  of  conspiracy. 

The  phantom  of  government  which,  when  Marshal  Lopez  took  the  field,  was  left  at 
the  capital  in  chaige  of  the  Vice-President  and  the  four  ministers  of  state,  with  the 
different  clerks  constituting  these  depai'tments,  wajs  not  even  permitted  to  continue  iu 
existence.  All  the  membei's  constituting  this  government  were  arrested  en  masse  on  the 
loth  of  July  last,  on  the  same  day  that  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself  were  first  demanded. 
The  employes  of  the  government,  to  the  number  of  eighty  or  one  hundred,  were  arrested 
on  that  day  and  convoyed  in  irons  to  the  headquarters  of  the  army,  where  they  were 
put  to  the  mockeiy  of  l\  trial.  A  majority  of  them  were  tortured  to  death  within  the 
next  two  months  and  the  rest  executed.  Among  the  list  of  the  victims  of  Lopez,  as  j 
published  from  an  original  manuscript  found  iu  his  encami)meut,  it  appears  that  Lopez  ' 
has  made  an  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  all  those  who  were  his  best  friends  and  sup- 
porters during  the  war,  including  the  editoi-s  and  publishers  of  all  the /our  newspapers 
which  wore  published  in  Paraguay  in  supx>ort  of  Lopez's  war  policy.  This  was  at  different 
times  ii-om  July  imtil  December,  there  being  some  executions  almost  every  day,  and 
almost  every  day  one  or  more  persons  being  reported  as  having  died  a  natural  death, 
which  is  another  mode  of  statement  for  being  tortured  to  death  in  prison,  as  I  said 
yesterday. 

To  proceed  with  my  own  narrative,  after  being  allowed  to  lie  upon  the  ground  for 
about  half  an  hour,  on  reaching  the  encampment  of  Lopez  about  noon,  on  the  4th  of 
September,  1868,  Mi\  Masterman  and  myself  were  called  for  by  the  sergeant  of  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  to  be  taken  before  the  so-called  tribunals.  We  were  in  the  last  sta^ 
of  exhaustion,  as  previously  mentioned,  having  been  then  for  more  than  24  hours  witn- 


jeer« 

on,  move  on."  Mr.  Mastei-man  was  taken  before  the  military  tribunal  and  I  before  the 
so-called  civil  tribunal,  the  latter  being  the  one  of  highest  rank.  The  negro  servant 
who  accompanied  us  was  litterally  flofjged  to  death;  he  died  two  days  later.  These 
tribunals  held  their  sessions  each  of  them  in  a  mud  hut  within  the  encampment  of 
Lopez.  I  found  the  tribunal  before  which  I  was  taken  to  consist  of  six  or  eight  military 
oliicers,  as  I  supposed  them  to  be,  though  I  afterwards  learned  that  all  of  those  who 
were  really  officers  of  the  army  were  not  members  of  the  tribunal,  but  were  merely 


140  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

spectators  on  that  occasion.  But  as  they  all  wore  military  nniforms  I  supposed  them 
at  that  time  to  be  all  officers  and  members  of  the  tribunal.  Two  of  them  were  priests, 
disguised  in  the  uniform  of  officers,  and  these  were  really  the  persons  constituting  the 
tribunal.  A  third  priest  was  secretary,  and  other  persons  wearing  military  uuiibrms 
were  present  as  spies  or  spectators.  I  Avas  interrogated,  after  taking  an  oath,  by  a  man 
apparently  about  forty  years  of  age,  in  military  uniform,  of  slender  figure,  with  rather 
an  intellectual  appearance,  whom  I  afterwards  learned  to  be  the  chief  inquisitor,  the  priest 
called  Father  Maiz,  but  whom  I  then  sujiposed  to  be  a  military  officer.  I  was  asked  my 
name,  and  how  I  came  to  that  encanrpment,  to  which  I  replied,  I  had  come  on  horseback 
in  the  plight  in  which  he  then  saw  me.  I  was  then  asked  if  I  knew  for  what  I  had 
been  imprisoned ;  I  replied  that  I  had  learned  by  notes  addressed  to  Mr.  Washburn, 
that  I  was  accused  of  some  grave  crime,  the  nature  of  which  was  not  stated,  and  that  I 
had  understood  in  the  same  way  that  I  was  charged  with  signing  a  paper,  as  member 
and  secretary  of  a  committee  which  had  agreed  to  assassinate  Marshal  Lopez,  and  sub- 
stitute another  government  in  the  country  with  the  assent  of  the  officers  of  the  allied 
forces.  "I  knew  these  facts  concerning  the  accusations  from  publications  made  in  the 
official  paper.  I  had  no  other  means  of  knowledge,  and  being  completely  innocent  of 
these  accusations,  I  could  have  no  reason  for  knowing  why  I  was  arrested  other  than 
the  official  notes  which  I  had  seen."  The  priest  then  replied:  "And  how  is  it  that 
when  we  have  such  perfect  proof  of  your  guilt,  wiaen  we  know  that  you  have  been  one 
of  the  worst  of  those  who  have  taken  part  in  this  conspiracy,  that  you  have  been  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  committee  organized  to  take  measures  for  the  overthrow  of 
tlie  government  of  Marshal  Lopez  and  for  his  own  assassination,  when  your  accomplices,  all 
of  whom  have  been  imprisoned  before  you,  have  confessed  their  guilt,  and  you  yourself 
have  seen  extracts  from  their  statements  which  have  been  previously  sent  to  the  minister 
for  his  information,  in  which  these  parties  have  not  only  confessed  their  own  criminality, 
but  have  accused  you  also ;  how  is  it  that  you  have  the  audacity  to  pretend  to  deny 
your  guilt?  You  ought  to  understand  that  when  we  have  brought  you  before  this 
tribunal  your  guilt  is  an  ascertained  fact.  You  are  not  brought  here  to  make  any 
defense  of  yourself.  You  are  brought  here  simply  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  up  by  your 
own  confession  and  your  own  depositions  the  facts  in  the  case  connected  with  your 
complicity  in  the  conspiracy.  As  to  your  guilt  we  know  that  already,  and  we  shall  not 
allow  you  to  endeavor  to  dodge  the  point."  I  was  then  asked  again  if  I  would  confess 
myself  to  be  guilty.  I  replied  that  I  would  not,  "that  I  had  always  been  during  my 
entire  residence  in  Paraguay  perfectly  loyal  to  the  government,  had  never  taken  any 
stex)  which  could  justly  be  complained  of  by  the  govtjrnment ;  that  so  far  as  relates  to 
the  quarrel  between  Paraguay  and  Brazil  concerning  the  question  of  boundaries  and  of 
the  balance  of  power  in  South  America,  I  had  sympathized  with  Paraguay  and  had  done 
what  I  could  to  sustain  the  Paraguayan  cause  in  that  aspect  of  the  case ;  that  as  to  the 
accusation  of  conspiracy,  it  was  absolutely  false,  no  matter  who  might  have  testified  to 
the  charge.  This  was  all  recorded  as  my  protestation  of  innocence.  I  Avas  then  asked 
if  I  knew  Dr.  Carreras,  and  if  I  knew  Mr.  Rodriguez,  and  then  each  one  of  five  or  six 
others  who  were  charged  as  being  principal  persons  in  the  conspiracy,  and  whom,  as  I 
afterwards  learned,  were  named  as  members  of  the  committee  to  which  I  was  accused  of 
having  belonged,  and  which  included  two  of  the  members  of  Lo]3ez'8  cabinet,  liis  own 
brother,  Benigno,  and  two  or  three  foreign  gentlemen  who  had  resided  in  the  country. 
I  was  asked  if  I  knew  these  persons.  I  replied  in  each  case  in  the  affirmative,  stating 
exactly  how  far  I  had  known  each  of  these  gentlemen.  I  was  then  interrogated  the 
second  time  how  it  was  possible,  I  having  stated  that  I  was  well  acquainted  with  each 
of  these  individuals,  and  they  having  confessed  that  they  were  members  of  the  con- 
spiracy in  which  I  was  deeply  involved,  holding  an  important  post  therein,  for  me  to 
have  the  audacity  to  maintain  my  innocence.  I  replied  that  "  I  knew  nothing  about 
any  such  committee  or  any  such  conspiracy;  that  other  people  might  say  what  they 
liked,  but  I  would  speak  the  truth.  That  as  I  had  been  sworn  on  my  entrance  to  the 
tribunal  to  speak  the  truth,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  my  oath  I  was  resolved 
to  tell  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth."  I  then  insisted  upon  their  recording  for 
the  second  time  ray  protestations  of  innocence,  which  was  done. 

After  that,  the  two  priests,  as  members  of  the  tribunal,  appealed  to  mo  again,  saying 
that  it  was  entirely  useless  for  me  to  maintain  my  innocence.  "  It  was  well  known  I 
had  been  led  away  by  Mr.  Washburn,  who  was  the  genius  of  evil  for  the  Paraguayan 
nation."  It  was  intimated  to  me  by  insinuation,  that  by  developing  all  I  knew  about 
Mr.  Washburn's  machinations  as  connected  with  the  conspiracy,  I  might  lighten  my 
own  sufferings  and  the  guilt  which  they  considered  as  attaching  to  me  in  the  case.  They 
said  tome  that  they  knew  I  had  a  most  wonderful  memor)/ ;  that  I  was  perfectly 
acquainted  with  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the  matter  from  first  to  last;  that  I 
had  conducted  the  correspondence  in  a  great  measure ;  and  they  expected  from  me  a 
full  and  detailed  statement  of  all  the  facts  and  circumstances,  saying  that  by  so  doing 
I  might  render  a  service  to  the  government  which  might  go  very  far  to  mitigate  my 
own  position.  They  desired  me  therefore  to  state  "  all  the  facts  in  regard  to  the 
maneuvers  of  this  wretch  Washburn,  who  had  just  got  away  from  the  country  by  the 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  141 

skin  of  his  teeth."  They  expressed  themselves  very  bitterly  against  Mr.  Washburn, 
who  had  been  charged  by  the  prisoners  previously  tortured  and  forced  to  confess,  with 
being  at  the  head  of  the  conspiracy.  The  plan  of  proceeding  was  simply  this :  these 
prisoners  were  obliged  to  invent  some  stoiy,  and  were  desirous  of  attaching  as  much 
blame'as  they  could  to  parties  who  they  knew  to  be  beyond  the  reach  ot^the  Para- 
guayan government ;  it  being  their  plan  to  protect  as  far  as  possible  the  innocent  pris- 
oners who  were  then  within  the  clutches  of  Lopez. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  these  confessions  were  made  with  the  assent  of  Mr. 
Washljurn,  in  the  case  of  the  persons  who  had  been  previously  arrested  ? — A.  It  was 
not  with  an  imderstanding  on  the  pait  of  Mr.  Washburn,  because  at  the  time  of  these 
arrests  Mr.  Washbuni  had  no  knowledge  of  a  charge  of  conspiracy ;  but  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  Masterman  and  myself,  as  I  have  before  stated,  we  had  an  understanding  with  Mr. 
Washburn  just  previous  to  our  arrest.    Mr.  Washburn,  referring  to  the  notorious  fact 
that  false  declaraitions  had  been  made  by  our  friends,  most  probably  under  torture, 
paid  that  we  might  very  likely  be  spared  suftering  to  a  certain  extent  by  our  accusing 
Mm,  and  that  if  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  ])rolonging  our  lives,  or  mitigating  our 
sutterings,  we  might  accuse  him  of  anything ^  and  iniglit  say  anything  or  everything  against 
him  that  circumstances  might  demand.     I  resclved  not  to  do  so  except  in  the  last 
instance,  and  under  the  most  absolute  necessity.    And  in  order  to  prevent  such  a  neces- 
sity, I  repeatedly  appealed  to  my  oath,  stating  to  the  members  of  this  tribunal  that  by 
virtue  of  the  sacredness  of  my  oath  I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  protest  my  innocence. 
One  of  the  priests  linally  said  to  me,  "  I  regret  very  much,  Bliss,  that  you  give  us 
so  much  trouble.    Your  companion,  Mr.  Mastennan,  has  already  confessed.    He  has 
not  given  us  half  as  much  trouble  as  you  have."    Mr.  Mastenuan  subsequently  informed 
me  that  the  same  thing  was  said  to  him,  that  I  had  already  confessed.    In  point  of 
fact  I  believe  Mr.  Mastermau's  confession  preceded  mine  by  i>erhap8  two  or  three  hours. 
I  repeated  my  protestation  of  innocence,  which  was  twice  taken  down  before  I  would 
go  on.    This  priest  then  said:  "  Wo  have  a  way  of  treating  refractory  criminals  which 
brings  them  to  their  senses  in  a  very  short  tiuji^    You  may  believe  my  word,  you  will 
not  be  able  to  persist  in  your  contumacy  very  long,  if  we  are  obliged  to  resort  to  this 
treatment.    You  will  be  obliged  to  endure  horrible  sufferings  if  you  continue  to  persist. 
You  know  the  charges.    What  do  you  say  T    Are  you  innocent  or  guilty  ?"    I  replied 
"I  am  innocent."    And  I  continued  to  pi-otest  my  innocence,  upon  which  the  two 
priests  left  the  room  and  went  out  to  consult,  leaving  me  in  the  presence  of  one  or  two 
military  oflicers,  one  of  whom  was  a  fonner  acqimintance  of  mine.  Major  Serrano. 
While  they  were  out  ho  expostulate<l  with  me.    He  said:  "You  know.  Bliss,  that  I 
have  known  you  before,  and  would  like  to  do  something  for  you,  but  it  would  be  per- 
fectly useless  j'or  you  to  attempt  to  hold  out.     You  will  he  obliged  to  confess,  and  your 
lot  will  (IcpiMHl  a  great  deal  upon  your  conduct  before  this  tribunal.    If  you  make  a 
plain  straightforward  statement,  confessing  your  guilt,  and  «5iviug  full  particulars,  you 
may  commend  yourself  to  the  benevolence  of  Marshal  Lopez,  and  may  probably 
have  your  life  spared.    Otherwise  there  is  no  hope  for  you.    If  what  is  called  the  ])i'o- 
cess  or  record  of  the  trial  shows  that  you  remained  firm  in  your  protestations  of  inno- 
cence, giving  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  the  ollicers  of  the  tribunal,  there  is  no  hope  for 
you."    I  then  inquired  of  one  of  the  priests  who  came  in  to  expostulate  with  me  whether 
he  could  give  mo  any  positive  guarantee  that  in  case  I  complied  with  their  demands 
they  would  respect  my  life.    They  said  they  could  not  make  any  positive  stipulation 
to  that  eti(jct,  but  that  I  would  certainly  be  entitled  to  hope  for  clemency  upon  the  part 
of  Marshal  Lopez  by  telling  the  truth,  that  is  to  say,  by  confessing  myself  guilty  of 
the  conspiracy.    All  this  time  they  continued  fo  denounce  Mr.  Washburn,  and  call  upon 
me  to  make  statements  concorniiig  him.    After  a  good  deal  of  reflection,  extending 
amid  these  altercations  through  several  hours,  and  having  undergone  fearful  iihysicju 
suffering,  (I  was  not  then  put  to  what  was  ordinarily  called  torture;  but  the  treatment 
I  had  suttered  was  actually  greater  torture  to  me  than  that  I  endured  on  any  other  occa- 
sion;) having  been  taken  to  that  tribunal  and  kept  for  12  mortal  hours  without  any 
food,  and  this  after  having  been  denied  food  for  24  hours  i^reviously,  with  my  manacles 
on  me  which  had  become  painful  beyond  endurance,  eating  into  the  flesh ;  what  I  suf- 
fered was  to  me  torture  beyond  anything  I  afterwards  endured,  although  not  technically 
called  torture.    I  say,  that,  having  endured  all  this,  and  after  reflection,  I  finally  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  confess  in  a  general  way  and  throw  the  blame  of  every- 
thing on  Mr.  Washburn ;  that  I  would  not  implicate  any  one  within  the  reach  of  Lope^^ 
but  that  I  would  spin  out  my  statement  as  long  as  possible  for  the  purpose  of  gainii,j^ 
time  until  I  was  sure  Mr.  Washbmn  had  left  the  country,  and  was  out  of  harm's  wcj^. 
that  I  would  go  into  great  detail  about  Mr.  Washburn's  previous  antecedents,  t'g  n 
talking  against  time,  and  see  if  it  were  not  possible,  by  throwing  everything  upon  Mn^^^ 
palliate  the  charges  against  myself  and  the  other  victims  who  had  been  forced  to  r^^^j, 
similar  confessions.    I  therefore  commenced  my  statements,  going  back  to  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Washburn  in  the  country,  seven  years  before.    I  spun  a  long  story  qj^q  j 
the  influences  under  which  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  appointed.    I  charged  hin 


142  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

having  come  to  Paraffuay  originally  in  1861,  with  the  mtention  of  making  a  fortune 
out  of  the  Hopkins  claim ;  that  he  intended  to  make  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  or 
more  out  of  tliat.  I  went  on  giving  statements  at  great  length  about  ^Ir.  Washburn's 
movements  and  intentions  through  his  entire  life  in  Paraguay,  charging  hira  \f  ith  all 
sorts  of  crimes  and  delinquencies,  as  agreed  upon  with  Mr.  Washburn,  himself.  I 
gained  time  by  making  these  calmnnious  charges,  and  at  midnight,  after  being  12 
hours  before  the  tribunal,  I  was  remanded  to  the  prison  square,  where  I  was  chained  up 
by  my  fetters  to  a  rope  Avhich  ran  round  the  square  and  to  which  all  the  prisoners  were 
chained  at  niglit-f[ill.  Before  long  a  guard  came  round  and  I  was  given  some  boiled 
beef  which  I  had  to  eat  with  my  fingers,  that  being  the  only  mode  of  eating  allowed, 
except  on  some  occasions  when  they  brought  me  a  horn  spoon.  No  knife  or  fork  or 
any  cutting  instniment  was  allowed.  I  might  mention,  that  on  arriving  at  the  encamp- 
ment, all  the  buckles  were  torn  off  from  my  pants,  under  pretence  of  not  allowing  any 
metallic  substance  to  remain  on  my  person. 

The  next  morning  at  an  early  hour,  probably  nine  o'clock,  I  was  brought  before  the 
tribunal  again,  and  on  that  day,  and  on  each  of  the  four  succeeding  clays,  I  was  up 
before  the  tribunal,  engaged  in  spinning  these  romances  about  Mr.  Washburn.  On 
the  first  day  I  was  called  upon  to  write  those  letters  to  Mr.  Washburn  which  have 
been  published  in  the  United  States,  and  which,  of  course,  were  written  by  order,  and 
under  the  supervision  of  these  officials,  although  they  express  on  their  face  that  at  my 
own  request  I  was  permitted  to  write  them.  One  was  written  to  Mr.  Washburn,  and 
one  purported  to  be  written  to  my  father.  My  father's  real  name  is  Rev.  Asher  Bliss, 
and  his  residence  Onoville,  Cattaraugus  county,  New  York.  In  order  to  hint  to  Mr. 
Washburn  that  the  letter  was  not  written  voluntarily  by  me,  I  directed  it  to  Henry  Bliss, 
esq.,  New  York  city.  The  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn  I  was  obliged  to  rewrite  five  times 
before  it  was  satisfactory  to  the  officers  of  this  tribunal.  It  contained  statements 
which  I  knew  Mr.  Washburn  would  be  aware  Avere  incorrect,  but  which  the  tribunal 
did  not  know  to  be  incorrect,  and  which  were  intended  to  be  a  hint  to  Mr.  Washburn, 
as  in  fact  they  were,  as  taken  by  him,  indicating  under  what  influences  any  documents 
coming  to  him  from  me  in  prison  were  written.  Mr.  Washburn  perfectly  well  under- 
stood it,  as  he  subsequently  told  me,  and  as  appears  from  his  correspondence  from 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  elsewhere.  He  knew  what  must  have  taken  place  to  have  induced 
me  to  Avrite  these  letters,  and  never  felt  the  least  liard  feeling  in  consequence ;  indeed, 
he  has  explicitly  apiiroved  my  conduct  under  these  circumstances. 

This  first  confession  which  I  made  was  limited  to  the  assumed  fact  of  the  conspiracy, 

which  had  been  gotten  up  in  the  first  instance  by  Mr.  Washburn.    I  stated  that  I  was 

an  unwilling  witness  of  what  was  being  done;  that  I  had  rendered  Mr.  Washburn 

some  assistance,  but  I  denied  having  taken  any  important  part  in  the  conspiracy.    I 

was  allowed  to  go  on  manufacturing  this  story  for  four  days.     On  the  fourth  day  I  was 

told  that  my  statements  about  Mr.  Washburn  were  all  very  well  so  far  as  they  went, 

but  that  I  had  been  prevaricating ;  that  I  had  not  confessed  the  full  extent  of  my  own 

complicity  with  what  was  called  the  revolution.    (That  was  the  cant  name  for  the 

supposed  conspiracy.)    "I  had  not  confessed  my  own  very  great  complicity,  and  the 

very  important  part  I  had  taken."    I  was  interrogated  by  the  person  who  acted  as 

chief  torturer,  an  officer  named  Major  Aveiro,  and  who  was  brought  into  requisition 

whenever  the  services  of  any  person  were  needed  for  that  purpose.    The  plan  of  the 

conspiracy,  as  this  tribunal  had  it,  was  that  11  individuals,  constituting  a  committee, 

at  such  a  place  and  such  a  time,  had  put  their  names  to  a  certain  paper,  which  I  had 

drawn  up  as  secretary,  in  which  they  had  agreed  to  assassinate  Marshal  Lopez,  and 

organize  a  new  government  in  Paraguay.    This  was  the  first  intimation  I  had  of  such 

a  committee.    I  knew,  before  that,  I  wasticcused  of  having  put  my  name  to  some  such 

paper,  l»ut  who  were  the  other  persons  who  had  signed  along  with  me  I  had  no  idea, 

and  the  demand  made  by  the  tribunal  for  the  details  of  this  transaction  took  me  by 

surprise.    I  replied  that  I  knew  nothing  about  it ;  that  I  had  not  seen  such  a  paper. 

The  major  said  it  was  useless  to  deny  it ;  that  he  knew  I  had  been  secretary  of  the 

committee,  and  drawn  up  the  paper  myself,  and  then  said  I  would  be  confi-onted  by  all 

1  the  other  members  of  the  committee ;  that  they  had  all  confessed  their  complicity,  and 

accused  me,  and  that  I  would  have  to  confess  mine.    I  again  replied  that  I  knew  nothing 

\.  about  it.    During  the  rest  of  that  day  I  continued  so  hold  out  in  my  denial  of  any 

hknowledge  of  this  committee.    This  was  the  fourth  day.    At  night-fall,  after  having 

noeen  taken  back  to  the  encampment,  Avhere  I  was  kept,  I  was  brought  up  again  along 

Midth  IDr.  Carreras,  the  Portuguese  consul,  and  an  Italian  captain  who  had  been  a  friend 

ow:  mine,  also  a  prisoner,  aU  three  of  whom  were  accused  of  having  been  members  of 

saidit  committee  to  which  I  was  supposed  to  have  belonged.    We  were  brought  up  in 

acqurle  file.    I  was  taken  in  and  asked  if  I  still  persisted  in  denying  my  signature  to  that 

had  ciment.    I  replied :  "  I  do  deny  it,  and  I  will  continue  to  deny  it."    "  Oh ! "  said  a 

full  ai't,  "  we  will  bring  in  witnesses ; "  and  they  did  bring  in  the  Italian  captain,  who 

I  migh  confronted  with  me,  was  asked  if  it  was  true  that  I  had  signed  that  ]>aper.    Tliis 

own  pcaving  of  course  been  previously  tortured  and  forced  to  confess,  said  I  was  one  of 

maneuv  who  had  signed  it.    I  still  stood  out  and  said  that  I  had  not.    He  was  then  told 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  143 

to  expostulate  with  me,  and  lie  said  to  me  sulistantially :  "You  know,  Bliss,  you  signed 
this  pap<*r.  Wliy  do  y<ju  attempt  to  deny  itf  All  of  us  Avill  testify  to  the  same  fact. 
You  know  veiy  well  that  you  did.  Let  me  bring  the  circumstances  to  your  mind. 
Don't  you  remember  that  on  a  certain  evening  we  met  together,  11  of  us;  that  Manlovo 
was  to  have  been  there,  but  did  not  appear  1  Don't  you  remember  that  you  arrived 
last,  after  we  were  all  assembled?"  Said  I:  "Who  were  the  ijulividuals  that  signed 
the  paper,  and  in  wliat  order  did  they  sign?"  He  then  mentioned  the  names  in  order, 
commencing  with  Beuigno  Lopez,  the  brother  of  the  President;  then  Berges,  the 
<>x-mini8ter  of  foreign  affairs;  then  Bedoya,  a  brother-in-law  of  Lopez ;  then  Dr.  Carre- 
ras,  the  Uruguayan  })nme  minister,  and  Rodriguez,  the  fonner  charged  d'afi'airesof  Uru- 
guay, both  of  v»h(»m  had  l)een  lat<'ly  living  with  us  at  the  American  legation;  then  tho 
Portuguese  consul  and  vicoconsul,  the  former  of  whom  had  also  been  arrested  from  the 
yVmerican  legation ;  then  the  Italian  captain,  who  was  a  witness  against  himself;  then 
two  Frenchmen,  one  being  chancellor  of  tho  Fi*ench  consulate;  and  lastly,  myself.  I 
paid  great  attention  to  this  detail,  as  it  gave  me  the  first  clue  to  the  individuals  with 
whom  I  Avas  expected  to  coniV-ss  mysc^lf  to  have  acted  on  that  committee;  and  it  was 
for  that  purpost)  that  I  re(pU'sto<l  him  to  give  the  order  of  names  in  which  we  had  signed. 
Having  a  good  memory,  1  was  enabled  to  keep  it  in  my  mind  for  the  purpose  of  making 
use  of  it  whenever  I  should  come  to  the  point  of  continuing  my  confession  into  this 
branch  of  the  conspiracy. 

This  captain  was  then  taken  away  and  Dr.  Carrera«  brought  in.  He  was  asked,  "Is 
it  true  that  Bliss  was  one  of  tho  eleven  who  signed  that  document  with  you?"'  He 
replied  that  it  was,  and  tho  ouestion  was  then  asked  of  me,  "  What  do  you  say  to 
that?"  I  reidied,  "It  is  false.''  Dr.  CaiTeras  said  to  mo  in  a  low  tone,  "it  is  useless 
to  deny  it." 

Dr.  Carreras  was  then  taken  away  and  the  Portuguese  consul  brought  in,  being  the 
third  witness,  who  was  asked  simply,  "Do  you  know  the  prisoner  before  you?"  His 
answer  Avas,  "  Yes."  "  Was  he  one  of  the  eleven  who  signed  with  you  ?  "  "  Yes."  I  had 
also  ascertained  that  I  would  l)o  cliarged  Avith  having  received'an  amount  of  money 
for  my  services ;  in  fact  that  had  been  stated  to  mo  before  by  the  torturer.  And  I 
Avished  to  ascertain  Avhat  had  been  deposed  .against  me;  I  therefore  asked  permission 
to  cross-examine  this  witness,  to  Avhich  they  assented.  I  th(m  said  to  the  Portuguese 
consul,  "You  have  testified  to  my  haA-ing  signed  that  paper;  I  suppose  you  have  also 
said  that  I  received  money  for  it  ?  "  "  Yes,"  he  said.  "  Hoav  much  money  do  you  pre- 
tend to  charge  me  Avith  having  receiA'cd?" 

The  officers  of  the  tribunal  breaking  in  then  refused  to  allow  the  question  to  be 
answered,  and  the  Portuguese  consul  was  hustled  away.  Then  tiuiiuig  to  me  they 
said,  "Three  witnesses  you  see  have  testified  against  you.  You  know  that  two 
witnesses  constitute  legal  proof.  We  have  b«;en  very  indulgent  toAvards  you,  while 
yoTi  haA'o  been  making  a  fool  of  us  for  the  last  three  or  four  days.  You  haA'e  made 
statements  upon  certain  points,  but  you  have  not  confessed  the  most  important  point 
up  to  the  present  time.  We  were  under  no  obligation  to  bring  these  Avitnesses,  because 
our  oAvn  word  is  sufficient.  All  the  other  members  of  that  committee  have  confessed 
in  like  manner.  Will  you  noAv  confess  your  part  of  tho  plan?"  I  replied,  "No: 
because  of  the  oath  I  haA'e  taken.  I  admit  that  three  Avitnesses  constitute  legal  proof, 
and  yet  they  cannot  make  a  falsehood  true.  And  I  can  mention  circumstances  Avliich 
Avouid  somewhat  lessen  the  AA'orth  of  their  testimony."  "What  circumstances  do  you 
allude  to?"  Said  I,  "I  allude  to  physical  torture."  There  AA'as  an  exchange  of  glances 
on  tho  part  of  the  members  of  the  tribunal;  when  one  of  them  remarked,  "You  are 
talldng  very  metaphy»icaUy  with  us."  "But  we  will  treat  you  in  a  very  xjliysical 
manner.  Call  in  the  major,"  he  said,  referring  to  tho  officer  acting  as  chief  torturer. 
Major  AA'eiro  then  came  in.  He  repeated  the  question,  "  Do  you  confess  having  signed 
that  paper?"  I  replied,  "No."  He  said,  "You  are  trvnug  to  make  a  fool  of  me.  I 
shall  not  fool  with  you."  Whereupon  he  commenced  buftetiug  me  in  the  face  Avith  his 
fists.  I  stood  there  in  my  irons  while  he  continued  striking  me  Avith  the  full  weight 
of  his  fist  in  the  face,  at  every  bloAv  asking  me,  "Do  you  confess?  Do  you  confess?  Do 
you  confess?"  Audi  answered  him,  "No."  When  he  got  tired  of  that  he  di"ew  his 
sword  and  commenced  beating  me  over  tho  head  in  like  manner,  each  bloAV  bringing 
the  blood,  and  asking  me,  "Do  you  confess?"  I  replied  in  like  manner,  "I  do  not." 
Until,  believing  I  had  done  enough  to  saA'C  my  conscience  and  that  I  should  not  gain 
anything  by  enduring  this  suffering  any  longer,  I  replied  "Yes."  "Then  dictate  to  us 
the  document  you  signed  on  that  occasion,  as  we  know  you  were  secretary  of  that 
organization — the  document  in  which  you  promised  to  assassinate  Marshal  Lopez  and 
to  take  upon  yourselA^es  the  direction  of  the  rcA'olutionaiy^  movement."  TliroAvu  upon 
my  Avits  in  that  maimer  I  did  dictate  in  a  slow  manner  the  document  which  is  pub- 
lished in  one  of  these  congressional  papers,  [page  23,  executive  document  5,  part  3,] 
in  which  I  gave  the  text  of  a  paper  agi-eeing  to  assassinate  Marshal  Lopez,  proA'ided 
the  means  Avere  not  found  of  overtlrrowing  him  otherwise,  and  giving  each  to  the  other 
our  word  of  honor  hot  to  reyeal  Avhat  had  been  agreed  uj)on. 
Q.  After  that  had  been  done  what  became  of  yout — ^A.  After  that  had  been  done  I 


144  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

was  brought  up  two  or  three  days  in  succession  before  the  tribunal  and  required  to 
give  all  the  particulars  of  the  organization;  which  I  had  been  forced  to  confess  I 
belonged  to.  I  was  charged  Avith  having  drawn  up  a  constitution  for  Paraguay  to  be 
put  in  force  after  the  change  of  government.  I  was  called  upon  to  dictate  the  articles 
of  that  constitution.  Believing  I  might  as  well  give  them  as  good  a  constitution  as 
possible  under  the  circumstances,  in  case  I  should  be  executed  and  the  records  of  the 
tribunal  discovered,  I  Avcnt  on  otf-hand  to  improvise  about  thirty-live  articles  of  a  very 
liberal  constitution. 

Q.  Was  this  the  first  testimony  you  had  given  in  regard  to  that  constitution? — A. 
Yes ;  I  had  no  intimation  of  it  whatever  and  was  obliged  to  improvise  this  constitution 
us  soon  as  I  was  charged  with  having  framed  one.  I  was  cross-examined  very  minu.tely 
about  that  constitution  and  everything  taken  down  in  writing  with  great  minuteness 
and  carried  to  the  President,  as  in  fact  there  was  almost  always  present  some  official 
spectator  on  the  part  of  the  President  who  carried  to  him  the  records  of  the  tribunal, 
as  fast  as  made.  It  seems  that  the  President  considered  this  constitution  a  rather 
incendiary  document,  as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  he  did  not  allow  it  to  go  in 
the  records  of  the  tribunal.  It  was  therefore  suppressed  and  does  not  appear  upon 
the  records  as  permitted  by  him  to  be  drawn  n^),  and  as  now  published.  I  should 
state  here  that  these  records  as  published  are  false  in  many  resjiects ;  nothing  is  said 
about  torture  having  been  applied.  In  many  respects  they  are  deliberately  iklsified. 
The  records  state  that  I  requested  permission  to  write  to  my  parents  and  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burn, and  that  it  was  conceded  to  me.  It  should  have  been  stated  that  I  was  forced,  to 
write  these  letters.  The  dates  of  my  depositions  were  in  some  cases  altered.  I  was  in 
some  instances  required  to  sign  papers  bearing  date  several  days  earlier  and  in  others 
several  days  later  than  the  deposition  itself  should  appear. 

By  Mr.  Swanx  : 
Q.  Were  these  proceedings  jDublished  from  day  to  day  while  the  trial  was  going  on  ? — 
A.  No,  sir,  they  wxre  not.  After  a  few  days'  time  I  was  called  upon  again  and  charged 
with  having  suppressed  further  important  information.  I  was  charged  with  having 
had  communication,  with  others  of  my  fellow-prisoners  in  a  clandestine  way  and 
especially  with  having  kejit  from  the  knowledge  of  the  court  very  important  facts.  I 
denied  that  also  and  continued  to  deny  it.  I  knew  very  well  they  would  apply  torture 
again,  some  new  form  of  torture,  as  I  'knew  they  had  several  forms. 

By  the  Chalrm^in  : 
Q.  Do  you  suppose  that  Lopez  considered  your  part  in  this  alleged  conspiracy  so 
important  as  to  require  his  constant  personal  attention  to  your  statements,  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  matters  ?  Or  do  you  suppose  that  his  attention  was  given  entirely  to 
these  matters  having  nothing  else  to  do  ? — A.  He  believed  my  testimony  and  he 
believed  my  statements  to  be  more  faithful  in  their  details  than  those  of  most  of  the 
other  prisoners,  for  the  reason  that  I  was  supposed  to  be  secretary  of  the  organization, 
and  I  was  known  to  have  a  good  memory.  For  these  reasons  they  supposed  mine  would 
be  an  authentic  account.  I  had  been  twice  obliged  by  the  pressure  of  events  to  confess 
what  w^as  not  true  as  I  had  been  confessing  all  along,  but  I  thought  I  would  again  make 
a  stand,  that  I  would  not  confess  anything  further  now,  that  if  obliged  to  do  it  I  would 
stand  the  torture  as  long  as  I  could.  I  had  had  eight  or  ten  days  of  enforced  idleness  in 
which  to  think  about  it,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  say  nothing  more 
unless  I  was  obliged  to  by  pressiure  beyond  my  ability  to  endure.  So  then  I  refused  to 
confess  anything  further  and  the  torture  was  put  in  execution.  I  was  seated  on  the 
ground,  two  muskets  were  placed  under  my  knees  and  two  muskets  over  my  neck,  my 
wrists  were  tied  together  behind  my  back  and  pulled  up  by  the  guard ;  the  muskets 
above  and  below  were  connected  with  thongs  fastened  around  them  so  as  to  be  readily 
tightened ;  in  some  instances  they  were  violently  tightened  by  pounding  with  a  mallet. 
They  continued  to  tighten  them,  bringing  my  body  in  such  a  position  that  my  abdomen 
suffered  great  comjjression  and  that  I  distinctly  heard  the  cracking  of  the  vertebra  of 
the  spine,  leaving  me  in  that  posture  for  a  long  time.  In  fact  after  I  was  on  board  the 
United  States  squadron  I  could  never  stoop  forward  without  feeling  a  twinge  in  the 
back  and  in  the  abdomen.  I  remained  in  that  position  about  15  minutes,  the  officers 
standing  over  me  watching  the  eflfects  of  their  cruel  work.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I 
was  prepared  with  a  new  batch  of  novelties  of  the  most  startling  character.  The  priests 
came  and  stood  over  me  cross-questioning  me  and  extracted  from  me  a  general  confes- 
sion as  to  the  heads  of  what  they  had  inquired  about,  before  they  released  me.  After  I 
Lad  confessed  in  general,  I  was  taken  in  that  condition  before  the  tribunal,  who  set  to 
■work  to  elucidate  the  minutiae  of  my  new  confession.  I  thought  I  Avould  try  the  experi- 
ment of  frightening  Lopez  by  representing  that  the  whole  world  was  engaged  in  a  com- 
bination against  him.  I  stated  to  that  tribimal  that  the  alliance  of  Brazil,  the  Argen- 
tine government,  and  Uruguay  had  been  dissolved  and  replaced  by  a  new  secret  fl'eaty 
of  double  alliance  on  the  part  of  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic,  by  which  the 
republic  of  Uruguay  was  to  be  sacrificed  along  with  Paraguay,  and  both  of  them  fall  a 
prey  to  the  larger  powers  and  to  be  divided  up  like  Poland.    I  went  into  geograi)hical 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  145 

<letail8,  stating  what  were  to  bo  the  bomidarios  of  each  one  of  these  countries,  and 
to  give  tlie  terms  of  the  treaty,  which  I  had  called  the  double  alliance  between  Brazil  and 
tJic  Argentine  Republic ;  stating  that  England,  France,  and  Spain  through  their  diplo- 
matic agents  had  all  been  lending  their  countenance  to  the  allies,  that  they  were  all  in 
sympathy  with  the  conspiracy  going  on  against  Paraguay,  that  it  had  been  resolved  to 
take  jiossessiou  of  the  Paraguayan  army  after  tlio  conquest  of  the  country  and  engaoo 
it  with  the  Braiiilian  army  in  lighting  against  Bolivia,  Peru,  and  otlier  adjacent  coun- 
tries. In  that  way  I  endeavored  to  confuse  Lopez,  who  believed  every  word  of  these 
statements,  and  to  convince  him  that  ho  was  in  a  most  desperate  strait.  The  evidence 
that  he  believed  it  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  after  this  he  issued  a  proclamation  to 
his  anuy  on  the  IGth  of  October,  the  Paraguayan  4th  of  July,  in  which  he  repeated  the 
8tat<iment  made  in  my  last  declarations  as  to  a  general  combination  of  most  of  the 
civilized  nations  against  them  and  made  a  last  appeal  to  their  patriotism. 

I  should  have  mentioned  that  it  was  my  deliberate  design  in  all  these  statements  to 
exculpate,  as  far  as  jjosnible,  all  my  friends  who  were  in  durance,  and  never  to  charge 
them  with  juiything  beyond  what  they  themselves  had  confessed,  throwing  the  bnrdeu 
upon  those  wlio  were  absent  or  upon  |)owerful  foreign  governments,  for  the  purjwse  of 
lessening  the  degree  of  guilt  which  I  was  obliged  to  attribute  to  myself  and  my  com- 
panions. Two  days  after  making  these  last  astounding  revelaiions,  I  was  invited,  that 
is  to  say  commanded^  to  put  them  into  narrative  form  along  with  all*  my  previous  reve- 
lations. They  were  considered  so  very  important  that  I  was  desired  to  express  thera 
in  detail,  witJi  such  a  satirical  (^ounnentary  upon  them  as  could  not  well  be  given 
through  the  mediimi  of  judicial  juoceedings.  I  was  removed  from  the  circle  of  ])risoner8 
w^  3re  I  had  been  remaining  until  that  time,  to  a  little  straw  hut  situated  a  stone's 
tlirow  from  the  tribunal,  where  I  remained  with  my  irons  on,  but  had  shelter  from  tho 
weather,  whicli  I  had  not  had  in  any  sufficient  degree  previously.  They  furnished  mo 
a  rude  seat  and  a  little  wooden  stand  with  an  inkstand  and  paper,  and  kept  mo  there 
lor  the  next  two  months,  until  my  transfer  on  board  the  American  squadion.  I  then 
resolved  to  write  against  time,  believing  that  so  long  as  I  could  continue  tho  produc- 
tion of  anything  startling  in  my  pamphlet  my  life  was  reasonably  sure  of  being  spared : 
while  in  case  I  linished  tlio  pamphlet  too  soon  I  had  no  more  guarantee  for  myself,  and 
in  fact  I  was  threatened  with  death  in  case  the  pamiihlet  I  was  to  write  did  not  meet 
their  expectation. 

I  conuncnced  my  work,  devoting  about  forty  pages  to  a  fictitious  biography  of  Mr. 
Washburn  before  his  aiTival  in  tho  country,  and  continuing  it  down  to  the  conspiracy, 
indulging  in  as  many  digressions  as  I  could,  especially  in  tho  way  of  criticising  Mr. 
"Washburn's  literary  efforts,  using  all  the  sarcasm  that  I  could  command  and  bringing 
in  as  many  poetical  quotations  and  old  jokes  that  I  could  remember.  In  fact,  I  made 
a  list  of  such  of  my  favorite  passa<jes  of  poetry  as  I  could  recollect,  and  put  it  in 
my  sleeve  for  tho  purpose  of  insertmg  whenever  available.  When  there  was  noth- 
ing in  the  narrative  to  suggest  a  joke,  I  would  go  out  of  the  way  to  improvise  circum- 
stances for  the  pui-pose  of  bringing  in  the  joke  or  the  quotation.  And  believing  this 
publication  would  inevitably  iViU  into  tho  hands  of  the  allies  and  be  interpreted  by 
them  correctly,  I  resolved  to  make  it  tho  medium  of  informing  them  and  all  tho  world 
in  regard  to  the  atrocities  committed  by  President  Lojiez.  I  have  previously  stated 
that  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  engaged  in  Avriting  a  work  upon  Paraguay,  and  that  I 
had  Ix'cn employed  in  assisting  liim.  Under  the  pretense,  then,  of  giving  a  synopsis 
of  Mr.  Washburn's  work  on  Paraguay,  I  devoted  150  pages  to  descriptions  of  the 
character  and  the  enormities  of  Lopez,  which  I  attributed  to  ^Ir.  Washburn's  pen, 
interspersed  hero  and  there  with  most  merciless  sarcasm  in  respect  to  Mr.  Washburn's 
abilities,  and  especially  in  regard  to  this  production. 

Q.  What  became  of  that  pamphlet  ? — A.  I  have  a  good  many  copies  of  it.  Lopez 
gave  me  forty  copies  of  it  on  coming  away.  I  was  kept  writing  with  a  corporal  and 
guard  over  me  some  12  or  14  hours  a  day.  It  was  good  discipline,  and  taught  me 
industrious  habits  as  a  writer  which  I  had*^  never  been  noted  lor  before  that  time.  I 
have  written  as  high  as  fourteen  foolscap  pages  in  a  single  day  under  these  circum- 
stances, and  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  was  written  in  a  language  that  was 
foreign  to  me — the  Spanish  language — composed  entirely  of  fictitious  matter,  inventing 
everything  as  fast  as  I  went  along.  You  can  therefore  very  readily  imagine  there  was 
some  strain  upon  my  intellectual  faculties. 

After  a  short  time  the  j)rintiug  of  the  manuscript  commenced  and  continued — a  sheet 
or  eight  pages  being  printed  each  day— until  the  completion  of  a  pamphlet  of  323  pages, 
quite  a  large  book.  The  proofs  were  brought  to  me  every  day.  J  often  wrote  up  to 
the  middle  of  the  ni^ht,  and  sometimes  have  been  roused^at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning 
for  the  correction  ol  proof,  and  as  I  was  working  against  time,  I  was  very  particular 
about  correcting  the  proof,  often  making  as  many  new  mistakes  as  I  had  corrected.  I 
insisted  upon  the  same  proofs  being  brought  to  me  repeatedly,  and  corrected  them  fre- 
quently three  or  four  times  over.  At  the  last  moment  when  the  sheet  was  ready  to  go 
to  the  press  I  would  discover  that  I  had  omitted  some  very  important  thing,  which  I 
would  insist  on  interpolating  or  would  put  into  the  margin.    On  one  of  these  occasions 

10  PI 


146  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  got  into  a  quarrel  with  the  priest,  Father  Maiz,  liaving  the  printing  in  charge.  He 
protested  against  so  many  extracts  from  Mr.  Washburn's  book,  which  were  in  utter 
condemnation  of  the  administration  of  Lopez.  He  said  to  me :  "  Do  you  suppose  we 
are  so  obtuse  as  not  to  see  the  drift  of  what  you  are  doing  ?  Do  you  supjvose  wo  are 
not  able  to  see  that  you  are  writing  a  satire  upon  Marshal  Lopez  under  pretense  ot 
(pioting  from  Mr.  Washburn's  book  ?  That  you  arc  anxious  to  i)ut  in  everything  that 
reflects  upon  him,  and  that  you  sedulously  contrive  to  do  so  f  "Now,"  said  he,  "  I  will 
come  in  again  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  and  I  advise  you  to  look  over  your  nianuscrii>t 
pretty  closely  in  that  time,  when  I  shall  take  it  away,  and  if  anything  of  that  descrip- 
tion remains  in  it  you  will  fare  hard.  It  looks  now  as  if  you  might  have  to  stand  your 
trial  over  again  for  deliberately  falsifying  and  libelling  the  character  of  Marshal  Lopez." 
As  the  basis  of  this  charge  was  correct,  being  precisely  what  I  had  been  endeavoring  to 
do,  i.  €.,  to  give  a  fr«e  account  of  Lopez  under  the  wow'<Ze^^Z«)ne  of  WasJihurn,!  conclvuXed 
that  my  time  had  come ;  but  I  put  the  best  face  upon  it  I  could.  The  priest  left  me, 
and  I  hastily  destroyed  two  or  three  very  stinging  bits  of  manuscript  which  I  had  pre- 
pared J  but  he  did  not  return.  He  had  previously  been  in  the  habit  of  examining  my 
manuscript,  everything  I  had  done  up  to  date.  IBut  just  the  reverse  of  what  he  had 
threatened  to  do  took  place.  From  that  time  he  never  examined  my  manuscript  at  all. 
I  cannot  account  for  it,  but  such  was  the  case.  He  actually  gave  me  greater  scope  than 
before,  and  I  pursued  the  same  policy  afterwards.  This  same  principal  inquisitor,  whose 
name  was  Maiz,  had  himself  been  imprisoned  three  years  on  the  charge  of  having 
headed  a  former  conspiracy,  and  he  ingratiated  himself  with  Lopez  by  writing  a  most 
abject  confession  of  his  own  guilt,  and  now  having  greater  familiarity  with  the  con- 
sj)iracy  business  than  others,  he  Avas  thought  to  bo  a  most  fitting  x)erson  to  persecute 
persons  engaged  in  iieiv  conspiracies. 

I  had  spun  my  pamphlet  out  as  long  as  it  was  possible,  and  finally  brought  it  to  a 
conclusion  on  the  2d  of  December ;  that  is  to  say,  the  printing  was  finished  then ;  the 
writing  had  been  finished  some  time  before.  On  the  4th  of  December  I  was  told  that 
Marshal  Lopez,  out  of  his  unbounded  clemency,  had  determined  to  mitigate  my  suffer- 
ings, and  a  l)lacksmith  Avas  called  in  to  take  otf  my  fetters.  I  had  worn  my  fetters  all 
this  time,  and  had  been  kept  on  starvation  diet,  which  consisted  of  a  small  ration  of 
boiled  beef  twice  a  day,  with  a  little  cake  of  Mandioca  flour,  made  from  the  root  of  a 
vegetable  of  that  country,  used  iis  a  substitute  for  potatoes.  The  diet  was  insuificient 
in  quantity.  I  could  have  eaten  at  any  time  twice  as  much  as  I  received.  I  was  then 
asked  what  I  would  do  in  case  I  should  see  Mr.  Washbiu'u,  or  be  brought  face  to  face 
with  him.  I  was  asked  if  I  remembered  the  concluding  x)aragrax)h  of  my  pamphlet,  in 
which  I  expressed  myself  as  desiring  nothing  better  than  to  be  allowed  to  go  away 
from  Paraguay,  in  order  to  prosecute  Mr.  Washburn  before  his  own  government  for 
malfeasance  in  office.  I  declared  that  I  would  prosecute  Mr.  Washburn  from  one  end 
of  the  world  to  the  other  until  I  had  obtained  satisfaction  from  him  for  getting  me  into 
that  "bad  box."  I  replied  that  I  did  remember  it  well,  and  quoted  it.  Some  further 
hints  were  then  given  me  that  I  might,  perhaps,  be  soon  set  at  liberty,  though  nothing 
definite  was  said  on  that  subject.  I  was  asked  whether  I  would  maintain  my  consist- 
ency in  case  I  was  the  recipient  of  the  clemency  of  his  excellency  Marshal  Lopez. 
A  blank  book  was  brought  to  me,  and  I  was  invited  to  write  in  it,  and  asked  what  I 
wished  to  write.  I  said  I  did  not  know ;  "  I  was  willing  to  write  anything."  I  Was 
set  to  work  writing  some  epistles  in  a  satirical  style,  directed  to  the  commander  in 
chief  of  the  Brazilian  army,  the  Marquis  of  Caxias,  which  were  immediately  published 
in  sheets  by  order  of  Lopez.  Four  days  later  (on  the  8th  of  December,)  I  was  called 
out  of  my  hut  and  had  an  interview  with  the  iuq^^i8itor  and  head  torturer.  I  was  at 
that  time,  as  I.  have  mentioned,  without  any  irons  on,  they  having  been  removed  foiir 
days  before.  I  was  then  told  that  in  his  most  exalted  clemency  Marshal  Lopez  had 
resolved  to  pardon  my  great  offens;  s;  that  a  new  American  minister  had  arrived  there, 
and  that  as  an  act  of  courtesy  to  this  American  minister.  President  Lopez  wished  to 
Xiardon  me,  on  condition  of  my  maintaining  consistency  with  my  declarations  before  the- 
tribunal,  and  that  I  was  about  to  be  brought  before  the  tribunal  for  the  last  time ;  that 
everything  would  depend  upon  my  conduct  there,  and  my  preserving  consistency.  I  had 
been  for  tlrree  months  wearing  the  same  suit  of  clothes,  and  of  course  my  pantaloons 
were  cut  to  pieces  with  the  irons.  Of  course  I  was  fearfully  dirty,  and  covered  with 
vermin.  A  jiair  of  drawers  and  shirt  and  some  water  was  brought,  and  I  was  requested 
to  put  myself  into  a  little  more  presentable  condition  before  being  called  before  the 
court  for  the'  last  act.  I  was  told  I  would  find  some  of  my  countrymen  there.  I  was 
not  told  who  they  were,  or  for  Avhat  purpose  tlujy  would  be  there.  Nothing  was  said 
about  the  presence  of  the  American  squadron.  Nothing  was  said  about  a  demand  hav- 
ing been  made  for  our  liberation.  I  concluded  I  was  going  to  ]>e  formally  sentenced  to 
death,  and  that  this  sentence  would  then  be  remitted,  and  prepared  to  listen  to  such  a 
process.  But  no  sentence  was  jjassed  upon  me,  and  my  trial  never  came  to  a  technical 
conclusion.  I  Avas  brought  before  the  tribunal  and  found  there  tAVO  of  our  naval  offi- 
cers, to  whom  I  was  introduced  in  a  very  indistinct  way.  I  understood  one  to  be 
Lieutenant  Commander  Kirkland.    The  other  officer's  name  I  did  not  then  catch,  but 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  147 

ascertained  subsequently  that  it  was  Fleet  Captain  Ramsey,  cliief  of  staff  to  Admiral 
Davis.  These  officers  said  nothing  to  me  except  to  ask  my  name — "  x\re  you  Bliss  or 
are  you  Masterraan?"  I  replied,  giving  my  name.  The  tribunal  then  proceeded  to 
cause  all  my  depositions  which  had  been  taken  down,  during  20  days  or  more,  to  be 
rea<l  over,  occupying  .the  entire  afternoon  in  the  process.  This  took  place  in  the  mud 
hut  in  which  the  tribunal  was  held  by  the  two  priests  I  have  referred  to.  These  two 
naval  ofUcers  took  seats  with  the  members  of  the  tribunal,  with  whom  they  were 
laughing,  smoking,  drinking  brandy,  and  receiving  presents.  They  seemed  to  be  on 
the  most  intimate  terms  with  the  members  of  the  tribunal,  but  never  saying  a  word  to 
m(;,  or  taking  any  interest  in  my  condition.  At  various  times  during  this  proceeding 
I  was  called  on  to  acknowledge  the  genuineness  of  my  signatures  to  the  successive 
depositions.  I  did  so,  si)eaking  in  Spanish.  I  was  then  told  by  one  of  the  naval  offi- 
cers to  sjieak  in  English,  and  1  replied  in  English,  "That  is  my  signature."  At  the  con- 
clusion of  this  proceetling  we  exchanged  no  further  words,  and  in  the  presence  of  th€ 
United  Statcis  officers  I  was  called  ujion  to  subscribe  to  the  entire  docuinint.  acknowl- 
edging all  my  signatures,  and  certifying  again  to  the  correctitess  of  tlic  cntiiv  (U'])(>si- 
tions,  on  which  the  members  of  the  tribunal  and  the  officers  of  the  United  States  navy 
present  sii^ned  the  record.  It  was  not  stated  whether  or  not  they  signed  as  witnesses, 
or  as  members  of  the  tribunal. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Masterman  present  ? — A.  Mr.  Masterman  was  waiting  outside  the  hut* 
aiul  tlie  same  ceremony  wa.s  afterward  gone  tlirough  with  in  respect  to  him.  Mr.  Mas- 
terman liad  also  written  a  pamphlet,  but  he  had  not  been  able  to  invent  anytliingol 
importance.  His  pamphlet  consisted  only  of  about  20  pages,  and  contained  nothing 
but  sheer  abuse  of  Mr.  Washburn.  As  fast  as  I  stated  anything  supi)osed  to  bo  import- 
ant, otlier  prisoners  were  called  up  and  made  to  indorse  it.  It  was  a  good  thing  for 
them',  as  1  always  kept  steadfa^itly  in  view  the  object  of  making  such  statements  as 
would  be  for  the  behoof  both  of  myself  and  all  the  other  prisoners.  Our  interests  were 
the  same.  And  I  never  accused  either  myself  or  them,  except  so  far  as  I  was  obliged 
to  do  it.  During  this  intei-viow  there  were  present  two  Paraguayan  officers,  who 
understood  English,  so  that  I  could  not  have  spoken  freely  to  the  American  officers. 
The  heatl  torturer  sat  opposite  me,  sword  in  hand,  and  with  his  sinister  eyes  fixed  upon 
me  with  the  most  menacing  mamier  all  the  time. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  it  occur  to  you  that  you  could  speak  right  out  and  deny  all  these  confessions 
before  these  naval  officers? — A.  The  (juestion  occurred  to  me  and  I  reflected  upon  it  as 
much  as  I  could  within  the  limited  time  allowed  me,  but  I  was  then  of  the  opinion 
which  I  still  hold,  that  my  life  depended  upon  my  confirming  those  statements. 

Q.  Did  you  not  believe  it  was  in  the  power  of  these  officers  to  have  protected  you  ? — 
A.  No;  the  presence  of  these  officers  would  have  aflbrded  no  protection.  I  should  have 
been  ordered  out  for  instant  execution. 

Q.  Did  these  officers  then  leave  you  f— A.  They  did. 

By  3Hr.  Orth: 

Q.  What  presents  did  these  naval  officers  receive? — A.  Lace-work  and  other  curiosi- 
ties of  the  productions  of  the  country.  I  am  not  a  personal  witness  of  that,  but  Mr.  Mas- 
terman was.    I  have  my  iutbrmation  from  him. 

Q.  Did  they  put  no  questions  to  you  at  all? — A.  None,  except  to  ask  me  my  name  and 
tell  me  to  speak  in  English.  When  I  was  called  upon  to  verify  my  signatuie,  I  rei)lied, 
"  That  is  my  signature."    That  is  all  I  said  and  all  they  said. 

Q.  Did  they  ask  you  whether  your  statement  was  true  or  false? — A.  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander Kiikland  said:  "  You  acknowledge  all  that  to  be  true?"    I  replied  "Yes." 

Q.  Did  he  ask  you  how  it  was  obtained  ? — A.  He  asked  no  further  question  what- 
ever. 

Q.  Did  either  of  them  remonstrate  with  the  officer  for  keeping  watch  over  you  with 
the  drawn  sword  ?— A.  They  made  no  remonstrance  whatever.    They  seemed  to  bo  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  the  manner  aflairs  were  going  on. 
By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Had  you  reason  to  believe  that  these  American  officers  were  under  any  impression 
that  these  statements  had  been  extorted  from  you  ? — A.  I  did  not  consider  it  safe  for 
me  to  say  a  word  to  that  efiect  under  these  circumstances. 

Q.  Were  they  under  the  impression  that  your  depositions  were  all  true  ? — A.  If  they 
were  fools  enough  to  believe  so,  under  such'  circumstances,  they  may  have  done  so ;  in 
fact,  I  suppose  they  did  so  believe. 

Q.  How  long  had  they  beeu  in  the  country  before  this  ?— A.  They  had  just  arrived. 
They  arrived  on  the  second  day  of  that  month.  This  was  on  the  8th.  They  had  had 
no  commuincation  with  any  foreigner  in  tlie  country.  The  foreigners  being  all  in  the 
prison,  and  they  knew  nothing  except  what  Lopez  "had  told  the  admiral.  Lopez  said 
that  we  had  freely  confessed  our  guilt,  and  ap^jarently  succeeded  in  bamboozling  him 
completely. 


148  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  will  proceed  with  your  uarrativo. — A.  I  was  kept  in  i>risoii  two  days  after- 
wards. During  which  time  I  Avas  called  on  to  write  two  or  three  documents;  one  of 
them  was  a  letter  of  thanks  to  Marshal  Loi)ez  for  pardoning  me. 

Q.  Still  there  was  nothing  said  of  your  release  having  been  demanded  ? — A.  No ; 
nothing  whatever,  except  what  I  have  stated:  "  What  is  your  name ?''  "  Speak  in  Eng- 
lish." '•  Do  you  acknowledge  all  that  to  be  true  ?"  That  was  all  that  was  said  to  me  by 
the  Americim  officers.  I  was  in  total  darkness  as  to  tlie  circumstances  of  the  arrival  of 
the  American  squadi'on.  I  did  not  suppose  there  was  but  one  steamer  there.  I  supposed 
that  the  Wasp  had  come  ui)  to  bring  our  new  American  minister,  whose  name  was  not 
told  me. 

Q.  Was  that  General  McMahon  ? — A.  Yes ;  he  was  on  board  the  Wasp ;  and  three 
other  steamers  had  also  come  up.  I  was  proceeding  to  say  that  during  these  two  days 
1  was  made  to  write  a  letter  thanking  Lopez  for  his  clemency  in  pardoning  me.  I  was 
made  to  write  another  letter  to  the  members  of  the  tribunal,  in  which  I  Avas  expected 
to  j>raise  their  impartiality  and  the  benignity  with  which  they  had  conducted  my  trial, 
as  well  as  the  high  judicial  qualities  they  had  displayed.  I  was  also  required  to  write 
another  satirical  letter  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Brazilian  forces,  and  a  letter 
to  Mv.  Washburn.  All  of  which,  except  the  first  two,  were  printed  on  separate  sheets 
by  order  of  Lopez,  as  being  very  important  cards  for  him,  and  copies  of  which  given  to 
me.  On  the  10th  of  December,  at  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Masterman  and 
myself  were  mounted  upon  horses  and  escorted  by  a  Paraguayan  captain  and  several 
men.  We  proceeded  through  by-paths,  avoiding  passing  through  the  centre  of  tho 
encampment  for  a  distance  of  about  four  miles,  bringing  us  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
Paraguay. 

Q.  You  did  not  return  to  Asuncion  ? — A.  No,  sir.  Our  property,  of  course,  remained 
confiscated  in  Paraguay.  Before  I  left  the  head  torturer  brouglit  me,  done  up  in  a  large 
sack,  40  copies  of  my  pamphlet,  which  had  just  been  finished  a  few  days  before.  I  had 
written  a  letter  to  Lopez,  to  which  he  sent  to  me  a  very  affectionate  verbal  reply.  I 
had  been  obliged  to  confess  that  I  had  received  $5,000  in  silver  and  $5,.550  in  currency, 
and  I  had  sent  word  to  Lopez  asking  what  he  desired  me  to  do  with  it.  I  had  said. that 
most  of  it  had  been  taken  out  of  the  country  by  Mr.  Washburn,  who  had  probably  con- 
fiscated it  to  his  own  purposes,  but  that  in  case  I  ever  got  hold  of  it  I  wished  to  return 
it  to  the  Paraguayan  government.  I  asked  what  disposition  I  should  make  of  it.  I 
received  an  answer  that  I  might  have  no  scruples  in  using  a  part  of  it  for  the  purpose 
of  convicting  Mr.  Washburn ;  that  if  my  conscience  forced  upon  me  the  return  of  the 
rest,  I  might  return  it  to  the  Paraguayan  legation  in  Paris.  Just  before  embarking, 
however,  in  consideration  of  the  letters  I  had  written  and  the  messages  I  had  sent  to 
the  President,  I  received  another  cordial  message  from  him  in  which  he  told  me  I  might 
retain  all  that  money  myself;  that  I  need  not  be  at  any  pains  to  return  any  of  it,  it 
being  understood  that  I  should  devote  some  part  of  it  to  the  task  of  prosecuting  Mr. 
Washburn  for  his  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  me  a  few  gold 
coins  for  my  expenses  on  the  home  voyage.  This  I  accepted,  as  it  would  have  been 
dangerous  to  refuse  it.  I  was  put  on  board  the  Unitied  States  gunboat  Wasp  by  a  Para- 
guayan canoe  at  near  midnight  on  the  10th  of  December.  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirk- 
land  was  in  command  of  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  him  on  board  ? — ^A.  I  met  him  on  the  quarter-deck  as  I  went  up. 

Q.  Did  he  speak  to  you  ? — A.  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself  saluted  him.  His  reply  was 
to  call  the  master-at-arms  and  say  to  him,  "Take  these  men  forward ;  (that  is  to  say, 
among  the  crew.)  "Put  a  special  guard  over  them,  and  do  not  let  them  loaf  about ; 
keep  them  together."  Mr.  Masterman,  who  is  endowed  with  a  full  modicum  of  English 
pride,  and  who  has  been  an  honorary  lieutenant  in  the  English  service  in  the  Crimea,  on 
the  medical  staff,  flared  up  at  once.  He  expostulated  with  Captain  Kkkland,  saying : 
"  We  are  not  mechanics.  You  call  us  men.  I  have  been  a  lieutenant  in  the  English  ser- 
vice in  the  Crimean  war,  and  have  enjoyed  the  same  rank  in  the  Paraguayan  army. 
You  last  saw  us  as  etnminals,  but  I  hope  you  suspended  your  judgment."  Captain  Kirk- 
land  replied :  "  What  would  you  have  us  call  you  ?  Would  you  have  us  call  you  Misses  f" 
He  said'if  we  did  not  like  the  quarters,  we  could  sleep  on  deck  if  we  chose.  He  also  said 
that  we  were  to  be  treated  as  criminals,  and  sent  as  such  to  the  United  States.  We  slept 
on  the  hard  deck  that  night  among  the  sailors,  with  a  sentry  over  us.  It  being  the  first 
occasion  we  had  had  of  conversing  with  each  other  since  the  time  of  our  imprisonment,  wo 
spent  much  of  the  night  in  conversation  and  comparing  notes.  We  then  learned  for  tho 
first  time  that  each  of  us  had  been  writing  a  pamphlet,  at  least  so  far  as  I  was  concerned. 
Mr.  Masterman,  I  believe,  did  know  that  I  had  been  writing  one,  but  I  had  no  idea  that  lie 
had  been  writing  one.  We  compared  the  statements  we  had  been  writing,  and  discov- 
ered a  wonderful  coincidence  in  the  stories  we  had  been  inventing;  which  is  to  be 
accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  whenever  Mr.  Masterman  disclosed  anything  supposed 
to  be  important,  I  was  called  upon  to  confirm  it,  which  I  always  did,  going  into  further 
details  in  the  same  direction.  The  same  was  also  true  in  respect  to  my  statements  being 
carried  to  him,  which  he  always  confirmed,  taking  the  cue  from  me. 

We  had  now  been  received  on  board  the  United  States  gunboat  as  prisoners,    Tho 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  149 

offi<;er«  of  the  squadron  in  general  held  no  intercourse  with  us.  For  11  mouths  of  that 
year  wo  had  received  no  news  outside  of  Paraguay,  except  a  few  items  iu  a  private  let- 
ter to  Mr.  Washl)uni,  and  we  were  iu  entire  ignorance  of  what  had  been  going  on  in  the 
worhl ;  entirely  ignorant  of  the  circumstances  of  our  own  relief,  ignorant  even  of  the 
fact  of  an  American  squadron  having  arrived,  and  we  were  left  to  learn  the  news  as  best 
we  could.  The  following  morning  we  first  learned  the  name  of  the  American  minister 
who  was  on  board,  and  that  a  stjuadron  of  four  vessels  was  present.  I  then,  on  behali 
of  Mr.  Master  man  and  of  myself,  most  earnestly  requested  to  see  General  McMahon,  iu 
order  to  inform  him  of  the  condition  of  things  in  Paraguay,  and  especially  of  Americana 
who  were  still  in  prison,  five  or  six  iu  number,  and  part  of  whom,  I  have  since  learned, 
had  already  been  executed,  as  the  others  were  at  a  later  day.  I  made  this  request 
through  the  ofiicer  of  the  deck,  who  brought  mc  the  reply  that,  "  in  case  General  McMa- 
hon wanted  to  HOAi  me,  he  would  send  for  me !"  I  never  heard  anything  further  from 
him  after  receiving  this  contemjituous  reply.  I  was  never  invited  to  have,  nor  did  I  evei 
ask  for  any  interview  with  Admiral  DavLs,  Captain  Ramsey,  Cai)tain  Kirkland,  nor  any 
superior  officer,  until  the  last  day  of  my  stay  on  the  American  squadron,  when  I  had  an 
informal  interview  with  Admiral  Davis,  at  kis  own  request,  but  upon  a  matter  entirely 
foreign  to  these  circumstances. 

By  the  Chauim-vn  : 

Q.  Was  General  McMahon  on  board  the  same  steamer  with  yourself? — A.  He  was  on 
the  same  vessel  with  me  for  two  days.  On  December  12,  General  McMahon  landed 
from  the  Wasp,  and  the  vessel  started'  for  Montevideo.  As  soon  as  the  Wasp  got  under 
way  for  Montevideo  the  guard  of  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself  was  taken  away,  ])ut 
two  or  three  days  after  our  arrival  at  Montevideo  it  wjis  placed  over  us  again.  We 
were  alloAved  to  communicate  with  some  of  the  under-ofticers  of  the  vessel,  but  w  ith 
none  of  the  superior  officers — that  is  to  say,  none  of  them  chose  to  associate  with  us. 
On  our  arrival  in  the  road  of  Montevideo  we  were  transferred  to  the  ilag-ship  of  Admi- 
ral Davis,  the  Guerriere.  I  should  mention  that  wo  had  been  kept  on  the  ordinaiy 
diet  of  sailors,  which  is  hard  sea-biscuit,  pork,  occasionally  beans  and  rancid  butter, 
and  once  or  twice  a  week  an  atrocious  mixture,  which  is  verj^  ai)prrpriately  called 
dandy  funk,  composed  of  sea-biscuit  luoistened,  mixed  with  molasses  r. ud  baked.  My 
stomach  revolted  Irom  it.  I  could  not  eat  anything.  I  was  suflViring  from  dysentery, 
and  the  diet  aggravated  the  disease.  I  was  an  intense  sufferer  while  on  boai'd  the 
Wasp. 

Q.  You  had  no  medical  attendance  ? — A.  I  made  kno^vn  my  condition  to  the  physi- 
cian. Dr.  Gale,  and  requested  to  be  allowed  a  little  brandy,  which  I  much  needed,  and 
on  one  single  occasion  only  I  received  a  wine-glass  full.  I  requested  to  be  allowed  a 
regular  ration  of  rice.  The  doctor  ordered  me  some  on  two  or  three  occasions,  but  not 
regularly,  and  I  still  continued  unrelieved  until  I  was  transferred  to  the  Gueniere, 
Avhen  tlie  chaujje  of  tliet  effected  an  instantaneous  cure.  On  board  the  Guerriere  avo 
were  put  into  the  mess  of  the  warrant  officers,  and  the  change  from  barbarous  to  civil- 
ized fare,  as  I  have  stated,  worked  an  instantaneous  cure.  Our  diet  after  this  was 
good,  being  the  same  that  was  served  at  the  warrant  officers'  mess.  I  have  nothing  to 
complain  of  in  that  respect.  From  being  a  severe  sufferer,  after  being  one  day  on 
board  the  Guerriere,  I  found  myself  surprisingly  better. 

Wasuds'GTOX,  D.  C,  Ajiril  26,  1869. 
Examination  of  Porter  C.  Bliss  continued. 
By  Mr.  Ortii: 

Question.  What  were  you  told  by  the  Paraguayan  authorities  prior  to  your  appear- 
ance before  the  judges  on  the  8th  of  December,  186S  ? — Answer.  I  was  told  by  one  of 
the  judges  who  was  accompanied  by  Major  Aveiro,  a  man  who  acted  as  chief  torturer, 
that  a  United  States  gunboat  had  anived  with  a  new  American  minister  on  board 
whose  name  was  not  told  me,  nor  was  anything  said  about  the  arrival  of  the  squadron 
or  of  the  admiral.  This  was  on  the  occasion  when  they  informed  me  that  President 
Lopez  desired  to  pardon  me  and  deliver  me  over  to  the  custody  of  the  new  American 
minister,  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  justice  of  my  own  country;  that  he  had  determined 
to  do  this  as  a  courtesy  to  the  new  American  minister,  and  that  it  must  be  understood 
that  it  was  with  the  condition  that  I  should  be  consislent  with  my  confessions ;  that  I 
was  then  to  be  called  before  the  tribunal  for  a  last  act :  that  was  the  expression  used ;  and 
as  I  have  stated,  the  impression  conveyed  to  my  mind  on  that  occasion  was  that  I  would 
meet  some  of  my  countrymen,  but  who,  or  in  w'hat  capacity,  I  had  no  idea,  and  that  the 
last  act  or  ceremony  would  be  to  formally  condemn  me  to  death,  and  then  remit  the 
sentence  and  turn  me  over  to  the  American  minister. 

Q.  Had  you  been  acquainted  prior  to  this  time  with  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirk- 
land or  with  Captain  Kamsay  ? — I  had  not.  I  knew  that  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirk- 
laUd  was  commander  of  the  Wasp.  I  had  no  idea  who  the  other  officer  was,  although 
I  understood  he  was  not  in  command.  If  his  name  was  mentioned  to  me  it  wa$  in  sucii 
a  tone  that  I  could  not  make  out  who  he  was. 


150  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  How  did  you  know  that  Captain  Kirldaiid  was  commander  of  the  Wasp?— A. 
Because  he  had  been  up  on  two  previous  occasions.  I  did  not  kuoAv  liiin  personally.  I 
Avas  told  hy  the  judges,  "  This  is  Captain  Kirkland."  And  the  other  oilicer's  name  may 
have  been  mentioned,  but  I  could  not  identify  him. 

Q.  Were  these  officers  in  uniform? — A.  They  were  in  uniform,  but  I,  not  being 
acquainted  Avith  naval  uniforms,  could  not  judge  as  to  their  rank.  I  knew  they  were 
American  officers. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  in  the  presence  of  these  American  officers,  when  called  on  to 
verify  your  testimony,  extorted  from  you  under  torture,  state  in  their  presence  that  it 
had  been  extorted  from  you  and  deny  the  Avhole  thing  ? — A.  Because  it  Avould  hav*e 
been  the  signal  for  my  execution.  I  Avas  fully  i)ersuaded  as  to  that  fact.  I  had  reflected 
upon  it  before  I  came,  and  came  fully  to  that  conclusion,  Avhich  Avas  corroborated  by 
exactly  similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Masterman,  and  ajiproved  by  every  one  hav- 
ing a  personal  knowledge  of  the  character  of  Lopez.  I  was  fully  convinced  that  such 
a  stej)  on  my  part  would  have  caused  my  immediate  execution. 

Q.  HoAv  far  were  these  officers  aAvay  from  their  vessels  ?-r-A.  Four  miles  in  a  line  from 
the  river. 

Q.  Had  they  any  officers  with  them? — A.  None  whatever;  they  Avere  alone. 

Q.  When  you  got  on  board  the  Wasp  you  learned  that  General  McMahon,  the  Amer- 
ican minister,  was  there  ? — A.  I  had  previously  learned  that  a  minister  Avas  on  board.  I 
did  not  learn  his  name  until  the  day  folloAving  our  embarkation  on  board  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not,  as  soon  as  you  learned  the  American  minister  was  on  board, 
communicate  with  him  and  tell  him  that  your  testimony  had  been  extorted  from  you? — 
A.  That  is  precisely  the  gravest  charge  I  haA^e  to  make  against  these  proceedings  on 
the  part  of  American  officers.  I  did  demand  to  see  the  American  minister  the  following 
morning  after  my  arrival  on  the  Wasp.  I  earnestly  requested  to  see  General  McMahon 
for  the  purjiose  of  communicating  these  facts  to  him. 

Q.  Did  you  inform  the  officer  of  the  deck  of  the  nature  of  the  information  you  Avished 
to  communicate  ? — A.  I  told  him  this  far,  that  I  was  possessed  of  A^ery  important  infor- 
mation which  it  was  very  necessary  that  General  McMahon  should  know  before  going 
to  his  destination.  I  wished  to  communicate,  as  I  have  already  stated,  the  fact  of  a 
general  imprisonment  of  all  foreigners,  and  that  other  American  citizens  were  in  the 
clutches  of  Lopez.  I  supposed  that  Admiral  DaAas  and  all  the  other  officers  of  the 
squadron  must  knoAV  perfectly  Avell  from  Mr.  Washburn  the  circumstances  of  my 
imprisonment,  but  it  seems  they  placed  no  confidence  in  Mr.  Washburn's  statements. 
When  I  learned  that  an  American  minister  to  Paraguay  was  on  board,  I,  as  a  member 
of  the  American  legation,  considered  it  my  duty  to  communicate  Avith  him  in  any  case, 
and  I  was  very  much  surprised  that  he  had  not  called  for  me  of  his  oAvn  accord  before 
this.  But  on  the  11th  of  December,  at  the  earnest  request  of  Mr.  Masterman,  as  Avell 
as  on  the  promptings  of  my  own  opinions,  I  went  to  the  officer  of  the  deck,  whose  name 
I  do  not  now  remember,  but  could  easily  ascertain,  and  stated  to  him  that  I  was  pos- 
sessed of  A^ery  important  information  Avhich  I  wished  to  communicate  to  General 
McMahon  before  he  landed  in  Paraguay,  and  that  among  other  things  I  Avished  to  com- 
municate to  him  the  circumstances  of  my  imprisonment,  and  that  American  citizens 
were  still  in  the  clutches  of  Lopez.  This  officer  received  my  communication  very  cooly 
and  remarked,  "We  have  been  informed  about  all  these  thinf^s  beforehand."  I  replied 
that  General  McMahon  could  not  possibly  have  the  information  I  Avished  to  give  him ; 
that  I  had  information  Avhich  no  one  else  could  possibly  possess,  and  that  I  Avished  to 
giA^e  it.  The  officer  replied  that  he  would  take  my  message  to  General  McMahon,  which 
he  did,  and  returned  with  the  answer,  "  General  McMahon  says  that  if  he  should  Avish 
to  see  you  he  will  call  for  you."  The  day  after  that  he  went  on  shore  without  my  ever 
having  set  eyes  upon  him. 

Q.  When  did  you  make  your  first  demand  to  communicate  with  Admiral  Davis  ? — 
A.  I  never  made  any  demand  to  communicate  with  Admiral  Da^ds  at  all.  I  considered 
myself  aggrieved  by  the  treatment  I  received  and  made  up  my  mind  immediately 
that  it  was  a  case  in  which  my  own  dignity  would  best  be  consulted  by  declining  to 
make  any  demand  for  an  interview  with  Admiral  Da\'is. 

Q.  Was  Admiral  Davis  aAvare  of  your  desire  to  communicate  Avith  GeJi.  McMahon? — 
A.  I  haA^e  no  doubt  he  was,  although  I  cannot  certify  to  the  fact. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  DaAds  remain  on  the  Wasp  until  you  got  doAvn  to  Buenos  Ayres  ? — 
A.  He  remained  on  the  same  A'essel  Avith  me  during  the  entire  time.  I  Avas  on  board 
the  United  States  squadron,  that  is  to  say,  one  Aveek  on  board  the  Wasp  and  fiA^e  Aveeks 
on  board  the  Guerriere,  the  admiral's  flag -ship ;  he  was  on  board  the  same  steamer  all 
the  time. 

Q.  You  Avill  now  proceed  to  describe  the  treatment  you  receiA^ed  on  board  the  Wasj). — 
A.  I  mentioned  the  other  day  that  immediately  after  arriA^mg  on  board  the  Wasp  Mr. 
Masterman  and  myself  Avere  put  under  guard.  After  the  steamer  got  under  Avay  for 
Montevideo,  the  guard  was  taken  off.  When  Ave  arriA'cd  at  Montevideo  there  Avas  at  first 
no  guard  put  over  us  and  I  supposed  at  that  time  the  guard  Avas  merely  a  i^rocijatio  i 
against  our  communicating  Avith  any  unauthorized  i^arty  on  shore  in  Paraguay.    I  Avas 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATIOX.  151 

told  when  the  guard  was  removed,  by  the  officer  of  the  deck,  that  I  was  at  liberty  to 
go  about  without  a  guard,  but  that  my  movements  would  be  watched  and  that  I  was 
not  to  communicato  with  any  person  outside  the  vessel.  I  gave  my  parole  that  I  would 
not  do  so.  On  arriving  in  Montevideo,  December  18, 1  was  transferred  with  Mr.  Master- 
man  to  the  flag-ship  Guerriere.  We  were  put  into  the  warrant  officer's  mess  and  for  two 
days  there  was  no  surveillance  upon  us — no  officer  placed  over  us.  The  day  after  my 
arrival  on  board  the  Gucniere  I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  parents  to  be  sent  by  a  vessel 
about  to  8;iil,  and  not  being  under  arrest  at  the  time,  I  stated  that  fact,  implying 
that  £  h/id  been  under  airest  on  the  Wasp,  though  I  did  not  expressly  so  state.  The 
object  of  that  letter  was  to  quiet  the  apprehensions  of  my  parents  and  to  speak  as 
lightly  as  possible  of  the  circumstance-s  with  which  I  was  surrounded.  I  was  delighted 
to  get  from  on  board  the  Wasp,  where  I  was  kept  on  the  most  miserable  fare,  and  to  be 
on  board  a  ve&sel  where,  for  the  first  time  foY  several  years,  I  could  have  something  like 
a  decent  diet.  I  was  ovcijoyed  at  the  time  and  wrote  in  a  somewhat  jubilant  strain. 
My  letter  hnn  been  published  and  can  be  referred  to  by  the  committee  if  thej'^  desire. 

On  the  day  succeeding,  two  gentlemen  came  on  board  the  vessel  to  see  me ;  one  was 
Dr.  Peter  Bourse,  an  American  dentist  living  in  Montevideo,  a  friend  of  mine,  the  other 
was  Don  Carios  Saguier,  also  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  and  a  i)romineut  I'araguayan 
centleman  residing  in  Buenos  Ayres,  hostile  in  his  sentiments,  however,  to  President 
Lopez  and  wishing  for  his  downfall.  The  g(;ntlemen  came  on  board,  as  I  afterwards 
learned,  and  had  an  interview  with  some  of  the  officers,  but  without  seeing  tlic  admh'al; 
requesting  to  see  me,  they  were  refuse<l  pemussion.  They  then  requested  to  see  the 
admiral.  Tliat  was  contemptuously  refused,  and  they  immediately  left  tlie  vessel  and 
a  non-connnissioned  officer  was  inmiediately  jdaced  in  cliarge  of  Air.  Mastenuan  and 
mysell^  with  orders  to  keep  us  togetlier  antl  not  to  allow  us  to  liold  any  connnunication 
with  any  person  from  outside  the  vessel,  nor  to  allow  us  to  write  any  letters  or  receive 
any  letters  except  by  permission.  That  non-connnissioned  officer  was  frequently  re- 
iievetl  of  course  by  others,  but  the  same  order  was  continued  in  force  for  about  three 
weeks.  I  am  not  certain  of  the  exact  length  of  time.  Mr.  Masterman  losing  patience 
at  the  insults  to  which  we  were  sul)ject(;d,  made  tlie  effort  to  ingratiate  liimself  with 
the  admiral  by  a  personal  interview  whieli  he  solicited,  refening  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
been  a  lieutenant  in  the  English  service,  and  succeeded  so  far  as  to  have  the  guard  re- 
movexl  in  respect  to  lumself,  he  remaining  on  his  parole,  and  from  that  time  the  officer 
placed  over  us  had  no  further  custody  of  Mr.  Masienuau.  I  believe<l  th(!n,  and  believe 
now,  tlxat  by  taking  tho  same  ste])s,  Admiral  Davis  would  probably  have  taken  the 
same  course  in  regard  to  myself,  but  1  did  not  choose  to  do  it.  I  felt  greatly  aggri<'ved 
at  the  conduct  of  the  admiral  towards  me,  and  declined  to  have  any  connnunication 
with  him  except  at  his  request  or  onler. 

Q.  Why  did  you  feol  aggrieved  at  thxi  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis  ?— A.  For  lia ving 
been  received  on  board  the  United  States  squadron  as  a  criminal  and  for  having  been 
assigned  by  Lieutenant  Connnander  Kirkland,  when  I  came  on  board,  to  the  deck  of 
the  Wasp.  Mr,  Masterman  said  to  him  tliat  he  hoped  he  did  not  believe  all  he  heard 
the  other  day  when  ho  saw  us  before  the  court  arraigned  as  ciiminals,  that  ho  hoped 
lie  liad  suspended  his  judgment  at  least.  His  reply  was,  "I  do  not  know  about  that. 
I  cannot  judge.  I  receive  you  here  a,s  criminals,  and  you  will  have  to  be  considered  as 
such  until  you  are  proved  to  be  otherwise."  Mr.  Masterman,  in  his  testimony,  has  used 
the  word  criminal,  and  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  that  is  correct.  I  am  not  abso- 
lutely certain  as  to  the  use  of  that  word.  If  criminal  was  not  used  the  word  used  was 
felon.  I  did  not  say  a  word  in  that  conversation,  but  looked  on  with  amazement  to  see 
members  of  the  American  legation  treated  in  that  way. 

Q.  W^as  he  aware  of  your  connection  with  the  legation? — A.  Yes,  sir;  he  was  per- 
fectly aware  of  it.  Mr.  W^ishbnrn  had  told  him  fuJiy.  Mr.  Washburn  had  then  left 
lor  the  United  States.  After  the  arrival  of  the  American  squadron  at  Montevideo  most 
false  and  calumnious  articles  concerning  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself,  proceeding  from 
officers  of  the  United  States  squadron,  were  published  in  the  papers.  I  cannot  tell  what 
officers  were  engaged  in  these  publications,  but  they  must  have  proceeded  from  per- 
sons who  came  down  on  that  squadron,  because  statements  were  made  which  could  not 
have  proceeded  from  anybody  else.  To  these  calumnious  communications  we  were  not 
allowed  to  reply,  but  were  expressly  told  that  all  our  communications  would  be  scruti- 
nized by  the  authorities,  that  is,  by  the  admiral  and  the  captain  of  the  vessel.  I  was 
told  this  by  Captain  Woolsey,  in  command  of  the  flag-ship  Guerriere.  I  was  told  that 
the  admiral,  in  person,  inspected  all  the  letters  which  I  received  and  which  I  endeavored 
to  send. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Why  did  the  fact  that  they  were  to  inspect  the  letters  you  sent  prevent  you  from 
writing.and  replying  to  these  publications  ?— A.  One  letter  which  I  received  Avas  handed 
to  me  Irom  the  admiral  torn  open.  Thi^  was  from  a  Paraguayan  officer  who  had  been  a 
prisoner  of  war,  and  who  having  seen  published  a  part  of  my  extorted  confessions, 
wrote  to  me  to  know  whether  they  were  genuine,  and  asked  me  in  reply  to  state  the  exact 
facts  of  the  case.    I  sent  that  letter  to  the  admiral  with  a  reply  stating  the  exact  facts 


152  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

of  the  case.  The  letter  was  sent  to  its  address  and  was  probably  x^i^^^^islicd.  I  have  a 
copy  of  it  -which  I  will  submit  to  the  committee.  Another  letter  Avhich  I  wrote  just 
before  leaving  Montevideo  in  time  to  be  forv/arded  before  the  vessel  left,  was  returned 
to  me  after  we  had  been  out  at  sea  three  days,  with  the  remark  that  the  admiral  had 
not  seen  lit  to  send  it. 

Q.  What  was  in  the  letter? — A.  It  was  a  letter  to  the  father  of  Captain  Antonio  Fal- 
con, one  of  the  victims  of  Lopez  wlio  was  a  fellow-prisoner  of  mine.  I  wrote  this  letter 
to  the  efleet  that,  having  seen  his  son  in  prison,  I  had  just  learned  that  he  had  lost  his 
life.  The  reply,  when  this  letter  was  returned  to  me,  was  that  the  admiral  could  not 
send  it  except  tlirough  Captain  Kirkland,  and  that  l^e  did  not  choose  to  send  it  through 
him.  This  letter  was  written  at  the  suggestion  of  the  lieet-surgeon,  Dr.  Duval,,  to  whom 
I  had  mentioned  the  circumstances,  and  who  told  me  I  ought  to  Avrite  to  the  parents  of 
the  young  num.  He  was  a  young  man  in  whom  I  had  taken  a  deep  interes-t.  This  let- 
ter was  returned  through  Surgeon  Duval,  who  indorsed  upon  the  back  of  the  letter 
these  facts  over  his  own  signature.  I  ha v^e  the  original  letter  with  tlie  indorsement, 
and  I  will  put  it  in  evidence.  It  was  written  several  hours  before  the  sailing  of  the 
vessel;  and  iirecisely  what  was  meant  by  the  reply  that  the  admiral  could  not  send  it 
except  through  Captain  Kirkland  I  do  not  understand. 

Q.  Were  there  any  letters  making  disclaimers  in  respect  to  your  testimony  or  making 
statements  of  the  facts  in  respect  to  your  imprisonment  returned  to  you? — A>  The 
letter  to  which  I  have  just  referred  entered  into  some  details  and  more  or  less  explicitly 
stated  the  fact  that  we  were  all  of  us  innocent  victims;  using  pretty  severe  language 
in  respect  to  the  conduct  of  Lopez  and  denouncing  him  as  an  atrocious  monster.  I 
may  also  state  that  the  Spanish  commodore  commanding  a  squadron  at  Montevideo, 
wrote  me  a  letter  Avhich  w»as  suppressed;  this  I  know  because  a  few  days  later  when 
the  adnnral  was  absent  at  Buenos  Ayres,  a  Spanish  midshipman  came  on  board  to  ask 
for  an  answer  to  it.    I  was  sent  for  and  spoke  with  him. 

Q.  Were  the  facts  to  which  you  have  testified  as  having  communicated  to  Surgeon 
Duval  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  other  ofiicers  of  the  squadron? — A.  Not  by  me ; 
I  have  no  doubt  they  were  by  Surgeon  Duval  himself,  who  took  an  active  interest  in 
the  matter.  I  never  made  any  overtures  to  have  any  intercourse  with  any  of  the 
superior  officers  of  the  vessel. 

Q.  Was  the  course  of  treatment  towards  you  changed  after  your  interview  with 
Siu^geon  Duval  ? — A.  Not  in  the  slightest  degree ;  on  the  contrary  Surgeon  Duval  was 
made  to  expiate  his  friendship  for  us ;  he  was  denied  x^crmission  to  go  on  shore  for 
three  weeks,  (to  the  best  of  my  recollection,)  in  consequence  of  the  interest  he  had 
taken  in  us.    He  was  the  fleet-sui-geon  and  his  i)ost  was  on  board  the  Guerriere. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  How  did  you  know  that  fact? — A.  From  Surgeon  Duval  himself;  ho  expressly 
stated  that  he  Avas  a  sufterer  in  our  behalf,  that  the  admiral  had  refused  to  allow  him 
to  go  on  shore  for  three  weeks,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection.    This  was  v^rhile  we  were 
lying  off  Montevideo,  as  we  did  for  nearly  a  month. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  State  what  was  done  to  render  you  comfortable,  as  far  as  your  physical  wants 
were  concerned,  after  this. — A.  Nothing  whatever  so  far  as  Admiral  Davis  was  con- 
cerned. We  went  on  board  the  Wasp  in  the  most  pitiable  condition,  in  the  same  suits 
of  clothes  which  we  had  worn  for  three  months,  eaten  by  vermin,  with  our  ])ants  cut 
in  two  by  the  irons  we  had  worn ;  for  a  day  or  two  no  movement  was  made  to  iuqjrovo 
our  wardrobe ;  at  last  I  received  a  x^air  of  pants  from  an  officer,  which  was  followed 
from  time  to  time  by  other  articles  of  clothing  from  others  until  I  succeeded  in  effect- 
ing a  complete  change  of  wardrobe. 

Q.  Who  were  the  officers  who  furnished  you  these  articles? — ^A.  I  cannot  remember 
all  of  them;  one  gentleman,  I  think,  Avas  Siu'geon  Gale.  Another  addition  to  my 
wardrobe  was  sent  to  me  anonymously,  from  one  of  the  officers  of  tlie  deck  who  did 
not  send  his  name,  and  I  never  knew  Avho  he  Avas;  probably  the  cause  of  not  sending 
his  name  was  that  he  did  not  Avish  to  be  knoAA-n  as  favoring  us. 

Q.  Did  you  receive  any  attentions,  or  clothing,  or  suitable  food  from  any  of  the 
princix^al  officers  on  board  the  vessel  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  you  receive  any  visits  from  any  of  them? — A.  I  never  received  a  visit  from 
any  of  them;  I  had  on  tAVO  or  tlu'ce  occa"sions  con\'ersations  Avith  Captain  V/oolsey,  of 
the  Guerriere,  after  I  Avas  transferred  to  the  llag-ship,  upon  his  sending  for  me.  I  never 
sjioke  Avith  Cax)tain  Kirkland  after  the  first  occasion  when  he  receivecl  us  on  board  the 
Wasx) ;  I  never'sxioke  to  Fleet  CaiJtain  Ramsay  at  all.  Cax)tain  Woolsey  called  for  me 
on  three  or  four  occasions,  in  the  first  instance  a  day  or  tAvo  after  going  on  board.  He 
asked  me  if  I  wished  to  go  to  the  United  States  as  soon  as  x^ossible  or  AYhetlier  I  x^re- 
ferred  to  remain  on  board  the  squadron  until  I  should  hear  from  the  United  States. 
He  said  in  case  I  Avished  to  remain  he  Avould  give  me  a  ration  and  giA^e  me  emx>loynient 
60  that  I  could  earn  something;  he  asked  me,  as  I  remember,  if  I  understood  draAving 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  153 

I  replied  tLat  I  had  not  been  informed  as  to  my  status  and  that  I  could  not  answer  the 
question  immediately.  I  asked  il'  I  would  be  allowed  to  communicate  with  the  shore, 
or  to  go  on  shore  in  that  case.  He  said  I  would  not.  This  was  a  day  or  two  alter 
being  on  board  and  before  being  placed  the  second  time  under  arrest.  I  then  requested 
a,  short  time  to  think  of  it.  The  alternative  was  this :  I  had  a  good  many  friends  in 
Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres;  I  had  some  pecuniary  interest  in  both  places;  it  was 
of  the  greatest  imi)ortance  to  set  myself  right  in  both  places  as  soon  an  possible.  If  I 
could  have  gone  on  shore  I  would  have  prefeiTcd  to  have  done  so  and  to  have  remained 
there  for  some  time,  but  not  being  aDowed  that  I  determined  to  go  to  the  United 
States  as  soon  as  possible;  when,  to  my  suqmse,  I  was  a  second  time  put  under  arrest. 
This  of  comse  obviated  all  necessity  for  an  answer  on  my  part.  On  auother  occasion, 
after  being  put  under  arrest,  he  sent  for  me  to  say  something  in  respect  to  the  trans- 
mission of  the  letters  I  had^vritten.  I  do  not  remember  that  interview  particularly  ; 
it  involved  nothing  of  importance.  I  wish  to  say  that  Captain  Woolsey  treated  me 
with  as  nmch  kindness  as  appeared  to  be  consistent  with  obeying  the  orders  of  Admi- 
ral Davis.  He  held  as  little  intercourse  with  us  as  possible,  but  he  did  not  treat  me 
with  any  diarespect.  I  considered  his  otter  that  I  would  be  allowed  to  remain  there 
and  that  he  would  give  me  employment,  as  an  indication  of  kindness  on  his  part. 

Q.  What  ditt'erence  was  there,  if  any,  between  the  treatment  of  yourself  and  of  Mr. 
Mjwt-ennan  ? — A.  Only  this,  that  Mr.  Mastermau  was  released  from  surveillance,  having 
given  his  parole  not  to  connnunicate  with  persons  on  shore. 

Q.  What  time  did  you  arrive  at  liiof — A.  We  arrived  at  Rio  the  2l8t  or  22d  of 
January.    I  think  the  2l8t. 

Q.  And  this  guard  placed  over  you  at  Montevideo  was  withdrawn? — ^A.  It  was  with- 
drawn a  few  hours  after  wo  had  sailed,  but  was  put  on  again  immediately  after  our 
arrival  in  the  harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro;  the  passage  having  occupied  five  or  six  days. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time  communicate  with  Admiral  Davis  f — A.  I  did;  on  the  25th 
of  January,  I  think;  at  all  events  it  was  four  or  five  days  after  our  arrival  at  Rio.  It 
had  been  published  in  the  papers  that  Bliss  and  Mastennan  were  on  board  the  American 
squadron  as  prisoners,  not  allowed  to  communicate  with  any  one  on  the  shore,  and 
were  on  their  way  to  the  United  States  to  be  tried  by  their  government.  The  same 
statement  had  appeared  in  the  papers  of  Buenos  Ayres  while  we  were  there.  Two  or 
three  days  after  our  arrival  at  Rio,  my  fiiend  George  M.  Davis,  a  merchant  at  Rio  and 
Ibrmerly  attache  of  the  American  legation  in  Brazil  at  the  same  time  I  was  connected 
with  that  legation  as  private  secretary  to  General  Webb,  seeing  this  statement  in  the 
ncAvsimpers  on  my  arrival,  of  my  being  a  prisoner  on  board  not  lulowed  to  communicate 
with  any  one  on  shore,  detennined  to  make  an  eftbrt  to  see  me.  He  went  on  board,  saw 
Admiral  Davis,  and  askc^d  if  he  could  see  his  friend  Bliss.  I  give  the  converfjation  as 
stated  to  me  by  Mr.  Davis.  The  Admiral  replied,  "What!  is  Bliss  your  friend?" 
^'Yes,"hesaid.  '"What  do  you  know  about  him?"  "I  know  a?Z  about  him."  "Tell 
me  something  about  him."  Mr.  Davis  thereupon  narrated  the  principal  facts  connected 
with  my  coming  to  South  America,  and  his  own  intercourse  with  me.  He  vouched  for 
my  being  a  jkisou  of  good  tliaracter  andof  litiiary  attainments,  mentioned  my  having 
been  formerly  well  ac(piaintod  with  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  that  I  had  been  on  such 
terms  with  him  that  on  visiting  him  he  would  walk  up  and  down  the  corridor  of  his 
palace  with  me  in  conversation  about  individuals  and  about  scientific  matters.  This 
inlbrmatiou  opened  the  eyes  of  the  admiral  somewhat.  The  consequence  was  that 
within  half  an  hour  afterw;«ds,  and  while  Mr.  Davis  was  still  in  conversation  with  me, 
word  came  from  the  admiral  that  I  was  relieved  from  an'cst.  This  was  two  or  three 
days  previous  to  my  embarking  for  the  United  States. 

Q.  Did  the  admiral  seek  a  personal  interview  with  you  after  this? — A.  He  did;  on 
the  25th  of  January,  the  day  i)revious  to  my  embarking  for  the  United  States.  Being 
then  at  liberty  to  communicate  Avith  whoever  I  chose,  I  communicated  with  the  steward 
of  the  admiral,  a  person  who  had  formerly  done  some  ei-rauds  for  me  on  shore,  and 
made  some  purchases  for  me.  I  had  received  at  Buenos  Ayres  some  effects  belonging 
*to  me  which  had  remained  on  dej)Osit  at  Buenos  Ayres  all  the  time  I  had  been  in 
Paraguay.  They  came  oil"  in  a  bundle  and  a  box  in  a  verj'  dilapidated  state.  I  desired 
to  pack  them  up  in  a  more  convenient  form  before  going  on  board  the  merchant 
steamer.  I  therefore  asked  the  steward  to  buy  me  a  trunk  on  shore,  giving  him  the 
money  for  it  and  mentioning  several  articles  which  I  desired  him  to  get.  The  admiral 
sent  for  me  and  met  me  in  the  gangway  rather  abruptly  with  the  question  put,  " Did 
you  ask  my  steward  to  buy  you  a  trunk  and  other  things?"  I  said,  "Yes,  sir."  "Are 
there  any  other  things  you  want  to  have  bought?"  I  said,  "Yes;  there  are  several 
other  things  I  would  like  to  procure,  but  that  as  the  time  Avas  so  limited  before  sailing 
I  should  have  to  forego  getting  them."  "What  is  it  you  want  to  procure?"  Said  I, 
"Among  other  things  1  wish  to  procure  some  publications.  I  was  formerly  interested 
in  the  Brazilian  Geographical  and  Historical  Institute,  I  wish  to  get  a  set  of  the 
publications  of  that  society  if  possible  and  several  other  publications  relating  to  the 
war  and  so  forth,  and  to  buy  a  number  of  books  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  in  connec- 
tion with  my  studies  in  regard  to  South  America."    He  then  made  one  or  two  observa- 


154  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

tiona  as  to  the  places  whore  these  piihlications  could  probably  be  obtained,  mentioned 
to  me  a  bookseller  of  whom  I  could  very  likely  get  them,  aud  remarked,  "Would  yoa 
not  like  to  go  on  shore  yourself  I"  I  said,  ''I  should  like  to  g.)  very  much."  He  said, 
"  Come  and  see  mo  to-morrow  morning  after  breakfast  and  I  will  see  about  ii,"  I  then 
left;  having  no  further  conversation  than  I  have  related  until  the  next  moniiug  after 
breakfast.  About  nine  o'clock  I  went  up  to  the  Admiral's  reception  room.  He  came 
in  there.  Neither  on  this  occasion  nor  on  the  previous  one  did  he  sluiko  hands  or  pass 
any  salutation — shnply  proceeding  to  business.  He  now  said,  "  Well,  you  have  come 
to  see  about  going  on  shore,  have  you?"  I  said,  *'Yes,  sir."  lie  said,  "Speak  to  the 
officer  on  deck.  There  will  be  a  boat  going  ashore  at  (such)  an  hour."  Mentioning,  I 
think,  half-past  nine  or  thereabouts.  *^The  steam  launch  will  leave  the  vessel  to  take 
you  ou  board  the  merchant  steamer  shortly  after  one  o'clock.  Don't  fail  to  bo  here 
then."  I  then  went  on  shore,  arriving  about  ten  o'clock  and  got  back  promptly  at  one. 
I  had  less  than  three  hours  on  shore ;  during  which  time  I  had  only  opportunity  to  see 
two  or  three  out  of  a  large  number  of  acquaintances.  I  saAV  Mr.  Mihord,  a  merchant 
there,  who  is  an  old  friend.  I  saw  the  chargd  d'affaires,  Mr.  Lidgerwood,  and  also  Dr. 
Rainey,  an  American,  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  ferry-1)oat  enterprise.  To  all  these  gen- 
tlemen I  made  free  communication  as  to  what  had  x>assed  on  board  the  squadron  in 
regard  to  myself,  as  to  my  sufferings  in  Paraguay,  and  my  innocence  of  the  charges 
against  me,  also  respecting  American  citizens  who  still  remained  in  Paraguay  in 
prison.  They  exi)ressed  themselves  astounded  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  admiral  and 
completely  unable  to  discover  why  he  should  have  acted  as  he  did  towards  Mr,  Master- 
man  and  myself.  A  little  after  one  o'clock  I  was  called  for  very  suddenly  and  came 
on  board  the  steam-launch  which  was  to  take  mo  to  the  mail  steamer.  I  was  hurried 
off  without  an  opportunity  of  taking  leave  of  my  friends.  The  officer  on  deck  saying 
to  me,  "I  will  make  your  adieus  for  you.  You  need  not  trouble  jT^ourself  about  that." 
I  Avas  in  the  forward  part  of  the  vessel  sitting  talking  with  a  friend  when  word  came 
to  me  that  the  launch  was  ready  and  that  I  must  go  right  off  now.  Surprised  in  that 
way  I  had  no  time  to  bid  good-bye  to  any  friends  on  board.  One  other  thing  I  should 
have  stated.  A  day  or  two  before  embarking  for  Rio  I  received  a  note  from  Admiral 
Davis,  which  was  published  in  these  documents,  requesting  me  to  take  passage  on 
board  the  United  States  mail  steamer'Mississippi  to  New  York,  and  to  communicate  my 
arrival  there  to  the  State  Department.  I  rei)lied  by  a  letter,  which  is  also  published 
in  these  documents,  stating  that  I  accepted  his  proposition  and  that  I  would  report  in 
jDcrson  to  the  State  Department,  as  in  duty  bound,  being  a  member  of  the  late  Ameri- 
can legation  at  Paraguay.  No  promise  Avas  exacted  of  mo  as  to  my  conduct  Avhilo  on 
board  the  mail  steamer  Mississipj)i,  and  I  made  no  xu'omise.  I  went  ou  shore  at  every 
point  where  the  steamer  touched,  at  Bahia,  at  Pernambuco,  at  Par^,  and  at  St.  Thomas, 
and  communicated  with  persons  ou  shore  at  all  these  x)laces. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  Where  did  you  part  with  the  naval  authorities.  Admiral  Davis,  and  others? — A.  I 
never  parted  at  all  with  them.  I  left  the  ship  in  the  bay  at  Rio  under  the  circumstances 
I  have  mentioned.  The  consuls  whom  I  saw  at  the  ports  at  which  the  merchant  steamer 
stopped  were  all  of  them  eager  to  get  information  from  me,  and  expressed  their  aston- 
ishment at  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis.  They  urged  me  to  j^ress  upon  our  gov- 
ernment a  full  investigation  of  all  the  circumstances,  which  I  promised  I  would  do. 
The  consul  at  Pardi,  Mr.  Bond,  was  an  old  acquaintance,  who  came  out  in  the  same 
steamer  with  Mr.  Washburn  and  myself  eight  years  ago.  At  his  request  I  wrote  a 
letter,  giving  the  principal  points  of  my  history.  He  said  it  wa'^  most  important  that 
I  shoidd  define  ray  position  more  authentically  than  I  had  been  led  to  do  on  board  the 
squadron ;  that  the  officers  of  the  squadron  were  against  me ;  that  I  might  die  on  board 
the  steamer  before  reaching  the  United  States ;  and  that  I  ought  to  put  on  record  what- 
ever statement  I  had  to  make.  At  his  request,  I  wrote  him  a  letter,  which  I  authorized 
him  to  publish,  as  he  said  was  his  intention,  in  Avliich  I  stated  to  him  that  all  the  con- 
fessions of  mine  which  had  been  given  to  the  world  were  extorted  from  me  under  th« 
circumstances  which  I  have  previously  stated  to  this  committee,  and  were  all  untrue. 
I  left  that  paper  in  his  hands  for  publication  in  the  ParsI  papers.  I  also,  while  ou  board 
the  Guerriero — a  fact  which  I  omitted  to  state  before  in  its  proper  place — had  a  long 
conversation  with  Ileet  Surgeon  Duval,  to  whom  I  communicated  full  particulars  of  all 
these  circumstances,  and  he  embodied  them  in  a  great  measure  in  letters  to  other  par- 
ties in  Washington,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  case  I  should  die  on  the  passage,  as  per- 
haps was  not  improbable  at  that  time,  my  statements  might  be  known. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  communication  witli  these  naval  officers  since  that  time? — A. 
None  whatever. 

Q.  Nor  with  the  Navy  Department  ?— A.  I  have  been  at  the  Navy  Department.  I  was 
there  a  day  or  two  before  the  change  of  administration,  and  called  upon  Secretary 
Welles,  whom  I  had  known  in  this  city  eight  years  ago  as  a  friend.  I  was  at  tluit  time 
misinformed  as  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  If  I  had  been  as  fully  informed  as  I 
am  now,  I  should  not  have  called  upon  him,  but  I  had  merely  seen  a  letter  in  which 
Secretary  Welles  had  requested  the  admiral  to  proceed  with  the  fleet  under  his  command 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATIOX.  155 

» 
jO  Paraguay,  as  suggested  in  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  I  snpposefl  the  con- 
duct of  Admiral  Davis  could  not  at  all  be  attributed  to  Secretary  Welles,  but  that  the 
conduct  of  the  Secretary  had  been  sucli  as  should  be  i)erfectly  satisfactory  to  uie.  I 
have  since  seen  season  to  change  my  oi)inion  in  regard  to  that.  I  called  upon  Secretary 
Welles  and  expressed  my  thanks  to  him  for  having  given  these  orders.  I  also  called 
upon  Commodore  Thornton  Jenkins,  the  chief  of  the  Navigation  Bureau,  whose  name 
had  been  mentioned  by  Surgeon  Duval  as  a  friend.  There  was  nothing  of  importance 
in  any  interview  I  had  at  the  Navy  Department.  And  I  have  had  no  other  communica- 
tion with  any  other  ])erson  in  that  department. 

Q.  Did  Secretary  Welles  make  any  remark  to  you? — A.  Nothing,  except  of  the  briefest 
character.  I  simply  told  him  that  I  thanked  him  for  giving  these  orders ;  and  upon  his 
part  he  congratulated  me  for  having  escaped  from  imprisonment. 

By  Mr.  OiiTii : 
Q.  To  what  circumstances  do  yon  allude,  which  if  yon  had  known,  would  have  pre- 
vented you  from  calling  upon  him? — A.  In  the  lirst  place,  I  have  seen  documents  signed 
by  Secretary  Wclh's,  in  which  it  is  my  opinion  he  did  not  show  a  sufhcicnt  interest  in 
the  vin<lication  of  the  honor  of  the  flag,  nor  a  sufhcient  sense  of  the  indignity  sullered 
by  the  American  h'gation  in  Paraguay.  He  seems  to  have  shown  a  readiness  to  accept 
the  re[)orts  of  Admiral  Davis  without  any  question,  when  they  ought  to  have  been  more 
carefully  scrutinized. 

By  the  Ciiaieman  : 

Q.  What  communications  were  these  ? — A.  I  refer  to  letters  of  Secretary  Welles  to 
Admiral  Davis,  which  are  j^jublished  in  these  documents,  and  to  the  impression  left  upon 
my  mind  l)y  the  reading  ot  these  letters.    I  have  no  information  outside  of  that. 

"Q.  Then  the  inii)ressions  you  received  of  that  character  came  from  documents  which 
are  before  the  connnittee  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  I  have  no  private  information  from  any  source 
on  that  subject.    I  jiulge  only  from  the  published  documents. 

Q.  What  was  your  hrst  communication  with  the  goveriunent  in  Washington,  and  the 
lirst  steps  you  took  to  make  known  your  complaints  f — A.  I  aiTived  hero  in  Washington 
on  the  2oth  of  February,  and  the  same  day  wrote  a  letter  to  Secretary  Seward,  inclosing 
a  copy  of  Admiral  Davis's  letter  to  me,  stating  that  "  in  conformity  with  the  request  of 
Admiral  Davis,  and  as  a  member  of  the  late  American  legation  in  Paraguay,  I  beg  to 
report  my  i)resence  in  Washington,  at  the  Ebbitt  House,"  and  that  I  waited  his  further 
orders.  Two  or  three  days  later  I  received  a  reply  from  Secretary  Seward,  in  which  he 
used  this  expression :  '*  The  executive  government  of  the  United' States  does  not  claim 
to  exercise  any  control  over  you  in  consequence  of  the  proceedings  of  Rear-Admiral 
Davis,  referred  to.  I  shall,  however,  be  happy  to  receive  from  you,  or  from  Mr.  Master- 
man,  or  both  of  you,  any  information,  either  verbally  or  by  writing,  in  relation  to  the 
interesting  events  with  which  your  names  had  been  connected,  and  would  therefore 
suggest  to-morrow,  March  1,  at  12  o'clock,  for  you  to  call  upon  me."  Mr.  Masterman 
and  myself  called  upon  him  that  day ;  found  him  busy,  and  repeated  the  call  separately. 
Two  days  subsequently  to  that  I  saAV  Mr,  Seward  myself  alone,  and  had  a  short  interview 
with  him  of  a  few  moments  in  length,  which  was  confined  to  congratulation  on  his  part 
on  my  escape  from  Paraguay.  In  reference  to  information  about  what  I  had  experienced 
he  remarked  that  he  was  soon  going  out  of  office,  and  it  would  be  well  to  submit  a 
statement  to  the  legal  officer  of  the  department.  Mr.  Seward  asking  me  if  I  had  seen 
him,  I  said  I  had  not.  He  then  called  a  messenger,  and  I  was  shown  to  the  office  of  Mr. 
E.  Peshiue  Smith,  with  whom  I  had  an  interview. 

Q.  Has  the  letter  of  Mr.  Seward  to  you  been  communicated  to  the  committee  ? — ^A. 
It  has  not.  But  if  desired,  I  will  endeavor  to  communicate  it  to-morrow.  Upon  that  I 
made  my  appeal  to  Congress.  I  did  not  go  into  the  details  of  my  experience  in  Para- 
guay at  the  suggestion  ot  Mr.  Seward. 

Q.  Was  any  suggestion  made  as  to  any  reparation  to  which  you  might  be  entitled  ? — 
A.  I  was  referred  to  Mr.  Smith,  whose  name  appears  on  the  official  register  as  examiner 
of  claims,  and  I  inferred  that  the  supposition  of  the  Secretary  was  that  I  wished  to  put 
i^  a  pecuniary  claim.  Mr.  Smith  seemed  evidently  to  take  the  same  ^^ew  of  the  matter, 
as  he  took  the  case  up  in  an  exceedingly  legal  and  technical  manner,  cross-questioning 
me  in  my  interview  with  him  as  if  he  was  an  attorney  on  the  opposite  side  and  was 
retained  in  order  not  to  admit  any  claim  unless  he  considered  it  perfectly  on  the  square. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Did  you  make  any  claim? — ^A.  I  made  no  pecuniary  claim,  neither  then  nor  at  any 
subsequent  time.  In  my  petition  to  Congress  I  have  expressly  avoided  that.  I  have 
left  the  whole  matter  to  the  Avisdom  of  Congress  for  such  action  as  in  their  view  the 
honor  of  the  government  and  justice  to  us  as  petitioners  may  demand,  and  shall  be 
satisfied  with  such  conclusion  as  Congress  may  arrive  at. 


156  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  27, 1869. 
Porter  C.  Bliss  appeared  and  continued  his  statement  as  follows : 
In  addition  to  the  letters  to  which  I  yesterday  referred,  I  have  hero  two  letters  writ- 
ten by  me  to  my  parents  and  published  by  them  in  a  New  York  ijaper.  They  were 
written  in  view  of  my  expected  imprisonment  and  forwarded  by  Mr.  Washburn  to  my 
parents  and  by  them  sent  to  this  paper.  The  following  arc  the  letters,  prefaced  by 
editorial  comment : 

[From  the  Fredonia  Censor.] 

"  THE  PARAGUAY  CAPTIVES — LETTERS  FROM  PORTER  C.  BLISS. 

"  We  received  last  week  a  letter  from  a  brother  of  our  friend  Bliss  inclosing  copies  of 
Ms  last  two  letters  tfi  his  parents.  They  reveal  a  sad  state  of  affairs  in  that  distracte'l 
country.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Washburn  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  save  Mr. 
Bliss  and  his  companion  from  the  terrible  doom  that  was  apprehended.  He  left  them 
to  their  sad  fate  at  the  latest  possible  moment,  and  then  only  to  hasten  comnninication 
with  his  government,  in  order  to  afford  relief  if  possible.  The  four  vessels  of  war  dis- 
patched to  their  relief  are  now  on  their  errand  of  duty.  It  will  be  the  prayer  of  every 
friend  of  humanity,  and  particularly  of  the  unfortunate  sufferers,  that  the  errand  may 
not  fail  of  accomplishment. 

"  The  last  time  we  met  our  friend  was  in  Washington,  he  was  waiting  at  the  White 
House  for  an  introduction  to  President  Lincoln,  from  whom  he  expected  an  appoint- 
ment to  an  Indian  agency.  Senator  Sumner  was  there  to  introduce  him  and  secure  the 
appointment.  His  father  being  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  and  he  acquainted  with 
their  dialects,  he  was  being  sent  out  to  rescue  the  traditions  of  the  former  native  inhabi- 
tants of  New  England,  who  had  emigrated  to  reservations  for  them  west  of  the  Missouri. 
He  had  letters  of  recommendation  from  Everett,  Bancroft,  Longfellow,  and  many  other 
distinguished  literary  men,  to  whom  ho  had  rendered  efficient  aid  in  his  researches  in 
New  England  and  the  Canadas,  and  also  from  every  United  States  senator  and  many 
other  public  men.  His  modest  demeanor,  amiable  disposition,  high  classical  attain- 
ments for  one  of  his  years,  and  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  had  marked  him  as  a 
young  man  of  unusual  promise.  He  was  evidently  so  regarded  by  the  savans  who 
sought  for  him  the  opportunity  to  pursue  his  researches  among  the  red  men  of  the 
forest.  The  difficulties  in  which  the  nation  became  involved  changed  his  course  to  a 
South  American  field.  It  is  very  sad  that  a  young  man  of  his  promise  should  be  cut 
©ff  in  the  vigor  of  lids  youth,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  aspirations  for  usefulness.  May 
Heaven  guard  him  from  such  an  untimely  fate. 

"  We  give  below  the  letter  of  the  brother,  which  will  explain  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  letters  from  Porter  were  written : 

"  '  Onoville,  Cattaraugus  County,  November  23,  1868. 
" '  Eds.  Censor  :  Inclosed  I  send  you  two  copies  of  letters  written  to  us  by  my 
brother,  Porter  C.  Bliss,  arrested  by  the  Parag-uay  government,  and  as  we  fear,  executed 
ere  this.  Mr.  Washburn,  in  his  letter,  expresses  no  hope  for  him.  We  have  received 
three  newspapers  from  Buenos  Ayres,  containing  correspondence  between  Washburn 
and  Lopez,  and  three  letters  from  Porter  to  different  parties ;  one  of  which  was  handed 
to  Washburn  after  he  had  embarked  for  home,  which  was  Avritten  after  he  had  been 
arrested,  and  in  all  probability  subjected  to  torture.  Nothing  in  that  letter  has  any 
weight  with  us,  if,  indeedj  it  was  genuine.  The  allusion  to  his  father,  "  Henry  Bliss,  of 
New  York,"  was  fictitious,  as  we  have  no  relatives  of  that  name.  In  his  letter  to  us, 
(which  he  expected  would  be  the  last  he  would  ever  write,)  he  declares  solemnly  his 
innocence  and  entire  ignorance  of  any  such  plot  as  charged  against  him.  Ho,  I  think, 
has  sent  you  one  or  two  letters  from  South  America  at  different  times.  As  he  prepared 
for  college  at  your  academy  and  has  many  friends  there,  he  requested  me  to  send  a  por- 
tion of  his  letter  to  you  for  x)ublication  in  case  we  hear  of  his  death.  We  still  have 
some  hope,  but  I  thought  it  might  be  well  to  send  it.  His  fate  has  been  a  sad  one.  With 
an  excellent  education — being  master  of  eight  or  ten  different  languages,  and  having 
gained  a  vast  amount  of  useful  information  in  his  travels,  and  with  an  unconquerable 
thirst  for  knowledge,  and  ambitious  to  make  his  mark  in  the  world,  a  life  of  great 
promise  of  usefulness  will  have  been  cut  off",  a  sacrifice  to  the  ferocity  of  a  cowardly 
despot,  who  is  described  as  being  a  second  Nero  or  Dionysius,  who  has  executed  two  of 
his  own  brothers,  and  whose  mother  and  sister,  according  to  Mr.  Washburn,  would  bo 
glad  to  hear  of  his  death.  But  my  brother's  death  wiU  not  be  in  vain,  I  hope ;  and  I 
feel  certain  that  our  government  (in  whose  service  I  spent  three  years)  will  demand  and 
enforce  reparation  so  far  as  it  can  be  done. 
"  *  Yoiu's,  respectfully, 

"ASHER  BLISS,  Jr.'" 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  157 

"The  following  are  the  letters  received  from  Porter: 

" '  Legation  of  the  Uniti:d  States, 

"  ^Asuncion,  Sei)teinler  5,  1808. 

" '  Dear  Parents  and  Brothers  : — I  received  your  letter  in  May  last,  and  answered 
it  in  June,  not  doubting  that  a  few  mouths  more  would  enable  me  to  return  home  from 
my  long  wanderings,  and  again  behold  the  faces  of  my  kindred.  Now  tliat  hope  is  indefi- 
nitely postponed — perhaps  forever.  You  will  probably  have  learned  by  the  press  the 
strange  events  which  have  passed  here ;  events  deejdy  compromising  the  honor  of  our 
government,  outraged  in  the  person  of  its  ministers  and  the  members  of  its  legation,  of 
whom  I  am  one.  In  brief,  the  greater  part  of  the  foreign  residents  in  Paraguay  are 
charged  with  having  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the  government  and  even  against  the 
life  of  President  Lopez,  and  were  arrested  on  or  about  July  1.3,  since  which  time  their 
trial  has  been  going  on ;  but  as  the  proceedings  are  secret  and  no  communication  with 
any  of  them  allowed,  the  residt  is  not  yet  Icnown.  At  the  8ame4imo  almost  all  the 
memb(!rs  of  the  government  were  imprisoned  upon  a  like  charge,  and  many,  perhaps 
all,  of  them  paid  the  penalty  with  their  lives  during  the  first  week  of  August.  Great 
efforts  have  been  made  by  the  govenmcnt  to  implicate  Mr.  Washburn  in  the  alleged  plot 
by  means  of  false  testimony,  said  to  have  been  deposed  by  the  principal  personages 
accused,  and  I  myself,  though  a  member  of  the  American  legation,  in  which  I  am  trans- 
lator, have  been,  along  with  the  physician  to  the  legation,  an  English  gentleman  named 
Masterman,  charged  with  what  the  Paraguayan  tribunal  calls  high  treason.  We  have 
been  six  or  seven  times  imperatively  demanded  for  trial  by  this  government,  and,  as  Mr. 
Washburn  has  constantly  asserted  the  undoubted  rights  and  immunities  of  legations 
in  our  favor,  they  have  threatened  more  than  a  month  since  to  take  us  by  force. 

"  '  Eight  weeks  of  alternate  liope  and  fear  have  passed,  which  have  been  filled  up  by 
a  voluminous  correspondence  between  Mr.  Washbura  and  the  government,  which  has 
been  i)ubli8hed  in  the  ofiBcial  newspapers.  Three  days  since,  Mr.  Washburn  received 
notice  of  the  arrival  in  the  river  of  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp,  which  has  come 
to  take  away  the  American  legation,  and  this  morning  he  has  received  his  passports. 
13ut  the  government  of  Paraguay  has  refused  passjiorts  to  Mr.  Masterman  and  myself, 
denying  that  we  were  members  of  the  legation.*  Wo  have  had  no  news  or  dispatches 
from  the  States  for  12  months,  and  are  absolutely  ignorant  of  all  that  has  passed,  except 
by  one  or  two  private  letters.    Mr.  W^ashburn  will  embark  this  afternoon  upon  a  Para- 

fiiay  steamer  to  proceed  down  the  river  to  meet  the  Wasp,  and  immetliately  after  Mr. 
lasterman  and  myself  will  be  seized,  and  shall  sleep  to-night  in  prison. 
"  '  It  is  unecessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  am  entirely  innocent,  and  that  I  know  abso- 
lutely nothing  of  such  a  plot.  False  witness  has  undoubtedly  been  produced  against 
me,  and  my  innocence  is  no  guarantee  against  a  traitor's  doom.  I  will  hope  for  the 
best,  but  i-Aiw  prepared  for  the  worst.  I  thank  God  that  I  have  had  sufficient  strength 
to  bear  up  under  these  weeks  of  agony,  and  I  am  assured  that  I  shall  do  so  until  the 
last ;  and  should  it  come  to  that  extremity,  I  am,  in  the  words  of  Bryant — 

"  '  Sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  my  grave, 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery -of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams.' " 

"  '  I  have  had  great  projects  for  the  benefit  of  humanity  and  the  cause  of  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,  and  I  am  confident  that  if  my  life  is  now  spared  it  will  not 
be  a  useless  one  to  the  world.  But  God  knows  best  what\)urpose8  he  has  designed  that 
I  should  subserve  in  my  life  or  my  death.    His  will  bo  done ! 

"  '  POKTER  COENELIUS  BLISS.' " 


"  'Asuncion,  Septemha- 10,  1868. 
" '  Dear  Parents  : — ^Mr.  Washburn's  departure  having  been  unexpectedly  postponed 
until  to-day,  I  add  a  postscript  to  my  letter  of  the  5th.  Every  conceivable  obstacle  has 
been  put  in  Mr.  Washburn's  way  by  the  government.  He  has  been  detained  on  the 
plea  of  returning  deposits  of  property  made  with  him  by  many  foreigners,  and  also  by 
difficulties  concerning  the  carrying  away  of  money  for  foreigners.  But  the  Italian  consul 
having  received  everything  in  deposit,  there  will  probably  be  no  further  delay.  I  think 
I  mentioned  before  that  this  legation  has  been  surrounded  night  and  day  for  two  months 
by  about  20  soldiers  in  order  to  seize  upon  Masterman  and  myself  should  wo  go  outside, 
and  who  will  take  us  in  the  street  when  we  start  out  to  accompany  Mr.  Washburn  and 
family  to  embark.  We  each  of  us  carry  with  us  a  satchel  with  a  few  changes  of  linen, 
some  bread,  some  money  for  our  expenses  in  prison,  and  a  few  other  articles  of  first 
necessity.  No  cutting  instruments  are  allowed,  consequently  we  shall  have  to  eat  with 
spoons.  No  books  will  probably  be  permitted,  however  we  shall  each  take  a  pocket 
Bible  at  a  venture.    Our  confinement  will  be  solitary,  and  our  treatment  and  fare  none 


158  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

of  the  best.  I  don't  say  tlieso  things  to  dispirit  you,  but  because  they  are  true,  and 
will  be  known  sooner  or  later,  and  to  show  you  that  I  am  resigned  to  the  worst.  Could 
I  get  letters  from  you,  or  some  news  from  the  outside  world  before  I  am  taken,  I  should 
feel  comparatively  happy.  At  all  events  I  do  not  propose  to  waste  my  time  in  useless 
lamentation,  but  to  have  "  a  heart  for  any  fate."  All  will  be  for  the  best  whatever  may 
happen,  and  I  have  great  confidence  in  the  action  of  our  government  as  soon  as  the 
case  becomes  known.  In  case  of  being  then  alive  I  shall  hope  for  relief  from  some  quar- 
ter abont  January  or  February.  Very  likely  the  war  may  be  ended  by  that  time, 
although  the  appearances  are  that  President  Lopez  has  made  up  his  mind  to  perish 
with  the  ruins  of  the  nation,  and  to  light  till  the  last  man  around  him  dies.  To-day, 
the  lOth  of  SeiJtember,  has  been  a  day  of  ill  omen  to  me  before.  Three  years  ago,  and 
again  last  year,  on  this  date,  I  had  attacks  of  congestion  of  the  brain,  resulting  JFrom 
sun-stroke,  and  which  nearly  proved  fatal  in  both  instances.  But,  contrary  to  all 
expectations  in  both  instances,  I  escaped  with  life,  which  is  also  a  good  omen ;  not 
that  I  am  superstitious  or  a  fatalist ;  I  only  note  the  coincidences.  Now  that  my  uncer- 
tainties are  over  I  am  calm  and  almost  happy,  and,  if  need  be,  can  cheerfully  repeat 
the  words  of  the  Polish  martyr-patriot  Pestel : 

"  '  Yes!  it  comes  at  last, 
And  from  a  troubled  dream  awaking, 

Death  will  soon  be  past, 
And  brighter  worlds  around  me  breaking.'  " 

"  '  My  dear  parents  and  brothers,  farewell !    God  bless  you,  and  I  will  hope  for  the 
best :  we  may  yet  see  each  other  in  this  world. 

"'PORTER  C.  BLISS.'" 


[From  a  later  number  of  the  Fredonia  Censor.] 
PORTER  C.  BLISS. 

We  find  the  following  communication  in  the  Albany  Evening  Journal,  written  by 
Mr.  D.  J.  Pratt,  who  taught  our  academy  Avhile  Mr.  Bliss  was  a  student  here.  It  con- 
tains some  particulars  of  Bliss's  history,  which  we  did  not  mention  in  our  local  notice: 

"Porter  C.  Bliss  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Asher  Bliss,  who  was  for  twenty  years  a  missionary 
of  the  American  board  at  the  lower  Cattaraugus  station  in  western  New  York.  In  1852 
Mr.  Bliss  was  released  at  his  own  request  from  this  service,  and  removed  to  Cory  don, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  still  resides.  In  1854,  Porter,  then  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
became  a  student  at  the  Fredonia  academy,  where  he  remained,  with  but  little  inter- 
ruption, about  four  years.  His  pecuniary  resources,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  very 
scanty,  and  nothing  but  a  quenchless  thirst  for  knowledge  and  an  aptness  in  its  acqui- 
sition which  insured  success  at  every  step  of  his  progress,  could  have  reconciled  him 
to  a  mode  of  life  in  other  respects  so  self-denying.  He  was  especially  remarkable  for 
literary  and  linguistic  tastes,  and  fondness  for  historical  and  antiquarian  researches. 
He  was  also,  both  by  nature  and  by  parental  training,-  modest  and  diffident,  yet  thor- 
oughly honest  and  upright  in  his  character.  His  mental  and  moral  endowments 
appeared  less  consjiicuous  to  strangers  on  account  of  a  somewhat  ungainly  physique, 
and  in  most  respects  he  would  be  more  properly  classed  with  the  Abraham  Lincolns 
than  with  the  Lord  Chesterfields  of  society. 

"  In  1858  Mr.  Bliss  entered  Hamilton  College,  and  the  subsequent  year  went  to  Yale. 
His  scanty  resources  led  him  to  accept  employment  in  the  service  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  for  the  purpose  of  making  researches  relative  to  the  relics  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  New  England.  While  thus  employed  he  discovered  and  made  tran- 
scripts of  voluminous  manuscripts  in  Nova  Scotia,  with  which  he  astonished  the  savans 
of  Harvard  University  and  Boston,  a  score  of  whom,  including  the  jiresident  and  five 
ex-presidents  of  Harvard,  gave  him  the  most  flattering  commendations,  and  recom- 
mended him  to  President  Lincoln  as  a  most  suitable  person  to  be  appointed  to  an 
Indian  agency  at  the  west.  The  matter  of  an  appointment  being  delayed,  he  accepted 
the  invitation  of  General  James  Watson  Webb,  the  newly  appointed  minister  to  Brazil, 
to  accompany  him  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary — the  Messrs.  Appleton,  of  New 
York,  at  the  same  time  securing  the  benefit  of  wliatever  leisure  he  might  command  in 
the  enterprise  of  translating  and  introducing  sundry  of  their  publications  for  the  South 
American  markets.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Bliss,  having  abandoned  the  purpose  of  graduating, 
was  made  the  recipient  of  the  honorary  degree  of  master  of  arts  by  Hamilton  College. 

"  Mr.  Bliss  accompanied  General  Webb  on  his  outward  tour,  visiting  England  and 
France  on  the  route.  For  several  years  he  has  not  been  in  frequent  communication 
with  his  former  friends  and  acquaintances,  and  but  for  the  events  which  have  recently 
cranspired  in  Paraguay,  might  have  remained  some  time  longer  in  quiet  obscurity ; 
though,  if  his  life  and  health  were  spared,  all  his  antecedents  would  give  ample  assur- 
ance of  his  being  no  idle  or  inefficient  worker  in  the  field  assigned  him.  His  recent 
letters,  several  of  which  appeared  in  the  Tribune  of  the  19th  instant,  indicate  that  ho 


PAEAGftJAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  159 

has  been  very  busily  at  work  in  liis  favorite  line  of  antiquarian  and  historic  research  in 
addition  to  his  official  and  business  engagements,  of  which  a  voluminous  history  of 
Paraguay  is  one  of  the  fruits.  How  he  became  connected  with  the  Washburn  ministry 
we  know  not,  nor  what  apparent  ground  there  may  have  been  for  any  accusation 
against  him  by  the  Loi^ez  government;  but  no  one  who  ever  knew  him  well  could 
'entertain  an  idea/  as  he  himself  expresses  it,  of  his  ever  being  accused  of  high  treason 
by  any  govcnnnent  under  the  sun. 

*'  In  view  of  these  personal  characteristics  of  Mr.  Bliss,  as  well  as  &r  the  honor  of  tho 
nation,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  authorities  at  Washington  will  adopt — if  they  have 
not  already  done  this — tiio  most  rigorous  measures  to  secure  the  release  of  Mr.  Bliss 
and  his  colleague,  and  the  most  ample  reparation  possible  for  this  individual  and 
national  insult. 

"  Yours,  &c., 

"D.  J.  PRATT." 

I  also  present  the  following  letters  •which  have  not  heretofore  been  published :  , 

"Department  of  State, 

"  Washington,  February  8,  1869. 
"  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  received  the  letter  of  the  28th  ultimo,  addressed  to  you  by  Mr 
Asher  Bliss,  on  the  subject  of  his  brother.  Porter  C.  Bliss,  on  which  you  have  mdorsed 
a  request  for  information.  I  am  not  aware  that  the  latter  gentleman  has  reached 
Washington  or  has  returned  to  the  United  States.  We  have  received  voluminous  doc- 
uments from  the  Paraguayan  government,  upon  which  it  bases  its  charge  against  him 
of  conspuacy.  These  documents  have  just  been  translated,  and  will  at  once  be  sub- 
mitted to  Congress.  As  yet,  it  has  been  impracticable  to  examine  them  sufficiently  to 
allow  an  opinion  to  be  formed  how  far  the  charge  may  be  sustained.  It  is,  however, 
supposed  that  there  can  be  no  cause  to  apprehend  a  further  restraint  upon  the  liberty 
of  Mr.  Bliss,  at  least  after  he  shaU  have  returned  to  the  United  States. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

"WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 
"  Hon.  H.  V.VN  Aernam,  • 

^^ House  of  liepresentativea." 


"Department  of  State, 

"  Washington,  December  3,  1868. 
"  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  2l8t  ultimo  has  been  received,  and  in  reply  I  have  to  state 
that  Mr.  W\ishburn,  late  minister  to  Paraguay,  has  reported  to  this  department,  in  a 
communication  dated  September  26,  that  two  members  of  his  legation,  Messrs.  Bliss 
and  Mastermau,  were  seized  by  order  of  President  Lopez  at  the  moment  of  their  start- 
ing to  accompany  him  to  the  United  States  steamer  at  the  time  of  his  departure. 

"  Mr.  McMahon,  recently  counuissioued  as  minister  to  Paraguay,  from  Montevideo,  on 
the  2Gth  of  October,  iuiorms  tho  department  that  on  the  next  day  he  would  start  for 
Villetta,  headquarters  of  President  Lopez,  with  Admiral  Davis  and  his  squadron,  for 
tho  purpose  of  exacting  such  reparation  from  President  Lopez  as  the  honor  and  dignity 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  may  requu'e. 

"  In  conclusion,  he  says  that  li'om  infoa-mation  he  is  led  to  indulge  the  hope  that  the 
gentlemen  seized,  as  stated  above,  had  sullered  no  personal  discomforts  other  than  the 
detention,  and  that  they  will  soon  be  restored  to  the  protection  of  the  national  flag. 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"WILLLiM  H.  SEWARD. 
"  Rev.  Ashj':r  Bliss, 

"  Onoville,  Caiaraugus  County,  K.  Y." 


"Ebbitt  House, 
"  Washington,  February  25,  1869. 
"  Sir  :  In  compliance  with  the  written  request  of  Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  commanding 
South  Atlantic  squadron,  I  beg  to  report  that  I  have  to-day  arrived  in  Washington, 
from  Rio  Janeiro,  by  the  United  States  mail  steamship  Mississippi,  and  a%yait  your 
excellency's  orders.  My  companion  in  imprisonment  in  Paraguay,  Mr.  G.  I\  Master- 
man,  is  also  here,  at  the  same  address,  with  a  similar  object.  I  beg  to  inclose  a  copy 
of  the  communication  of  Admiral  Davis,  to  which  I  have  referred ; 

"  And  am,  with  great  respect,  your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

"PORTER  C.  BLISS. 
"Hon.  Wm.  H.  Seward, 

"  Secretary  of  State." 


160  PARAGUAYAN   INVP]STIGATION. 

By  the  Chairman  : 

Q.  Have  you  stated  to  the  committee  why  it  was  that  Mr.  Washhiirn  left  you  in  this 
couclition,  and  why  the  naval  officer  departed  witliout  taking  more  active  measures  to 
have  Mr.  Masterman  and  yourself  delivered  over  to  them  ? — A.  Perhaps  not  fully.  The 
reasons  were,  in  the  first  place,  because  Lopez  had  refused  to  give  us  passports ;  and, 
secondly,  because  we  were  not  permitted  to  embark.  The  steamer  on  which  Mr.  Wash- 
burn embarked  was  not  an  American  steamer.  The  Wasp  was  three  miles  below  in  tho 
river,  below  the  Paraguayan  batteries,  and  was  not  allowed  to  come  higher  up.  If  the 
United  States  gunboat  Wasp  had  made  any  demonstration  at  that  time  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  our  persons  she  would  have  been  fired  on  by  the  Paraguayan  batteries. 
Consequently  I  do  not  charge  the  cajitain  of  the  Wasp  with  any  dereliction  of  duty 
on  that  occasion. 

Q.  Was  the  separation  of  three  miles  from  Asuncion  any  reason  for  his  leaving  you 
there  in, prison? — A.  The  question  is,  what  could  he  have  done?  I  do  not  see  that  he 
could  have  done  anything  to  save  me  on  that  occasion. 

Q.  Did  he  make  any  protest  ? — A.  He  did  not.  Mr.  Washburn  did.  Captain  Kirk- 
land  saw  Lopez  personally  after  Mr.  Washburn  had  embarked  on  board,  but  to  the  best 
of  my  knowledge  made  no  x^rotest  and  no  demand  for  our  release.  That,  I  think,  he 
ought  to  have  done. 

Q.  Was  there  any  conversation  upou  this  point;  or  are  there  any  facts  in  your 
knowledge  why  ho  left  the  post  three  miles  below  Asuncion,  and  why  he  did  not  break 
through  the  blockade,  if  necessary,  for  the  purpose  of  j)rocuring  your  release  ? — A.  He 
made  no  demonstration  of  that  kind  whatever ;  and  personally,  the  captain  of  the 
Wasp,  Lieutenant  Commander  Kirkland,  took  no  steps  for  our  release  on  that  occasion. 
He  saw  President  Lopez  the  day  foUoAving  the  embarkation  of  Mr.  Washburn,  accord- 
ing to  his  report  to  the  Navy  Department.  But  he  does  not  appear  to  have  made  any 
allusion  whatever  to  our  imprisonment  by  Lopez.  Mr.  Washburn  did  make  a  stroug 
protest,  in  which  he  declared  that  Lopez  had  put  himself  beyond  the  pale  of  interna- 
tional law  by  this  act.  Captain  Kirkland,  in  his  report  to  the  Navy  Department,  makes 
not  even  any  allusion  to  the  fact  that  two  members  of  the  American  legation  had 
Remained  behind,  as  you  will  see  by  reference  to  tlje  original  document,  which  has  been 
published.  I  also  refer  to  Admiral  Davis's  letter  to  the  Navy  Department  relating  to 
the  same  circumstances. 

Q.  There  appears  in  the  published  documents  a  letter  purporting  to  be  written  by 
yourself  to  Captain  Kirkland ;  will  you  explain  that  letter  1 — A.  I  have  already,  in  my 
testimony,  explained  fully  the  circumstances  of  Vvriting  that  letter,  as  well  as  one  to 
my  parents  and  one  to  Mr.  Washburn  ;  that  I  was  forced  to  write  them  both,  and  that 
they  made  me  write  one  of  them  five  times  over  before  I  satisfied  them.  The  papers 
which  in  one  of  those  letters  I  am  made  to  demand  of  Captain  Kirkland  were  the 
history  of  Paraguay,  which  I  had  written  while  in  the  service  of  Lopez,  and  which  I 
incorrectly  described  in  the  letter.  Mr.  Washburn  understood  the  inaccuracy  of  the 
description  and  properly  interpreted  the  letter  when  he  saw  it. 

Q.  Did  Lopez  want  to  suppress  that  document  ? — A.  He  wanted  to  suppress  it. 

Q.  The  letter  also  demands  the  detention  of  the  Wasp.  Were  you  satisfied  with  tho 
Wasp's  departure  under  the  circumstances  ?— A.  I  had  no  communication  whatever  with 
the  commander  of  the  Wasp.  I  had  received  not  a  word  of  news  outside  of  Paraguay, 
except  one  private  letter.  For  a  very  long  time  I  was  in  entire  ignorance  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  and  could  not  judge  whether  it  was  the  duty  of  Commander 
Kirkland  to  take  such  steps  or  not.  The  letter  tbere  published  was  just  what  I  was 
compelled  to  write  by  the  priests  composing  the  tribunal,  as  also  the  accompanying 
letter,  which,  as  I  have  said,  I  re- wrote  five  times  before  it  satisfied  them  as  a  whole. 


Testimony  of  George  W.  Gale. 

New  York,  October  25, 1869. 
George  W.  Gale  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  State  your  name,  age,  residence,  and  occupation. — Answer.  George  W.  Gale ; 
age,  twenty-nine  years ;  occupation,  physician  and  surgeon ;  residence,  Exeter,  New 
Hampshire. 

Q.  Were  you  at  any  time,  and  if  so,  between  what  periods,  connected  with  the 
United  States  Navy  ? — A.  I  joined  the  navy  in  April,  1862,  as  acting  assistant  surgeon  ; 
was  afterward  promoted  to  passed  assistant  surgeon,  and  remained  in  the  service  until 
about  two  months  ago. 

Q.  When  did  you  join  the  Wasp  ?— A.  In  August,  1865,  in  Philadelphia,  and  re- 
mained attached  to  it  until  January,  1869. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  161 

Q.  To  -what  sqnadi-on  was  the  Wasp  attached  ?— A.  To  the  South  Atlantic  squadron. 

Q.  Where  was  she  stationed,  and  where  did  she  cruise  during  the  time  you  were 
connected  with  her  ? — A.  She  was  stationed,  most  of  the  time  I  was  attached  to  her,  at 
Montevideo.    She  made  three  or  four  trips  up  the  Paraguay  River. 

Q.  In  what  year  ?— A.  In  1868. 

Q.  How  far  up  the  Paraguay  did  she  go?— A.  A  little  above  Villeta;  that  is  the  fur- 
thermost point  we  reached  on  the  Paraguay. 

Q.  Who  was  in  command  of  the  Wasp  at  the  time  ? — ^A.  Commander  W.  A.  Kirk- 
land. 

Q.  What  did  you  understand  to  he  the  object  in  making  these  trips  ? — A.  I  under- 
stood we  went  up  there  to  bring  down  our  minister,  Mr.  Washburn,  who  was  confined 
there  ;  also  to  bring  down  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterraan. 

Q.  Did  she  make  any  other  trips  up  the  Paraguay  than  for  these  two  purposes  ?— A. 
Yes,  sir ;  she  carried  up  Minister  McMahon.  The  first  timo  we  went  up  was  to  com- 
municate with  our  minister,  Mr.  Washburn,  and  deliver  some  oflticial  dispatches,  as 
I  understood.  I  remember  we  went  up  there,  and,  with  a  great  deal  of  difficulty,  Cap- 
tain Kirkland  finally  communicated  with  !Mr.  Washbnm.  We  staid  there  considerable 
time.    I  do  not  remember  whether  we  went  up  expressly  for  Mr.  Washburn  or  not. 

Q.  Did  he  return  with  the  Wasp  on  that  trip? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  see  him  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  time  was  that  trip  made  in  1868  ? — A.  I  believe  it  was  in  September. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  with  any  obstructions  going  up,  from  the  allied  fleet? — A.  Yes,  sir ; 
we  were  stopped  all  along  at  difl'erent  points  by  orders  from  Lopez. 

Q.  I  speak  of  obstructions  by  the  allied  fleet. — A.  I  remember  we  had  difliculty  with 
them  too.    They  were  not  willing  for  us  to  pass  their  fleet. 

Q.  You  say  after  you  passed  the  blockade,  you  were  retarded  in  your  progress  by  or- 
ders from  Lopez  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  we  had  some  difficulty  the  first  time  in  passing  the 
Brazilian  squadron. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  make  your  second  trip  up  the  Paraguay,  and  for  what  pur- 
pose was  it  undertaken  ? — A.  I  do'not  remember  dates  very  well ;  the  first  trip  I  now 
think  was  in  April,  and  the  second  trip  was  in  September. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  of  the  second  trip  ? — A.  It  waa  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
Mr.  Washburn  out  of  the  country  if  ho  desired  to  leave. 

Q.  At  what  point  did  you  receive  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  We  received  him  at  Villeta. 

Q.  On  your  way  down  did  you  meet  with  similar  obstructions  in  consequence  of  or- 
ders from  Lopez  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  think  we  were  delayed  more  this  time  than  before. 

Q.  Did  you  go  ashore  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  the  admiral  and  the  captain  were  the  only  persons 
I  think  that  went  ashore. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  the  date  of  your  third  visit  ? — A.  It  was  in  the  latter  part  of 
November. 

Q.  What  was  accomplished  during  that  trip  ? — A.  We  took  up  Admiral  Davis  and  the 
fleet  captain. 

Q.  Did  the  Wasp  go  up  alone  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  there  were  two  other  vessels,  the  Kansas 
and  the  Pawnee.  We  also  took  up  Minister  McMahon.  The  furthest  points  we  reached 
were  the  Angostura  batteries.    They  would  not  allow  us  to  go  up  any  further. 

Q.  Did  you  go  ashore  at  that  time  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Minister  McMahon  was  left  there  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Who  did  you  bring  back  on  your  return  ? — A.  We  brought  back  Bliss  and  Mas- 
ternian. 

Q.  Had  you  ever  seen  either  of  those  parties  prior  to  that  time  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Relate  now  the  circumstances  connected  with  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  coming 
aboard  the  Wasp ;  what  condition  they  were  in  physically ;  whether  they  were  well  or 
otherwise ;  whether  you  treated  them  professionally ;  and  any  other  matter  connected 
with  their  condition  up  to  the  time  they  were  transferred  to  another  vessel. — A.  They 
came  on  board  about  the  lOtli  of  December,  in  the  night.  I  saw  them  the  next  day,  I  think, 
and  found  them  forward  on  the  berth  deck.  I  understood  they  were  under  charge  of  the 
master-at-arms.  I  had  considerable  conversation  with  Bliss.  They  were  in  a  very 
ragged  condition  and  very  dirty,  and  both  were  considerably  debilitated.  Bliss  said 
it  was  caused  by  the  barbarous  and  inhuman  treatment  they  had  received  from  Lopez, 
and  he  gave  me  an  account  of  it.  Ho  complained  to  me  of  a  slight  pain  in  his  abdo- 
men and  of  a  slight  diarrhoea.  I  wrote  out  a  prescription  for  him  and  gave  it  to  the 
surgeon's  steward.  They  were  both  in  a  very  ragged  condition,  and  I  so  informed  the 
officers. 

Q.  What  officers  ? — A.  I  cannot  recollect  any  particular  one  now.  I  mentioned  it  to 
them  in  personal  conversation — not  officially.  I  merely  mentioned  it  to  them  with  the 
idea  of  getting  some  clothes  for  them.  I  gave  the  steward  instructions  about  what  he 
should  give  them  as  regards  diet,  which  consisted  of  rice,  arrowroot,  and  soup.  The 
soup  on  the  ship  was  very  good,  generally  speaking.  I  had  a  number  of  conversations 
with  Bliss,  and  one  day,  while  talking  with  him  in  the  forecastle,  I  was  sent  for  by  the 
executive  officer  of  the  ship,  Mr.  Smith,  and  informed  by  him  that  I  was  not  to  con- 

llPI 


162  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

verse  with  them ;  and  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  they  were  prisoners.  I  told  hmi 
that  one  of  them  was  unwell,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  converse  with  them.  I 
mentioned  that  because  I  knew  I  could  not  talk  to  prisoners. 

Q.  They  were  then  treated  as  prisoners  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Were  they  under  guard  ? — A.  They  were  allowed  to  walk  on  deck,  both  above 
and  below.    I  do  not  know  that  they  were  confined  to  any  particular  limits. 

Q.  What  was  the  condition  of  Masterman's  health? — A.  Both  were  very  much  de- 
bilitated, and  looked  as  though  they  had  suffered  a  good  deal,  both  bodily  and 
mentally. 

Q.  How  long  were  they  under  treatment  ? — A.  There  was  only  one  under  treatment, 
and  that  was  I31iss.    I  saw  hiin  every  day  while  he  was  on  board  ship. 

Q.  How  long  was  that  ? — A.  One  week. 

Q.  Did  he  improve  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  said  he  did. 

Q.  What  was  your  opinion  ? — A.  I  thought  he  did.  I  did  not  consider  him  danger- 
ously sick.  Ho  iooked  like  a  person  who  had  suffered  a  great  deal,  and  had  been  ex- 
posed to  the  sun  and  weather. 

Q.  Were  they  furnished  with  all  the  provisions  that  you  prescribed  for  them  ? — A.  I 
think  they  were.  I  heard  nothing  to  the  contrary.  I  gave  the  instructions  to  the 
steward,  and  I  presume  they  were  carried  out- 

Q.  Had  you  all  the  hospital  stores  you  desired  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  whether  I 
had  at  that  time  or  not.  Sometimes  I  had  not.  The  vessel  was  small,  and  the  supplies 
would  sometimes  run  out.  I  would  often  purchase  articles  myself.  I  had  often  great 
difficulty  in  getting  my  requisitions  filled. 

Q.  At  what  point  were  these  men  taken  from  the  Wasp  ? — A.  At  Montevideo. 

Q.  To  what  vessel  were  they  taken  ? — ^A.  The  flag-ship  Guerriere.  While  they  were 
on  board  the  Wasp,  Captain  Kirkland  wished  me  to  see  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and 
inquire  about  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  tortured.  I  saw  them  and  they  gave 
me  a  description  of  it. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  physical  examination  ? — ^A.  I  did  not,  because  in  questioning 
them  they  said  they  had  no  marks  or  scars  about  their  persons.  From  what  they  said 
to  me  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  tortured,  I  knew  it  would  not  leave  a 
scar.  Bliss  complained  of  his  spine.  He  said  his  back  would  snap  occasionally.  He 
did  not  complain  of  it  particularly  as  he  did  not  require  treatment  on  board. 

Q.  From  what  you  heard  in  reference  to  this  torture,  what  effect  do  you  think  it 
would  produce  ? — A.  It  might  produce  a  spinal  disease,  but  as  he  was  erect  and  walked 
about,  I  did  not  consider  him  suffering  with  it.  It  might,  however,  result  in  spinal 
disease  eventually.  The  torture  they  endured  was  somewhat  similar  to  the  punish- 
ment they  used  to  have  in  the  navy. 

Q.  "  The  cracking  of  the  spine  ?" — A.  No  ;  the  tying  them  down.  It  was  not  exactly 
ihe  same,  but  it  was  the  same  style. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  You  say  Captain  Kirkland  asked  you  to  make  some  inquiry  ? — A.  He  did,  and  I 
made  the  inquiry,  and  told  him  what  Bliss  and  Masterman  told  me.    They  spoke  of 
different  modes  of  torture  inflicted  on  other  persons,  as  pounding  the  fingers  with  mal- 
lets.   I  asked  them  if  they  had  suffered  in  that  way,  and  they  said  no. 

By  Mr.  Sw.\nn  : 

Q.  You  say  they  came  on  board  in  a  very  ragged  condition,  and  that  you  made  appli- 
cation and  they  were  supplied  with  proper  clothing  ? — Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Where  did  you  make  application — to  the  admiral? — A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not  get  these 
clothes  from  the  ship's  stores,  but  from  the  officers ;  I  asked  them  personally. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Bliss,  in  speaking  of  the  tortures  he  had  endured,  request  you  to  speak  to 
the  admiral  about  them? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  remember  that  he  did. 

Q.  He  had  no  communication  with  the  admiral  himself? — A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  In  reference  to  this  "  cracking  of  the  spine,"  if  the  spine  had  cracked  so  that  the 
;  sound  was  even  audible,  what  effect  would  it  have  had  upon  hiB  system  ;  would  it 
not  have  produced  results  that  might  have  been  fatal  to  him  ? — A.  He  might  have  had 
a  slight  cracking  of  that  description  and  it  not  have  been  fatal. 

Q.  In  what  condition  did  you  find  the  spine  ?— A.  He  did  not  complain  of  his  spine. 
He  only  complained  of  a  slight  pain  in  his  abdomen. 

Q.  Was  that  pain  in  the  abdomen  produced  by  the  torture  or  by  disease  ?— A.  I  think 
it  must  have  been  produced  by  the  water  he  drank  on  shore.  He  seemed  to  complain 
more  of  the  torture,  however,  than  anything  else. 

Q.  In  your  observation  and  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  what  was  your  impression 
about  their  treatment ;  were  they  treated  with  humanity  and  kindness  on  board  the 
ship  ? — A.  I  saw  nothing  inhuman  about  it. 

Q.  No  guard  was  placed  over  them  ? — A.  They  were  in  charge  of  the  master-at- 
arms. 

Q.  They  were  allowed  freedom  of  the  decks  ?— A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  seen  them  walking 
about. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  163 

Q.  Both  fore  and  aft  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  that. 

Q.  Did  they  have  any  conversation  with  any  of  the  officers  besides  yourself? — A.  I 
think  I  was  the  only  officer  of  the  ship  that  had  any  conversation  with  them. 

Q.  Had  they  rations  regularly  distributed  to  them  ?— A.  I  always  thought  so.  I  never 
heard  of  any  difficulty  about  it. 

Q.  Where  did  they  sleep  ? — A.  They  slept  forward. 

Q.  Were  their  rations  the  same  as  those  of  the  men  ? — A.  I  gave  them,  in  addition, 
arrowroot  and  rice.  I  ordered  my  steward  to  do  it,  and  also  saw  the  paymaster  about 
it.    I  suppose  they  received  it.    I  attended  to  them  the  same  as  I  would  any  one  else. 

Q.  You  had  your  instructions  from  the  admiral  to"  do  that  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  did  that 
of  myself.  If  they  wanted  anything  they  spoke  to  me.  Once  Bliss  wanted  writing 
paper,  which  I  furnished  him.  I  also  gave  him  some  reading  matter,  papers,  &c.  The 
admiral  gave  me  some  new^spapers  also,  which  I  hanchnl  them. 

Q.  Were  there  any  attempts  to  communicate  with  them  by  outside  parties,  that  you 
knew  of,  while  they  were  on  board  f — A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  From  the  description  that  Mr.  Bliss  gave  you  of  his  situation,  and  the  torture  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected,  did  he  make  out  a  case  that  made  such  an  impression 
upon  your  mind  that  you  thought  it  ought  to  be  communicated  to  the  admiral,  so  as  to 
put  him  iu  possession  of  all  the  facts  ? — A.  I  did  not  think  of  that,  because  the  ad- 
miral was  on  board  himself,  and  we  had  Minister  McMahon  also,  and  other  officers  of 
superior  rank  to  myself.    I  presumed  they  would  attend  to  it. 

Q.  Did  it  make  that  impression  upon  you  that  in  your  judgment  the  admiral  ought 
to  know  the  situation  of  these  men  ? — A.  I  explained  to  Captain  Kirkland  the  treat- 
ment and  torture  they  had  endured,  and  I  suppose  the  admiral  knew  it. 

Q.  Captain  Kirkland  was  captain  of  the  deck  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  had  command  of 
the  ship. 

Q.  Were  these  men  permitted  to  communicate  with  the  men  on  board  ? — A.  I  do  not 
remember  whether  they  were  or  not. 

Q.  They  were  held  as  prisoners  ? — A.  I  considered  that  they  were  prisoners. 

By  Mr.  Willakd  : 

Q.  You  say  that  Captain  Kirkland  requested  you  to  inquire  of  Mr.  Bliss  about  this 
torture  ? — A.  He  did,  and  I  made  known  to  the  captain  the  result.  I  think  the  Jid- 
miral  was  present  when  I  reported  it  to  the  captain. 

Q.  How  long  after  he  was  taken  on  board  was  that  T — A.  About  a  day  or  two,  I 
think. 

Q.  What  effect  did  the  story  you  told  have  on  these  officers  ?— A.  I  do  not  know.  1 
did  not  see  any  effect.  They  were  not  in  the  habit  of  informing  me  of  their  opinion  on 
all  points ;  but  as  regards  the  other  officers,  they  considered  Lopez  an  inhuman  and 
barbarous  person  for  treating  them  in  this  manner. 

Q.  After  you  communicated  this  story  about  their  torture  and  treatment  to  the  ad- 
miral and  captain,  did  it  change  the  relations  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  on  the  vessel? — 
A.  I  did  not  notice  any  change.    There  might  have  been  some  change  a  day  or  two  be-» 
fore  we  reached  Montevideo.    I  do  not  remember  now. 

By  Mr.  Swaxn  : 
Q.  Did  you  know  anything  about  Bliss  or  Masterman ;  had  you  been  previously 
acquainted  with  them,  or  known  anything  of  their  personal  history  ? — A.  No,  sir. 
Q.  They  came  to  you  as  strangers  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  the  stories  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  agree,  in  their  main  facts,  with  each 
other  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  that  is  my  imxjressiou. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  What  was  the  state  of  Mrs.  Washburn's  health  at  the  time  you  saw  her  in  Sep- 
tember ? — A.  It  was  not  very  good.  I  prescribed  for  her  several  times  while  she  was 
on  board  the  ship. 

Q.  Was  her  illness  of  a  nervous  character  ?— A.  Yes,  sir.  She  was  confined  to  her 
cabin  part  of  the  time.    I  heard  she  was  sick  afterward  in  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  What  length  of  time  was  required  to  run  down  from  the  point  where  you  received 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Washburn  to  Montevideo  ? — A.  About  a  week,  I  should  judge.  It  would 
take  longer  to  go  up  the  river. 

Q.  Did  the  admiral,  or  General  McMahon,  or  any  of  the  higher  officers  endeavor  to 
ascertain  anything  of  the  condition  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  or  obtain  any  statements 
from  them  ?— A.  Not  that  I  know.  I  probably  would  not  know  it  if  they  had.  It 
would  be  mere  accident  if  I  did. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q,  Did  Bliss  ever  complain  to  you  that  he  did  not  receive  the  rice  and  arrow-root 
you  say  you  ordered  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  that  he  ever  did. 


164  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Have  you  read  the  testimony  he  gave  before  this  committee  ? — A.  I  did  not  see  it. 
until  yesterday,  and  was  very  much  surprised  at  the  nature  of  it.  Bliss  always  'nx.- 
pressed  himself  very  grateful  to  me,  and  just  before  ho  left  the  ship  he  present/^jd  me 
with  a  copy  of  his  book. 

Q.  You  say  you  gave  him  everything  an  invalid  would  require  ?— ^A.  Yes,  sir.  I 
treated  him  the  same  as  I  would  anybody  else  under  my  care. 

Q.  Did  you  see  that  your  orders  to  the  steward  were  obeyed  ? — A.  I  had  no  reason 
to  believe  that  they  were  not.  He  was  a  very  faithful  man,  and  had  been  long  in  the 
service. 

Q.  Did  you  not  think  that  the  prejudices  against  these  men  among  the  higher  offi- 
cers of  the  ship  would  thwart  your  intentions  ? — A.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  at  the  time. 
They  did  not  complain  to  me  then,  and  Bliss,  on  leaving  the  ship,  thanked  me  for  my 
kindness  to  him.    I  gave  them  everything  I  thought  was  necessary. 

Q.  What  was  the  deportment  of  these  men  on  board  the  Wasp ;  how  did  they  con- 
duct themselves  ? — ^A.  In  a  very  proper  manner.  I  heard  of  no  disturbance  or  com- 
plaint from  them. 

Q.  You  saw  no  collisions  between  these  men  and  the  ship's  crew  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Nor  did  you  hear  any  taimtSj  or  anything  calculated  to  make  them  feel  unpleas- 
ant?— A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  they  have  marks  of  fetters  on  their  clothes  or  ankles  ? — A.  When  I  inquired 
of  them  about  the  torture,  I  asked  if  there  were  any  marks  or  scars  about  their  per- 
sons, and  they  said  there  were  not.  I,  therefore,  did  not  examine  them.  Their  pants 
were  very  ragged,  and  the  lower  part  of  them  had  the  appearance  of  being  torn  and 
worn  by  fetters.  I  spoke  to  the  oflBcers  about  their  ragged  condition  in  order  to  get 
some  old  clothes  for  their  use,  but  I  afterward  found  that  Bliss  had  a  change  of 
clothes  in  his  valise  on  board  the  ship. 

Q.  The  treatment  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  received  on  board  the  ship  was  not  such 
as  attaches  of  legation  should  receive  ? — A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  How  long  was  that  trip,  from  the  time  these  men  were  received  on  board  until 
you  reached  Montevideo  ? — A.  About  a  week. 


Testimony  of  L.  C.  Carpenter. 

New  York,  OctoUr  25,  1869. 
Lawrence  C.  Carpenter  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  State  your  name  and  residence. — Answer.  Luther  C.  Carpenter ;  I  live  in 
Washington  City, 

Q.  What  is  your  occupation  ? — A.  A  soldier. 

Q.  Were  you  at  any  time  connected  with  the  American  navy  ;  and  if  so,  when  ? — 
A.  I  ;vras  sergeant  of  marines.  I  served  two  enlistments — eight  years  altogether.  My 
last  enlistment  was  from  the  29th  of  September,  1865,  to  the  29th  of  September,  1869. 

Q.  Upon  what  vessel  or  vessels  were  you  during  that  time  ? — A.  I  was  at  first  on 
board  the  Chattanooga,  afterward  transferred  to  the  Sacramento,  and  afterward  to 
the  Guerriere. 

Q.  At  what  time  were  you  transferred  to  the  Guerriere  ?— A.  I  think  the  17th  of 
June,  1867,  and  remained  until  the  13th  April,  1869. 

Q.  Where  was  the  Guerriere  in  the  fall  of  1868  ?— A.  She  left  Eio  for  Montevideo 
under  the  command  of  Captain  M.  B.  Woolsey.    Rear-Admiral  Davis  was  flag-officer. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  or  have  you  ever  met,  Bliss  and  Masterman  ?— A.  I  had  them  in 
charge.    We  received  them  from  the  Wasp  at  Montevideo,  and  took  them  to  Rio. 

Q.  What  time  was  that  ?— A.  It  was  somewhere  about  Christmas  day,  1868. 

Q.  How  long  were  they  under  your  charge  ?— A.  They  were  under  my  charge  for  one 
week. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  they  were  under  your  charge  ?— A.  They  were  put 
under  my  charge,  as  I  understood,  as  prisoners. 

Q.  From  whom  did  you  receive  orders  to  take  charge  of  them,  and  what  were  they  ? — 
A.  I  received  orders  from  Captain  Philip  R.  Fendall  to  take  charge  of  them ;  not  to 
allow  them  to  hold  communication  with  any  one  belonging  to  the  ship  ;  to  allow  them 
to  hold  no  communication  with  the  shore ;  to  write  no  letters  or  send  them  off  without 
being  first  examined  by  Captain  Woolsey. 

Q.  Where  did  you  receive  these  orders  ?— A.  We  were  stationed  at  Montevideo. 

Q.  How  long  did  they  continue  under  your  charge  ? — A.  They  were  put  under  my 
charge  at  iirst  to  continue  all  the  time,  but  the  duty  was  so  arduous  that  I  complained 
to  Captain  Fendall,  and  he  relieved  me.  They  were  then  put  in  charge  of  Sergeant 
Call,  and  afterward  of  Sergeant  Hope. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  165 

Q.  Was  that  after  you  left  Montevideo  for  Rio  ?— A.  I  could  not  state  positively 
whether  the  ship  was  at  sea  or  not. 

Q.  Wliat  was  their  condition  as  regards  health  when  you  first  saw  them  ? ^A.  They 

looked  rather  miserable,  as  if  they  had  had  a  hard  time. 

Q.  Were  they  in  charge  of  the  surgeon  of  the  Guerriere  after  they  came  on  hoard  ? 

A.  I  could  not  state.  I  saw  Dr.  Duvall  speak  to  them,  and  they  inquired  for  him  several 
times. 

Q.  Who  supplied  them  with  rations  ? — A.  They  messed  in  the  forward  mess. 

Q.  Were  they  confined  to  any  particular  part  of  the  vessel  f — A.  They  were  confined 
to  the  steerage,  hut  on  my  going  with  them  they  could  go  to  any  part  of  the  vessel 
they  pleased. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 

Q.  Was  this  while  they  were  in  port  ? — A.  I  cannot  now  remember. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  your  orders  were  to  keep  them  from  communica- 
ting with  anybody  at  all  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  it  was  only  to  keep  them  in  sight.  They  were 
allowed  to  speak  to  anyl)(»dy  belonging  to  the  ship's  company,  but  not  with  the  bum- 
boatmen  ;  that  is,  men  who  come  alongside  of  the  ship  to  dispose  of  merchandise. 

Q.  Tliey  were  not  permitted  to  go  ashore  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  not  during  the  time  I  had 
charge  of  them. 

Q.  Were  they  permitted  to  make  purchases  from  the  shore  t — A.  If  they  wanted  any- 
thing from  the  shore,  the  purchases  nad  to  be  made  through  mo. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Was  any  attempt  made  to  communicate  with  them  while  they  were  under  your 
charge  ? — A.  None  at  all,  except  by  the  bumboatmen  who  had  things  to  dispose  of. 

Q.  When  you  first  received  these  persons,  how  ^dyou  take  care  of  them  ? — A.  I  took 
care  of  them  as  a  soldier  would.  I  was  not  harsh  with  them  any  more  than  my  orders 
required. 

Q.  You  did  not  imprison  them  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  Masterman  was  very  nervous  and  took 
his  imprisonment  very  much  to  heart.  He  used  to  sit  in  a  little  room  a  great  deal  and 
write  in  his  private  journal. 

Q.  Had  you  known  either  of  these  men  previously  f — A.  No,  sir ;  never  saw  or  heard 
of  them. 

By  Mr.  Outh  : 

Q.  Did  they  complain  to  you  at  any  time  of  the  treatment  they  were  receiving — as 
insufficient  provisions,  medical  treatment,  or  anything  of  that  kind  ?— A.  I  could  not 
say  that  they  did  ;  the  mess  treated  them  very  liberally.  They  seemed  to  wish  to  pay 
their  way  through  as  far  as  they  could. 

Q.  Had  they  any  money  ? — A.  They  had  some.  I  could  not  say  how  much.  If  I  am 
not  mistaken.  Bliss  was  inquiring  whether  he  could  have  his  passage  paid  home  or  not. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  frequently  after  the  vessel  went  to  sea  ? — A.  I  saw  them  some- 
times in  charge  of  Sergeant  McCall  on  the  forecastle  of  the  vessel. 

Q.  How  frequently  did  you  see  them  there  ? — A.  I  saw  them  every  day  or  two. 

Q.  While  they  were  in  your  charge,  did  they  express  a  wish  to  have  an  intoTview 
with  any  of  the  superior  ofiicers  of  the  ship  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  they  had  an  interview  with 
Captain  Woolsey,  and  I  believe  one  or  two  with  Admiral  Davis. 

Q.  Was  any  change  made  as  regards  the  treatment  of  Bliss  and  Masterman — any 
difierence  made  between  them — after  they  had  seen  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  Blisa  asked 
for  no  liberties  except  complaining  of  the  restraint  he  was  under,  but  I  believe 
Masterman  asked  for  a  parole,  and  got  it.  Bliss,  however,  was  kept  in  charge  of  the 
non-commissioned  otficer  all  the  time  until  we  reached  Rio,  I  think. 

Q.  The  last  you  saw  of  them  was  at  Eio  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  they  went  ashore  one  morn- 
ing before  the  steamer  for  the  United  States  went  out  and  were  transferred  on  board  it. 

Q.  How  long  were  they  on  board  the  Guerriere  while  she  was  in  Rio? — A.  I  cannot 
recollect ;  about  two  or  three  days,  I  think. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  You  think  that  interview  between  Admiral  Davis  and  Masterman  took  place  ? — 
A.  I  think  that  it  did.  • 

Q.  You  state  that  they  were  received  kindly  by  the  mess. — A.  I  cannofc  state  that, 
because  I  heard  bickerings,  and  I  know  that  ili.  Mack,  the  gunner,  left  Qie  mess  be- 
cause they  were  there ;  as  also  did  Mr.  Meagher,  the  carpenter. 

Q.  Was  it  owing  to  their  ragged  condition  ? — ^A.  No,  sir ;  they  had  been  clothed  by 
that  time. 

Q.  Was  their  deportment  offensive  or  respectful  ? — A.  They  conduot^iJ  themselves 
gentlemanly ;  they  both  seemed  to  be  gentlemen,  so  far  as  I  could  judge. 


166  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION". 

Testimony  of  Marius  DuvalL 

New  York,  October  25, 1869. 
Marius  Duvall  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  is  your  occupation  ? — Answer,  Surgeon  in  the  United  States  Navy. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  navy  ? — A.  About  twenty-seven  years. 

Q.  What  is  your  present  position  ? — A.  I  am  now  on  duty  at  the  Norfolk  naval  hos- 
pital. 

Q.  What  is  your  rank  1 — ^A.  I  rank  with  a  commander.  In  the  South  Atlantic  squad- 
ron I  was  the  surgeon  of  the  flag-ship  and  also  surgeon  of  the  fleet. 

Q.  Between  what  periods  of  time  were  you  connected  with  the  South  Atlantic 
squadron  ?— A.  Between  the  summers  of  1867  and  1869. 

Q.  On  board  of  what  vessel  were  you  at  that  time  ? — A.  The  flag-ship  Guerriere. 

Q.  Whose  flag-ship  was  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  Rear- Admiral  C.  H.  Davis. 

Q.  What  time  in  1868  did  you  leave  Rio  for  Montevideo  ?— A.  I  think  we  left  Rio 
somewhere  about  the  latter  part  of  October,  1868,  and  we  arrived  at  Montevideo  about 
November  4. 

Q.  What  did  you  understand  to  be  the  object  of  that  voyage  ?— A.  The  object  of  that 
visit,  as  I  understood  it,  was  to  convey  the  new  minister  to  Paraguay,  (General  Mc- 
Mahon,)  who  had  a  short  time  before  arrived  in  Rio.  We  were  to  take  him  down  to 
the  La  Plata,  and  then  up  the  Paraguay  to  Asuncion,  and  see  how  matters  stood  there 
in  regard  to  Mr:  Washburn  and  his  legation. 

Q.  Were  you  at  Rio  when  General  McMahon  arrived  there  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  was  he  detained  there  prior  to  his  departure  for  Montevideo  ? — A.  I 
think  he  arrived  about  the  20th  of  October,  and  the  Guerriere,  with  four  other  vessels 
of  the  squadron,  left  on  the  28th  of  October — that  is  the  day  on  which  the  United 
States  mail  packet  generally  arrives. 

Q.  Did  the  admiral  expect  the  arrival  of  General  McMahon  at  Rio  ?— A.  Not  that  I 
know  of. 

Q.  Did  Minister  McMahon  experience  any  difficulty  in  procuring  transportation  down 
to  Montevideo  on  your  vessel  ? — ^A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  there  any  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  admiral  ? — A.  Not  that  I  heard  of 
It  was  the  general  topic  of  conversation  on  board  the  ship,  for  a  little  while  previous, 
about  General  McMahon  going  in  the  vessel  with  his  family,  which  consisted  of  two 
unmarried  sisters. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  General  McMahon  arrive  and  take  passage  on  the  Guerriere  ? — 
A.  I  do  not  know  exactly  when  he  arrived,  but  I  presume  it  was  on  the  20th. 

Q.  What  time  did  he  go  on  board  the  Guerriere? — A.  I  do  not  recollect,  but  it  must 
have  been  some  days  before  she  sailed,  because  he  was  a  patient  of  mine,  and  I  pre- 
scribed for  him. 

Q.  You  think  you  sailed  about  the  28th  of  October  for  Montevideo  ?— A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  time  did  you  arrive  at  Montevideo  ? — A.  On  the  3d  of  November,  I  think. 

Q.  Did  the  Guerriere  remain  at  Montevideo  any  length  of  time  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  she 
remained  until  the  15th  of  the  following  January. 

Q.  What  became  of  General  McMahon  and  family  after  you  arrived  at  Montevideo? — 
A.  They  remained  on  board  the  Guerriere  until,  I  think,  a  few  days  before  General 
McMahon  left  to  proceed  to  his  post  at  Asuncion. 

Q.  On  what  vessel  did  he  proceed  ? — A.  He  went  up  in  the  Wasp.  I  do  not  recollect 
whether  he  left  the  harbor  of  Montevideo  in  the  Wasp,  because  his  sisters  went  up  in 
the  ordinary  passenger  steamer  that  plies  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo. 
The  admiral  also  went  up  with  Mr.  McMahon  in  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  you  accompany  the  admiral  up  in  the  Wasp  ?— -A.  No,  sir.  On  the  passage 
down  I  asked  the  admiral  for  permission  to  accompany  him  up  on  the  Wasp,  as  I 
always  make  it  a  point,  when  in  a  foreign  country,  to  see  as  much  of  the  country  as 
possible.  He  said,  "  Why  do  you  want  to  go?"  I  told  him  I  had  a  new  breech-loading 
gun,  which  I  had  purchased,  and  was  very  desirous  of  testing  i(  s  qualities.  He  made 
me  no  answer  then,  but  I  afterward  met  him,  and  he  told  me  there  was  no  room  on 
board  the  Wasp,  and  that,  besides,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  fever  and  ague  up  there. 
I  was  surprised  at  the  admiral  not  letting  me  go,  as  he  himself  was  subject  to  diarrhoea, 
and  as  it  was  such  a  hot  climate  I  thought  he  would  like  to  have  the  fleet  surgeon 
with  him. 

Q.  Did  he  have  any  surgeon  ? — A.  Yes,  the  surgeon  of  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  Minister  McMahon  experience  any  difiiculty  in  procuring  transportation  up 
ijhe  Paraguay  from  Montevideo  or  Buenos  Ayres  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  You  know  of  no  unnecessary  detention  there. — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  after  your  arrival  did  the  Wasp  start  up  the  Paraguay? — A.  We  arrived 
about  the  3d  of  November,  and  the  Wasp  left  with  the  admiral  on  the  19th,  so  that  wo 
were  a  little  more  than  two  weeks  there  before  the  admiral  started. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  167 

Q.  What  time  did  the  Wasp  return?— A.  The  Wasp  returned  to  Montevideo  on  the 
18th  of  December. 

Q.  Were  Bliss  and  Masterman  brought  down  on  the  Wasp  at  that  time?— A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Had  you  ever  seen  them  before  that  time  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  saw  them  on  board  the 
Guerriere  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  December.  As  soon  as  the  admiral  told  me  I 
could  not  go  up  the  Paraguay  with  him,  I  accepted  an  invitation  that  had  been  ex- 
tended to  me  by  Mr.  Bushenthal,  a  prominent  banker,  to  go  up  on  a  visit  with  him  to 
Cordova,  and  I  did  not  get  back  £rom  this  visit  until  the  22d  of  December.  When  I 
got  on  board  I  learned  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  on  the  vessel,  and  I  went  up 
immediately  and  introduced  myself  to  them,  and  Irom  that  time  wo  had  frequent 
intercourse. 

Q.  What  was  their  condition  of  health  when  you  first  saw  them  ?— A.  Mr.  Bliss 
struck  me  as  a  person  who  ha<l  been  suffering  very  greatly. 

Q.  Physically  or  mentally  f— A.  Both ;  that  is,  as  a  diseased  person— a  person  of 
very  piecarious  health.  I  judged  this  from  the  haggard  countenance,  the  hollow  eye, 
the  waxen  condition  of  his  ears,  from  his  unsteady  gait,  and  the  fatigue  he  experienced 
from  conversation. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  physical  examination  ? — A.  I  made  no  physical  examination  of 
Mr.  Bliss,  but  I  asked  him  if  there  were  any  marks  on  his  person  resulting  from  the 
treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of  President  Lopez,  but  he  told  me  he  had  none. 
He  then  described  to  me  the  difit  rent  modes  of  torture,  and  explained  to  me  the  suffer- 
ing it  had  produced  in  the  bowels.  But  Masterman  had  told  me  it  had  more  effect  on 
his  back  from  the  strain  it  put  upon  the  spine.  I  did  not  then  examine  Masterman, 
but  afterward  I  had  certain  reasons  for  examining  him. 

Q.  Did  you  prescribe  for  Mr.  Bliss  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  At  any  time  ? — ^A.  No,  sir.  I  think  when  he  first  came  on  board  Dr.  Brown,  the 
first  aMistant  surgeon,  prescribed  for  him.     He  complained  of  some  pain  in  the  bowels. 

Q.  I'id  you  regard  that  pain  in  the  bowels  as  the  result  of  the  torture,  or  was  it 
from  f>ome  disease  independent  of  the  torture  ? — A.  I  suppose  it  was  the  result,  possi- 
bly, oi  both.  The  bad  food,  privation,  and  distress  of  mind  which  he  suffered,  together 
with  1£ie  pent-up  condition  of  his  body,  all  operated  to  bring  on  this  condition  of  his 
bowels. 

Q.  How  were  they  received  and  treated  on  board  the  Guerriere— as  prisoners  or  other- 
■wise  1—A.  When  they  came  on  board  the  Guerriere  on  the  18th,  the  officer  receiviuff 
them  ordered  them  to  be  placed  in  the  master-at- arm's  mess,  although  both  demurred 
to  that. 

Q.  Why  did  they  demur  ? — A.  Because  they  thought  it  was  not  a  proper  place  to  put 
them.  Masterman  had  been  in  the  British  service,  and  knew  something  of  the  public 
opinion  of  the  service ;  that  is,  the  status  which  every  man  occupies,  by  the  place  ho 
messes  in ;  and  Masterman  objected  to  that  more  particularly,  he  having  belonged  to 
the  American  legation  at  Asuncion.  He  was  not  content  to  mess  with  the  master-at- 
arms.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  admiral,  and  during  the  delay  that  occurred  Cap- 
tain Woolsey  came  out  and  told  the  executive  officer  to  send  the  men  off  the  quarter- 
deck into  the  port  gangway,  a  greater  indignity  than  which  cannot  be  offered  to  any 
man  on  board  a  man-of-wai\  The  port  gangway  is  where  all  the  servants,  scullions, 
&c.,  congregate. 

Q.  Was  that  order  carried  out  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  And  in  due  time  the  original  order 
putting  them  in  the  master-at-arm's  mess  was  countermanded,  and  they  were  put  in 
the  forward  mess. 

Q.  How  long  were  they  kept  in  the  port  gangway  ? — A.  About  two  hours.  I  was 
not  on  board  the  ship  at  the  time,  but  heard  it  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  transac- 
tion. The  reputation  which  had  been  given  these  gentlemen  by  Lopez  to  the  naval 
officers  evidently  preceded  them,  and  when  they  were  placed  in  the  forward  officers' 
mess  one  of  the  officers  declined  to  appear  at  the  table  with  them,  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  improper  people  for  him  to  associate  w  ith. 

Q.  What  naval  officers  were  these  ? — A.  Naval  officers  of  the  squadron — certain  offi- 
cers I  will  mention  as  I  go  along,  because  the  whole  contest  that  I  had  (sometimes  ill- 
natured  and  sometimes  pleasant)  with  officers  was  about  the  doctrine  that  these  two 
men  were  criminals,  and  that  they  were  damned  scoundrels. 

Q.  With  what  persons  did  you  have  that  controversy  ?— A:  Well,  with  several  gen- 
tlemen of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron.  With  Captain  Woolsey,  for  instance.  He  did 
not,  however,  apply  to  them  the  epithet  of  damned  scoundrel.  His  epithet  was  that 
of  "scoundrels"  or  *•  scamps." 

Q.  Did  you  hear  the  admiral  say  anything  about  them  ?— A.  No,  sir.  I  only  spoke 
to  the  admiral  on  one  occasion  after  my  return  from  Cordova. 

Q.  Was  there  any  distinction  made  between  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  their  treatment 
on  board  the  Guerriere ;  and  if  so,  who  fared  the  better  ?— A.  There  was  a  distinction 
made  at  a  certain  period,  and  of  course  Masterman  fared  the  better. 

Q.  How  was  that  brought  about  ?— A.  On  the  18th,  when  these  two  gentlemen  camo 


168  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

on  board,  and  were  disposed  of  by  being  located  at  the  master-at-arms'  mess,  they  were 
not  put  under  a  sentry's  charge ;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  when  I  came  over  from 
Montevideo,  after  my  trip  to  Cordova,  I  learned  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  on  board. 
I  also  learned  that  two  gentlemen  were  on  board  and  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Bliss — one  of 
them.  Dr.  Bourse,  an  American  citizen  and  iiractioing  dentist  in  Montevideo,  and  the 
other  was  Don  Carlos  Saguier.  Don  Carlos  Saguier  came  on  board  to  see  Mr.  Bliss 
and  explain  to  the  admiral  who  he  was,  as  he  thought  there  must  be  some  misap- 
prehension. Dr.  Bourse  merely  escorted  him,  as  he  was  an  American,  and  pro- 
posed to  introduce  him  to  the  officers.  When  they  got  on  board,  Don  Carlos  Saguier 
requested  permission  to  see  Mr.  Bliss.  That  permission  was  denied.  I  think  he  made 
it  tirst  to  the  captain  and  then  to  the  admiral.  At  any  rate  it  was  denied.  Cax^tain 
Eimisey  told  Dr.  Bourse  that  he,  (Dr.  Bourse,)  being  a  gentleman,  might  see  Bliss,  but 
that  he  would  not  allow  Don  Carlos  Saguier  to  see  him.  Of  course  I  inferred  from 
that  that  Don  Carlos  Saguier  was  not  a  gentleman.  At  any  rate,  immediately  after 
breakfast  the  officers  of  tlie  ship  received  orders  to  j)ut  these  two  "  men,"  as  they  were 
called,  under  a  sentry,  and  not  allow  them  to  communicate  with  anybody  on  shore  or 
write  any  letters.  Soon  after  breakfast  I  went  to  see  them.  They  seemed  at  first 
rather  shy  of  mo.  I  addressed  them  with  the  utmost  politeness,  and  expressed  glad- 
ness to  see  them.  They  commenced  conversing  with  me,  shyly  at  first,  but  after  a 
while  more  freely,  and  then  gave  me  a  history  of  the  treatment  they  had  received 
from  Lopez,  from  the  moment  they  were  arrested  at  the  side  of  Mr.  Washburn  up  to 
the  moment  I  spoke  to  them.  I  was  rather  astonished  at  the  account  they  gave  me  of 
their  recei)tion  on  board  the  Wasp.  They  said  that  as  soon  as  they  touched  the  decks 
of  the  Wasp,  after  being  released  by  Lopez,  Captain  Kirkland  ordered  them  to  be 
placed  under  the  master-at-arms,  with  orders  "  not  to  let  them  loaf  about."  Master- 
man  protested  against  it,  and  it  ended  in  their  being  sent  forward.  But  one  thing 
they  related  struck  me  Avith  astonishment  and  amazement — that  was,  that  Masterman, 
after  urging  Mr.  Bliss  a  great  deal  to  go  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  and  request  an  in- 
terview with  General  McMahon,  and  communicate  with  him  all  the  facts  in  their  posses- 
sion, finally  got  him  to  make  the  request,  and  was  put  off  by  the  officer  of  the  deck 
with  the  remark :  "  Oh,  we  know  all  you  have  got  to  say."  It  was  so  much  cold 
water  thrown  on  Bliss's  efforts.  He  resolved  to  abandon  all  efforts  to  see  McMahon  ; 
but  Masterman  continued  to  urge  him,  knowing  that  Bliss  was  an  American  citizen  ; 
and  finally  the  master-at-arms  was  sent  in  to  the  general,  and  returned  with  the 
answer  that  he  was  engaged,  but  would  send  for  them  whenever  he  wanted  them. 
But  he  never  did  send  for  them,  but  left  for  Paraguay  without  seeing  them.  When 
they  first  came  on  board  they  were  provided  with  nothing  to  sleep  in  but  a  bare  ham- 
mock, without  any  clothing  in  it — a  mere  piece  of  canvas.  Masterman  had  a  mattras$» 
given  him  afterward ;  and  on  learning  how  it  was,  I  furnished  them  with  all  the 
necessary  materials  to  make  them  comfortable. 

Q.  Did  Bliss  improve  rapidly  after  going  on  board  the  Guerriere? — A.  He  improved 
sensibly.  I  could  see  the  improvement.  He  improved  in  spirits  and  in  health ;  but  it 
was  not  very  marked  or  rapid.     Masterman  improved  more  rapidly,  I  think. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  they  had  any  interviews  with  Captain  Wolsey  or  Admiral 
Davis  while  on  the  passage  from  Montevideo,  or  of  their  desiring  such  interviews  ? — 
A.  I  do  not  think  Mr.  Bliss  desired  to  have  any  interviews  with  anybody,  bvit  I  know 
that  Masterman  formally  requested  an  interview  with  Admiral  Davis  on  the  4th  of 
January,  1869.  That  request  was  granted,  and  Masterman  reported  to  the  admiral  (so 
Masterman  told  me)  that  his  position  was  irksome  beyond  endurance ;  that  the  fact  of 
his  being  under  charge  of  a  sentinel  was  more  distressing  to  him  than  he  could  imagine  ; 
that  if  he  could  be  relieved  he  would  give  liis  parole  not  to  have  intercourse  with  anj^- 
body  on  shore.  There  was  no  iirohibition  against  his  having  intercourse  with  the  offi- 
cers or  crew  of  the  vessel. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  the  admiral  regarded  these  men  ;  did  you  have  any  conversa- 
tion with  the  admiral  about  it  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  not  a  word.  I  know  that  Admiral  Davis 
told  the  consul  at  Rio  that  they  were  guests  on  board  the  Guerriere,  and  I  told  the  con- 
sul at  once  that  that  could  not  be  true,  if  there  was  any  meaning  attached  to  words. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  their  mess  bill  being  made  out  as  "  prisoners,"  that  being  so 
specified  on  the  bill  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not.  They  were  prisoners  evidently.  It  did 
not  matter  whether  anybody  on  board  the  ship  said  they  were  prisoners  or  not.  It  is 
utterly  impossible  for  anybody  to  conceive  how  parole  does  not  mean  imprisonment. 
It  was  probably  stated  in  the  master-at-arms'  report^  and  not  in  the  mess  bill,  that  they 
were  prisoners. 

Q.  By  whose  authority  were  these  men  sent  on  board  the  Guerriere  ?— A.  By  authority 
of  Admiral  Davis. 

Q.  You  had  no  acquaintance  with  them  before  f — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  knew  nothing  of  their  history  ? — A.  Oh,  yes ;  1  knew  a  great  deal  about 
the  history  of  Mr.  Bliss,  because  he  had  come  out  as  private  tutor  with  General  Webb, 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  169 

and  I  had  a  pretty  clear  conception  of  the  nature  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  his  capacity,  &c.,  from 
General  Webb's  description  of  him. 

Q.  You  say  you  became  intimate  with  him  on  board  ? — A.  Yes  ;  I  conversed  with  him 
every  day.  I  took  great  interest  in  their  situation,  and  then  Mr.  Bliss  is  a  man  of 
splendid  intellect,  and  he  gave  me  an  excellent  description, of  Paraguay,  which  was 
comparatively  an  unknown  couatry. 

Q.  Bliss  says  in  his  statement  that  "  Dr.  Duvall  suffered  for  our  imprisonment,  for 
the  admiral  refused  to  allow  him  to  go  on  sliore  for  three  weeks,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection.  This  was  while  we  were  lying  off  Montevideo."  What  was  the  cause  of 
this  difficulty  between  the  admiral  and  yourself? — A.  Mr.  Bliss  makes  a  mistake  thero 
as  to  time ;  it  was  two  weeks  and  not  three  weeks.  As  I  stated  when  I  found  T 
could  not  go  up  the  Paraguay,  I  accepted  this  invitation  of  Mr.  Bushenthall  to  go  to 
Cordova  with  him,  provided  the  admiral  would  give  me  pennission.  I  saw  the  atlmiral 
and  told  him  of  the  invitation  that  Mr.  Bushenthall  gave  me  and  said  to  him,  '*  Now,  sir, 
with  your  permission  I  will  make  that  visit,"  and  he  said,  "  Certainly,  by  all  means." 
I  then  explained  to  Admiral  Davis  that  I  did  not  know  the  facilities  of  travel  to  Cor- 
dova ;  that  any  specified  time  he  might  give  me  I  might  overstay,  as  probably  th  3 
journey  to  Cordova  would  be  over  a  rough  road,  and  I  a.sked  hiiu  if  I  might  start  on 
the  journey  with  the  understanding  that  if  I  was  delayed  two  or  tliree  days  it  would 
make  no  difference.  He  said,  "  Certainly."  I  then  said,  "  You  are  going  to  Paraguay 
very  soon  and  I  am  not  going  to  Cordova  until  the  1st  of  December,  and  I  fear  Captain 
Wolsey  will  not  take  the  responsibility  of  allowing  me  to  go."  Ho  said  ho  would 
talk  with  Captain  Wolsey  about  it.  On  the  approach  of  December  Ist  I  made  out 
my  application  to  Cajitain  Wolsej^,  and  took  it  to  him  in  i)erson,  and  explained  to  him 
the  reason  why  I  wanted  the  leave.  He  told  me  to  make  out  the  application  without 
specifying  any  time,  which  I  accordingly  did,  and  ho  then  granted  mo  two  leaves  of 
one  week  each,  one  from  December  Ist  to  the  8th,  and  another  from  the  8th  to  the  1.5th. 
At  that  time  I  thought  two  weeks  sufficient  in  which  to  make  the  journey.  But  Mr. 
Bushenthall  was  detained  in  Buenos  Ayre«  one  week  on  business,  leaving  only  a  week  to 
make  a  joui-ney  of  over  five  hundred  miles  on  wagon  roatls.  However,  relying  on  tho 
verbal  permission  of  tho  admiral,  I  was  under  no  misapprehension.  I  returned  to  tho 
Guerriere  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  and  immediately  went  to  Captain  Wolsey's  cabin 
and  sent  my  name  in  to  him  with  a  message  that  I  was  ready  to  report.  He  sent  word 
back  that  he  was  dressing  and  that  I  could  report  after  breakfast.  Soon  after  reaching 
my  room  I  received  a  message  from  Captain  Wolsey,  through  an  orderly,  saying  that 
he  desired  an  explanation  in  writing  why  I  had  overstaid  my  leave  or  my  written 
leave  from  Captain  Wolsey,  only  extended  to  the  15th.  I  wrote  him  immediately, 
stating  that  Mr.  Bushenthall  had  been  detained  a  week  in  Buenos  Ayres ;  that  wo  had 
lost  a  day  in  going  because  of  heavy  rains  on  the  Pampas ;  and  I  then  stated  that 
Admiral  Davis  had  granted  me  leave  to  make  this  visit,  and  I  presumed  that  permission, 
80  granted,  gave  mo  as  nuich  time  as  was  necessary  to  make  the  visit.  A  few  days 
afterward  I  met  Captain  Wolsey  and  he  said  he  had  laid  the  whole  matter  before  Ad- 
miral Davis.  It  is  a  regulation  that  when  a  lieet-offlcer  gets  into  any  difficulty  the  mat- 
ter is  to  be  left  with  the  admiral.  I  heard  nothing  in  regard  to  it  for  several  days, 
and  occupied  myself  in  collecting  all  these  accounts  from  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman, 
so  that  1  did  not  wish  to  go  on  shore  for  some  time.  Meanwhile  Chaplain  Henderson 
had  told  me  that  Mrs.  Kellogg,  widow  of  my  predecessor,  and  who  was  an  applicant 
for  a  pension,  wished  to  see  mo  in  regard  to  it.  As  soon  as  I  received  that  message  I 
asked  for  permission  to  go  on  shore.  That  was,  I  think,  four  or  five  days  after  the  22d. 
I  asked  permission  of  Captain  Wolsey  on  the  quarter-deck.  He  told  me  yes,  and  im- 
mediately spoke  up,  "  Doctor,  this  little  matter  between  you  and  the  admiral  has  not 
been  settled  yet,  and  I  do  not  feel  authorized  to  give  you  the  leave.'^  I  said  I  would 
make  written  application  to  the  admiral  and  call  the  matter  up,  and  accordingly  did 
so.  I  received  no  answer  to  this,  and  made  a  second  applicatiou.  To  this  the  admiral 
wrote  back  calling  my  attention  to  a  certain  statement  that  I  had  made  to  Captain 
Wolsey  that  he  (Admiral  Davis)  ha<l  given  me  permission  to  visit  Cordova  and  to  my 
note  to  him  wherein  I  stated  that  my  visit  to  Cordova  had  not  been  settled  yet,  and  he 
said  that  he  had  no  recollection  of  giving  me  such  permission  ;  that  there  was  no  rec- 
ord of  it  on  the  files  in  the  fleet-office  where  it  should  be  found.  I  immediately  saw 
what  the  drift  was,  because  the  admiral  might  have  forgotten  that  he  had  given  mo 
permission,  but  he  could  not  have  forgotten  that  there  were  at  least  thirty  instances 
during  the  cruise  that  he  had  given  me  such  permission,  and  there  was  no  record  on 
the  fleet  of  it ;  and  yet  he  springs  that  on  me  that  there  was  no  record  in  the  fleet's 
office.  From  that  moment  I  resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  Admiral  Davis  and  I 
have  not  spoken  to  him  but  once  after  that. 

Q.  When  did  all  this  occur  ?— A.  About  four  days  after  my  return. 

Q.  Before  your  acquaintance  with  these  two  men,  (Bliss  and  Masterman,)  had  you 
been  posted  as  to  what  had  occurred  in  Paraguay  between  them  and  the  authorities 
there  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  pretty  well. 

Q.  You  knew  what  had  taken  place  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 


170  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  knew  of  the  confession  they  had  made  before  the  tribunal  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  I 
did  not  know  of  that.  I  only  knew,  for  instance,  that  they  had  been  arrested  and 
taken  from  Mr.  Washburn's  side.  I  knew  they  had  been  attached  to  Mr.  Washburn's 
legation. 

Q.  When  these  two  strangers  came  on  board,  and  Captain  Ramsay  gave  them  per- 
mission to  communicate  with  the  American  citizen,  and  made  the  remark  you  spoke 
of  about  the  foreigner,  had  you  any  knowledge  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — ^A.  No,  sir ; 
I  knew  neither  of  them. 

Q.  Do  you  not  suppose  that  the  idea  occurred  to  Captain  Ramsay,  at  the  time  he 
made  this  remark,  that  perhaps  there  might  be  some  conflict  as  between  these  gentle- 
men and  the  Paraguayan  authorities  ? — A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  That  they  were  in  complicity  with  the  allies,  and  that  they  were  desirous  of  com- 
municating with  these  parties  ? — A.  My  impression  of  it  was  this :  I  had  noticed  all 
along  that  there  was  a  very  singular  eflbrt  to  stifle  everything  that  was  said  against 
Lopez,  and  to  parade  everything  that  might  be  said  against  Mr.  Washburn  and  his 
legation. 

Q.  That  applied  to  the  fleet  officers  ? — A.  No,  to  the  officers  generally,  and  more  par- 
ticularly to  the  admiral  and  Captains  Ramsay  and  Kirkland.  Don  Carlos  Saguier  was 
a  native  of  Paraguay,  and  formerly  an  officer  in  Lopez's  army,  but  abandoned  him  bo- 
cause  of  his  cruel  and  barbarous  conduct,  and  was  now  in  sympathy  with  the  allies.  I 
suppose  it  was  on  that  account  that  Captain  Ramsay  would  not  allow  this  enemy  of 
Lopez  to  communicate  with  Bliss ;  because  if  he  gave  any  information  about  Paraguay 
this  Don  Carlos  Saguier  would  repeat  it.  That,  however,  was  a  mere  speculation  on 
my  part. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Admiral  Davis  received  any  official  conununication  from 
Minister  McMahon  at  the  time  these  prisoners  went  on  board  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  I  do 
not. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  whether  there  was  any  explanation  as  to  the  state  of  things 
existing  in  Paraguay  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  presume  there  could  have  been  none  from  Bliss 
and  Masterman.  The  admiral  and  General  McMahon  both  declined  to  have  any  inter- 
course with  them. 

Q.  How  did  these  two  gentlemen  conduct  themselves  on  board  that  ship  ? — A.  They 
kept  themselves  very  quiet. 

Q.  Did  you  see  any  evidence  of  unkind  treatment  towards  them  ? — ^A.  No,  sir ;  no 
positive  unkind  treatment ;  it  was  simply  neglect.  I  do  not  think  anybody  on  board 
ship  said  a  harsh  word  to  them  at  any  time.  One  or  two  of  the  forward  officers  and 
8*iveral  of  the  midshipmen,  whose  location  in  the  ship  was  near  them,  used  to  converse 
with  them  in,  apparently,  a  friendly  manner. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  was  any  representative  of  the  British  government, 
such  as  consul,  within  striking  distance  at  the  time  they  were  put  aboard  the  ship  ? — 
A.  I  think  there  was. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Masterman  make  application  to  the  British  consul  ? — ^A.  Yes,  sir.  He 
showed  me  the  letter  he  sent  and  the  answer  he  received. 

Q.  What  was  the  nature  of  the  answer  ? — A.  The  answer  was  very  kind,  stating 
that  he  would  lay  the  case  before  the  American  legation  at  Asuncion,  and  advising 
Masterman  to  be  very  patient,  and  to  state  his  case  to  the  admiral ;  but  that  he  could 
not  interfere  with  him. 

Q.  Did  Masterman  seem  to  be  more  dissatisfied  with  his  treatment  than  Bliss  ? — ^A. 
He  manifested  it  more.  He  seemed  to  feel  it  more.  He  did  not  manifest  it  in  any 
way  that  I  saw,  except  in  his  expressions  to  me,  and  I  presume  he  may  have  done  the 
same  to  others  with  whom  he  conversed.  When  Admiral  Davis  took  the  stand  he 
did  with  me,  of  course  I  began  to  think  quite  seriously  of  it.  But  it  was  not  until 
three  months  afterward  that  he  ordered  a  court-martial.  In  the  mean  time  I  had  con- 
tinued doing  duty  both  as  fleet  surgeon  and  surgeon  of  the  sliip.  There  was  really 
but  one  witness  before  the  court.  It  was  a  question  of  veracity  between  Admiral 
Davis  and  myself.  He  swore  before  the  court  that  he  gave  mo  no  leave ;  but  for- 
tunately, I  produced  a  letter  written  by  him  to  me,  in  which  he  particularly  acknowl- 
edged that  he  did  give  me  the  leave.  The  words  of  that  letter  were :  "  When  in 
familiar  conversation  I  expressed  my  willingness  that  you  should  go  to  Cordova,"  &c. 
Ui)on  these  words  I  was  acquitted,  notwithstanding  he  swore  he  gave  me  no  leave ; 
and  it  was  proved  by  irrefragable  testimony  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  me 
verbal  leaves.  The  finding  of  the  court  was,  that  I  was  warranted,  from  the  practice 
of  the  admiral  in  giving  me  verbal  leaves,  in  taking  the  leave  this  time. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Do  you  suppose  the  antipathy  on  the  part  of  the  admiral  was  caused  by  your 
friendship  for  Bliss  and  Masterman? — A.  I  thought  it  was  at  first;  but,  puttiag  all 
things  together,  I  concluded  that  it  was  for  another  reason.  Somewhere  about  the 
last  of  December  there  was  introduced  on  board  the  ship  a  Paraguayan  officer.  He 
was  a  man  of  commanding  presence,  and  he  made  a  great  impression  on  my  mind,  aa 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  171 

he  was  the  first  specimen  of  a  genuine  Paraguayan  oflficer  (of  whose  bravery  we  had 
heard  so  much)  I  had  over  seeu;  but,  finally,  the  whole  matter  passed  out  of  my  mind. 
Captain  Woolsey  and  Admiral  Davis  were  evidently  in  concert  in  preventing  me  from 
going  on  shore.  I  would  apply  to  Captain  Woolsey  for  permission  to  go  ashore  on  the 
10  o'clock  boat ;  he  would  return  the  application  to  me,  saying  that  I  had  put  two  o's 
in  his  name,  or  that  he  had  blotted  it  or  defaced  it.  Another  time  I  wrote  to  the  ad- 
miral, asking  him  if  he  had  taken  any  action  on  my  application,  which,  I  had  been 
informed  by  Captain  Woolsey,  had  been  forwarded  to  him,  and  he  wrote  back  that  it 
was  declined  because  it  was  disapproved  by  my  commanding  officer.  But,  finally,  on 
the  8th  of  January,  the  admiral  answered  me,  in  response  to  my  urgent  appeal  to  go 
on  shore,  that  the  captain  of  the  ship  was  authorized  to  grant  leaves  for  forty-eight 
hours.  I  knew  this  was  virtually  yielding  the  point.  The  next  morning  I  applied 
verbally  to  Captain  Wolsey,  and  he  gave  me  permission.  Just  before  I  went  on  shore, 
I  happened  to  ^o  down  to  see  Mr.  Bliss,  and  I  told  him  I  was  going  ashore,  and  if  I 
could  do  anything'  for  him  to  let  me  know  what  it  was.  I  found  he  was  in  the  greatest 
distress  imaginable.  Says  he  :  "Doctor,  look  here  !"  and  he  showed  mo  with  trembling 
fingers  a  letter  which  had  just  been  brought  down  to  him  by  Admiral  Davis's  negro. 
I  took  it  and  read  it,  (it  was  in  Spanish,)  and  I  found  that  it  was  a  letter  from  Captain 
Gill,  of  the  Paraguayan  navy,  and,  I  believe,  the  same  officer  who  had  been  intro- 
duced on  board  ship  several  days  before.  It  was  dated  "  Oriental  Hotel,  Montevideo, 
December  30,  '68  ;"  and  on  January  9,  ten  days  afterward,  it  was  handed  to  Mr.  Bliss, 
,  with  the  end  of  the  envelope  torn  open,  accompanied  by  a  verbal  message  from  the 
admiral  that  he  had  read  it  and  forgotten  it.  Says  I :  "  For  Heaven's  sake  take  care 
of  that  letter ;  go  into  the  dispensary  and  get  an  envelope,  and  put  this  letter  and  en- 
velope, just  as  it  came  to  you,  in  it,  and  preserve  it."  The  contents  of  the  letter  wero 
what  astonished  me.  It  appears  that  this  gentleman  had  written  to  Mr.  Bliss  about 
the  statement  which  he  (Mr.  Bliss)  had  made  of  him  when  he  was  compelled  to  make 
statements  against  Mr.  Washburn  and  various  other  people  in  Paraguay.  At  the  time 
these  statements  were  made  Captain  Gill  was  one  of  the  commanders  of  the  batteries 
at  Huniaita,  and  these  statements  in  the  alleged  confessions  of  Mr.  Bliss  implicated 
this  Captain  Gill  in  the  conspiracy  in  which  Mr.  Washburn  was  engaged.  Captain 
Gill  says  in  this  letter :  "  Having  known  you  to  be  a  man  of  truth  and  honor  when 
I  knew  you  in  Paraguay,  I  take  the  opportunity  of  addressing  this  note,  now  you  are 
at  full  liberty."  The  note  then  went  on  and  asked  a  full  explanation  of  the'matter 
from  Bliss,  conveying  the  idea  that,  as  he  was  now  at  full  liberty,  he  should  speak  out. 
As  soon  as  Mr.  Bliss  showed  me  this  letter  there  was  another  motive  for  hurrying 
ashore  ;  for  I  resolved  to  go  immediately  to  the  Oriental  Hotel  and  see  Captain  Gill, 
and  tell  him  the  situation  of  Mr.  Bliss.  When  I  reached  the  Oriental  Hotel  I  found 
that  Captain  Gill  had  left  a  day  or  two  before ;  and  thus  the  detention  of  that  letter 
by  Admiral  Davis,  from  December  30  to  January  8,  inflicted  as  great  an  injury  upon 
Mr.  Bliss  as  one  man  can  do  to  another.  And  I  firmly  believe  that  my  detention  on 
board  the  Guerriere  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Captain  Gill  was  in  Montevideo.  I  ad- 
vised Bliss  to  answer  the  letter  and  send  it  to  Captain  Wolsey,  as  all  letters  from 
him  had  to  be  inspected  before  they  were  sent  out.  Captain  Wolsey  told  me  after- 
ward that  it  was  sent  to  its  destination.  I  have  my  doubts,  however,  that  it  was  sent 
to  its  destination.  I  never  saw  it  published.  Besides,  this  letter  contained  an  express 
denial  of  all  the  statements  in  that  confession.  So  that  if  this  letter  went  to  its  des- 
tination, it  would  have  defeated  the  whole  idea  of  the  detention  of  Gill's  letter  to 
Bliss. 

Q.  What  was  Captain  Hill  doing  at  Montevideo  ? — ^A.  He  was  captured  by  the  allies 
at  Humaita  and  was  on  parol.  One  day  a  Spanish  officer  came  on  board  from  the 
Spanish  flag-ship  lying  near,  and  inquired  for  Mr.  Bliss.  Bliss  was  called  on  deck  and 
the  officer  then  asked  him  if  he  had  prepared  his  answer  to  the  letter  sent  to  him.  He, 
of  course,  was  astonished,  and  said  he  had  received  no  letter.  Bliss  presumed  that  the 
Spanish  admiral  had  sent  a  letter  inquiring  about  the  condition  of  Spanish  subjects  in 
Paraguay. 

Q.  These  things,  you  think,  were  done  to  prevent  the  truth  getting  out  in  regard 
to  Lopez  and  himself? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  things  went  on  in  that  way  until  about  the  15th  of 
January,  when  it  was  known  that  we  were  getting  steam  up  to  go  to  Eio.  It  was 
understood  that  we  were  to  leave  at  one  o'clock,  and  a  little  after  twelve  Mr.  Bliss 
came  down  to  me  in  great  despondency,  and  said  that  there  was  one  subject  weighing 
upon  his  mind.  He  had  promised  a  young  gentleman,  a  fellow-prisoner  in  Lopez's 
country,  to  give  some  intelligence  of  him  to  his  father,  if  he  should  survive  him.  They 
had  made  an  agreement  that  if  one  survived  the  other  the  survivor  should  give  intel- 
ligence to  the  family  of  the  other.  Mr.  Bliss  had  been  so  much  restrained  that  he  had 
not  written  this  letter,  and  now  that  he  was  going  to  leave  without  writing  the  letter, 
ho  felt  very  much  distressed.  I  told  him  to  sit  down  and  write  the  letter,  and  I  would 
take  it  to  Captain  Wolsey.  He  did  so,  and  I  took  the  letter  to  Captain  Woolsey,  I 
found  him  at  lunch  with  Captains  Ramsay  and  Kirklaud.  Says  I,  "  Here  is  a  letter 
Mr.  Bliss  has  written  to  the  father  of  a  young  man  who  was  imprisoned  in  Paraguay. 


172  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  tliink  it  necessary  to  say  that  lie  wrote  it  at  my  suggestion."  "Very  well,  doctor," 
says  he,  "I  will  lay  it  before  the  admiral."  That  was  the  last  I  heard  of  it.  We  got 
Tinder  way  that  day,  and  a  little  before  dark  on  the  18th,  three  days  afterward,  Cap- 
tain Woolsey  sent  for  me.  When  I  reached  the  cabin  I  found  Mr.  McDougall,  the 
executive  officer  of  the  ship  with  him,  whom  I  afterward  learned  had  been  detained 
as  a  witness  to  the  conversation  between  Mr.  Woolsey  and  myself.  He  then  said,  hold- 
ing his  letter  in  his  hand,  "Doctor,  here  is  the  letter  that  Mr.  Bliss  wrote  and  you 
brought  to  me  on  the  15th.  I  return  it  to  you  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  McDougall,  and  I 
want  to  tell  you  that,  hereafter,  if  Mr.  Bliss  has  any  letters  to  write,  he  will  first  give 
them  to  the  corporal  under  whose  charge  he  is,  who  will  then  give  them  to  the  execu- 
tive officer,  who  will  hand  them  to  me ;"  thereby  giving  me  a  rebuke  for  taking  this 
letter  to  him.  He  then  remarked,  pleasantly — not  discourteously  at  all — that  he  did 
not  know  why  I  had  told  him  that  I  had  advised  Mr.  Bliss  to  write  the  letter.  I  said, 
"  I  told  you  because  I  wanted  you  to  know  it."  I  then  took  ilie  letter  and  endorsed 
tipon  it  the  facts  of  the  case.  Captain  Wolsey  then  said,  "  You  know  very  well  that 
these  men  have  been  under  surveillance  while  on  board  the  Guerriere.  They  are  not 
so  now  because  we  are  at  sea,  but  they  will  be  put  under  sentries'  charge  when  we 
reach  Rio."  He  then  told  me  that  these  two  men.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  were  scamps 
and  scoundrels,  ' '  and  that  the  officers  ought  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  them  ;  that  if 
I  had  anything  to  do  with  them  I  would  get  myself  in  trouble ;"  all  of  which  was  taken 
down  by  Mr.  McDougall,  and  he  has  record  of  it  now.  I  said,  "  Captain  Woolsey,  it  is 
possible  these  two  men  are  scamps  and  scoundrels,  but  I  will  not  believe  it  until  I 
have  it  upon  some  other  and  better  testimony  than  that  furnished  by  Lopez  and  others." 
W^e  then  walked  out  on  the  quarter-deck  and  he  advised  me  not  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  Mr.  Washburn,  and  told  me  that  if  I  did  I  would  commit  myself;  to  which  I 
said  that  an  honorable  man  cannot  commit  himself. 

Q.  W^hat  did  Woolsey  mean  when  he  said  you  might  get  yourself  in  trouble  if  you 
had  anything  to  do  with  these  two  men  ? — A.  He  referred,  I  presume,  to  the  court- 
martial  which  the  admiral  intended  to  convene.  Mr.  Washburn's  difficiilties  were  the 
common  talk  of  the  naval  officers,  and  I  had  considerable  conversation  with  some  of 
them  about  it.  I  soon  saw  from  their  tone  that  they  were  all  opposed  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burn. I  was  speaking  to  Captain  Ramsay  once  about  the  Washburn  matter,  and  he 
very  coolly  remarked  to  me,  "  Oh,  he  is  a  coward  for  having  left  these  two  men  behind 
in  Paraguay ;"  and  then  turning  around  to  me,  he  said,  "  Don't  you  think  so  ?"  I  was 
very  anxious  to  convince  these  gentlemen,  and  I  said,  "  Well,  if  Mr.  Washburn  has 
unnecessarily  and  pusillanimously  abandoned  any  of  his  legation  to  Loi^ez,  I  think  he 
is ;  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  condemn  Mr.  Washburn  for  what  he  has  done.  There 
is  not  a  particle  of  evidence  to  warrant  any  inference  of  that  kind."  He  said  nothing 
that  I  remember.  All  this  occurred  before  the  1st  of  October,  before  we  started  for 
Montevideo.  This  part  of  my  testimony  has  some  bearing  on  the  difficulty  between 
General  Webb  and  Admiral  Davis.  Between  the  1st  and  3d  of  October,  Admiral  Davis 
was  twice  the  guest  of  General  Webb,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  they  parted  on  the 
most  friendly  terms  imaginable.  I  remained  with  General  Webb  until  Monday  morn- 
ing, and  on  my  way  to  the  ship  he  accompanied  me  as  far  as  the  consulate.  He 
stopped  there  and  found  some  dispatches  for  him ;  one  of  them  was  Mr.  Washburn's 
first  letter.  After  reading  it  he  remarked,  "  Oh,  well,  I  understand  it  now ;"  and  he 
handed  it  to  me  to  read,  and  I  read  it  with  as  much  interest  as  General  Webb  himself. 
He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  Admiral  Davis,  which  he  asked  me  to  take  to  him,  and  say  in 
addition  that  if  he  would  send  his  gig  for  him  he  would  go  over  and  see  the  admiral. 
I  then  took  the  general's  note  and  Mr.  Washburn's  letter  and  hastened  on  board.  The 
admiral  was  evidently  discomposed  on  receiving  the  message,  and  remarked,  "  He  is 
coming  at  an  inopportune  moment " — referring,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  the  Admiral 
and  Mrs.  Davis  were  then  preparing  to  visit  the  Portuguese  man-of-war  lying  near  us. 
We  had  some  conversation  together  about  this  matter,  and  he  then  said,  "  This  letter 
of  Mr.  Washburn's  contains  internal  evidence  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  so  much  under 
the  influence  of  his  fears  that  it  could  not  be  depended  upon."  He  said  that  Mr.  Wash- 
burn represented  the  nervous  condition  of  his  wife,  when  probably  if  he  had  said  that 
about  himself  it  would  have  been  a  little  more  correct.  He  then  said  that  he  had 
other  evidence  about  this  Paraguay  matter ;  that  ho  had  received  private  notes  from 
Captain  Kirkland  giving  him  full  information.  The  admiral  then  left  in  his  gig  for 
the  Portuguese  man-of-war,  but  returned  before  General  Webb  arrived.  He  received 
the  general  as  cordially  as  I  had  ever  seen  him  do  before,  and  took  him  in  his  cabin. 
That  evening,  between  twilight  and  dark,  I  was  walking  with  the  admiral  on  the  poop- 
deck,  and  he  referred  to  the  visit  General  Webb  had  made,  and  said  that  they  differed 
entirely  and  widely  about  this  matter,  but  that  they  had  agreed  to  differ. 

Q.  At  what  time  was  that  ? — ^A.  That  was  on  the  5th  of  October. 

Q.  Before  the  arrival  of  General  McMahon  ?— A.  Yes,  sir.  He  arrived  on  the  20th ; 
so  that  I  was  very  glad  that  the  friendly  relations  between  the  general  and  the  admi- 
ral were  not  broken  off.  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  they  agreed  to  differ.  Ho  had  made 
a  remark  to  me  before,  "  that  the  general  was  fatiguing  to  him  ;"  referring,  I  suppose, 


PARAGUAYAN-  INVESTIGATION.  1 73 

to  tvhat  he  thought  to  be  tho  generars  interference  with  his  affairs.  I  never  did  un- 
derstand that  remark  thoroughly,  but  I  think  it  referred  to  the  fact  of  General  Webb's 
urging  (for  he  had  to  do  so)  the  admiral  to  take  notice  of  the  dispatches  of  Captain 
Kirkland,  informing  him  that  the  Wasp  had  not  been  allowed  to  pass  Tip  the  Paraguay 
by  the  allies.  Admiral  Davis  had  left  these  dispatches  (as  General  Webb  told  me 
afterward)  unopened  on  his  table  for  some  time.  General  Webb  was  very  anxious  to 
have  them,  so  as  to  make  reports  to  the  Brazilian  authorities.  The  general  met  Ad- 
miral Davis  a  little  while  afterward  and  asked  him  about  the  dispatches.  The  admi- 
ral said  he  had  not  opened  them ;  that  they  were  lying  upon  his  table.  The  general 
then  spoke  up  and  said :  "  For  God's  sake,  let  me  have  something  upon  which  I  can  go 
to  the  ikazilian  government!"  And  the  only  note  he  did  send  him  at  last  was  a  pri- 
vate note,  which  the  general  could  not  use.  About  this  time  I  met  Captain  Erbeu  and 
Captain  Ramsay  at  General  Webb's  house.  Captain  Erben  was  commanding  otjdcer  of 
one  of  the  vessels  of  the  squadron,  and  he  was  intimate  with  Captain  Ramsey,  and  was 
always  likely  to  receive  any  special  squadron  intelligence  from  him.  Captain  Er- 
ben remarked  to  Mrs.  Webb  that  it  was  a  cowardly  transaction  in  Mr.  Washburn  to 
leave  two  of  his  legation  behind  in  Paraguay,  and  that  if  CJ'ueral  Webb  had  been  in 
Washburn's  position  it  would  not  have  occurred ;  that  he  would  have  fought  it  out ; 
and  to  that  Mrs.  Webb  spoke  up  and  said:  "Yes,  and  then  probably  I  would  be  sent 
over  the  Andes  barefoot."  That  was  the  programme  intended  for  Mrs.  Washburn. 
General  Webb  then  took  leave  of  a  guest  who  was  departing,  and  showed  hun  to  the 
gate,  and  Cajitain  Erben  remarked  that  these  two  meu  did  not  belong  to  the  legation. 
As  soon  .'vs  he  uttered  that,  I  said :  "  I  will  confound  Captain  Erben  out  of  his  own  lips, 
and  so  elftjctually  that  I  will  wait  until  General  Webb  returns,  so  that  he  can  hear  it." 
General  Webb  came  in,  and  I  said :  "  I  propose  to  confound  Captain  Erben  here.  He 
says  Wavshburn  is  a  coward  for  having  left  two  of  his  legation  in  Paraguay.  I  accept 
his  position,  and  yet,  a  while  afterward,  ho  takes  the  ground  that  these  two  men  were 
not  in  the  legation.  I  put  the  question  to  you,  whether  or  not  they  do  not  rebut  each 
other."  Captain  Erben  never  said  another  word.  But  in  his  anxiety  of  proving  that 
Washburn  was  ^ilty  of  too  much,  he  overshot  the  mark. 

Q.  What  motive  did  Admiral  Davis,  or  any  of  the  officers  of  the  squadron,  have  for 
indulging  in  this  feeling  of  hostility  to  Mr.  Washbura  ? — A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Had  they  ever  been  brought  in  contact  ? — A.  I  think  not. 

Q.  Had  they  known  the  difficulties  between  Admiral  Godon  and  Washburn?— A 
They  must  have  known  of  them,  but  that  could  not  have  gone  very  far. 

Q.  Did  not  Admiral  Davis  receive,  as  a  legacy  from  Admiral  Godon,  his  ill-will  to- 
ward Washburn? — A.  No,  sir;  not  at  all.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  that  was  at- 
tempted. I  think  that  Admiral  Godon  wanted  to  leave  such  a  legacy,  but  Admiral 
Davis  would  not  receive  it. 

Q.  What  inference  did  you  draw  from  the  fact  that  he  intended  to  use  these  private 
notes  afterward  ? — A.  In  an  anticipation,  I  believ^e,  of  an  investigation,  and  I  have  been 
looking  forward  to  this  committee  to  bring  forth  these  notes.  I  cannot  help  the  infer- 
ence that  a  programme  of  i)rocedure  had  been  concocted  before  our  squadron  went  up 
to  Paraguay,  and  that  our  going  up  there  was  merely  an  execution  of  that  programme. 
After  Captain  Kirkland  came  on  board  the  Wasp,  a  lot  of  Paraguayan  tea  came  on 
board  after  liim,  a  present  from  Mrs.  Lynch  and  Lopez.  Quite  recently,  and  after  the 
27th  of  Ai)ril,  it  was  supposed  to  be  necessary  to  have  some  communication  with  Gene- 
ral McMahon,  and  an  attempt  had  already  been  made  by  Captain  Kirkland,  but  the 
allies  refused  to  let  him  go.  This  was  after  they  had  taken  Angostura.  Captain  Kirkland 
tried  to  send  a  message  through  to  Minister  McMahon,  but  Admiral  Davis  always  refused 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  it;  but  afterward,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  Com- 
mander Ramsey  was  conditionally  engaged  to  be  married  to  one  of  the  sisters  of  Mc- 
Mahon, that  condition  being  that  ho  must  have  the  consent  of  her  brother,  then  it  w^as 
that  Admiral  Davis  could  find  opportunity  to  communicate  with  Lopez  and  with  our  min- 
ister there.  They  went  up  and  were  allowed  by  the  commander  of  the  allied  forces  to 
pass  through.  They  saw  General  McMahon,  and  saw  Lopez  and  saw  Mrs.  Lynch. 
Young  Davis,  (son  of  the  admiral,)  when  he  came  back  spoke  of  having  a  splendid 
time,  driving  in  coach  and  four  with  Mrs.  Lynch,  and  was  particularly  delighted  with 
the  little  arrangements  of  Mrs.  Lynch,  when  she  had  some  of  the  prettiest  girls  in  Para- 
guay to  wait  on  the  table,  veiled  very  faintly  indeed. 

I  wish  to  call  attention  of  the  committee  to  a  paragraph  in  the  Buenos  Ayres  Stand- 
ard of  the  19th  December : 

"  IMPORTANT  FROM  PARAGUAY — ARRIVAL  OF  WASP — BLISS  AXD  MASTERMAN  PRISONERS- 

"Yesterday  the  River  Plate  public  was  treated  to  the  final  wind-up  of  the  Wash- 
bum  business,  which  reflects  as  much  credit  on  General  McMahon  as  it  does  ridicule  on 
his  predecessor. 

"  The  two  gentlemen  of  Villeta,  about  whom  there  has  been  so  much  said  and  writ- 
ten, and  concerning  whose  terrible  fate  there  was  such  deep-seated  anxiety,  are  now  on 


174  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

board  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp,  close  prisoners,  to  be  forwarded  for  trial  to  the 
States. 

"It  may  be  recollected  that  one  of  Mr.  Bliss's  published  letters  was  said  to  have  been 
written  after  torture  ;  most  people  believed  Bliss  long  since  dead,  and  many,  we  sup- 
pose, i>rayed  for  the  repose  of  his  soul ;  but  '  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction ;'  he  is  alive 
and  iu  rude  health,  on  board  the  Wasp,  where  he  and  Masterman  are  detained  close 
prisoners.  The  following  telegram  is  the  very  latest  respecting  the  author,  the  secre- 
tary, and  as  we  now  hear,  the  spy : 

" '  Montevideo,  December  18, 1868. 

" '  Wasp  arrived. 

"  '  Bliss  and  Masterman  on  board  as  accused ;  will  be  sent  to  the  United  States. 

"  '  General  McMahou  lauded  on  the  11th  instant. 

"  '  Wasp  left  next  day. 

"  '  Reported  that Brazilians  were  put  "  hers  de  combat"  on  the  6th  and  11th.  Lo- 
pez at  Angostura.  When  Wasp  left  the  number  of  Paraguayan  army  ignored ;  sup- 
posed to  be  greater  than  reported. 

" '  Englishmen  command  battery  at  Angostura.    All  well  there  on  the  11th.' " 

The  Wasp  arrived  at  Montevideo  on  the  18th  of  December,  and  the  Pawnee  arrived 
in  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  19th  of  December.  That  statement  must  have  been  furnished 
to  the  editor  of  the  Bu^enos  Ayres  Standard  by  officers  on  board  the  Pawnee.  These 
telegrams  were  sent  from  the  Wasp  and  were  furnished  by  Captain  Kirkland.  There 
was  other  information  furnished  to  the  paper  lauding  McMahon  and  throwing  ridicule 
on  his  predecessor.  Now  what  good  does  it  do  for  an  American  naval  officer  to  ridicule 
an  American  diplomatic  officer  ? 

Q.  Who  is  commander  of  the  Pawnee  ?— A.  Captain  Erben. 

Then  on  the  20th  the  following  from  the  same  paper : 

"  THE  WAR  IN  THE  NORTH.— THE  PAWNEE  WITH  DATES  TO  13tH. 

"  The  Marcelo  Diaz  with  dates  to  the  15th. 

"  Both  these  steamers  have  arrived,  but  they  bring  very  little  news  of  importance 
beyond  the  fact  that  Lopez,  instead  of  having  cleared  out  with  200  men  to  Luque,  is 
at  the  head  of  his  army  in  Angostura ;  and  some  American  officers  who  have  inspected 
Angostura  report  it  as  a  jjosition  of  great  strength  which  will  cost  much  to  take. 

''When  the  American  squadron  arrived  up  at  Angostura,  Admiral  Davis  dispatched 
a  boat  ashore  with  a  peremptory  demand  for  the  immediate  surrender  of  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman. 

"  Lopez  at  once  complied,  sending  the  two  gentlemen  of  Villeta  down  to  the  boat 
under  charge  of  a  a;uard,  and  also  an  invitation  to  Admiral  Davis  to  come  ashore  to  his 
encampment.  The  admiral  at  once  complied,  and  had  a  long  interview  with  Lopez, 
who,  we  understand,  gave  the  very  best  proof  that  both  were  spies  of  his  during  their 
residence  at  the  legation.  General  McMahon  subsequently  went  ashore,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  all  the  honors  by  Lopez  when  presenting  his  credentials. 

"  We  hear  that  the  Pawnee  has  brought  very  imj)ortant  dispatches  for  the  American 
minister  here,  his  excellency  Mr.  Wortbington. 

"  General  McMahon  remains  at  Angostura,  and  has  not  gone  to  Asuncion. 

"  There  was  nothing  known  of  the  whereabouts  of  Gelly  y  Obes,  supposed  to  be  at 
Palmas. 

"  The  Paraguayans  we  hear  claim  to  have  taken  some  pieces  of  artillery  in  one  of 
the  last  fights,  but  how  far  this  may  be  we  cannot  say. 

"  The  Brazil,  when  passing  Angostura,  suffered  terribly.  The  battery  guns  were  cov- 
ered over  with  hides,  until  the  monitor  came  within  range,  then  they  opened  up  an 
awful  fire,  which  shot  down  captain,  officers,  and  men ;  thej^  tried  to  turn  the  ship  or 
back  down,  but  it  was  out  of  the  question,  and  the  only  hope  for  the  Brazil  was  to  push 
on  as  best  she  could  and  get  above  Angostura,  where  she  now  lies." 

It  was  impossible  for  this  information  to  be  had  except  from  the  officers  of  the  ves- 
sel. On  the  23d  day  of  January,  and  after  we  reached  Rio,  I  met  a  gentleman  in  Rio  who 
was  a  ^reat  friend  of  Bliss,  and  he  wanted  to  see  him.  I  told  him  that  the  rule  was 
that  people  on  shore  could  not  communicate  with  him,  but  that  he,  if  he  went  on  board 
to  see  the  admiral  there,  might  be  some  relaxation  to  the  rule.  He  went  on  board  with 
me  and  immediately  went  into  the  cabin ;  when  he  came  out  he  told  me  ho  had  the  ad- 
miral's permission  to  visit  Bliss.  He  also  told  me  that  the  admiral  had  said  that  Gene- 
ral Webb  had  given  him  an  order  to  go  down  the  river  after  Mr.  Webb,  and  that,  and 
that  alone  was  the  cause  of  the  difficulty  between  them.  I  immediately  spoke  up  that 
it  was  not  true  ;  that  it  could  not  be  true  by  any  possibility.  The  next  day  Mr.  Bliss 
informed  me  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  the  admiral  the  day  before  to  the  fol- 
lowing effect :  "  Sir :  You  are  requested  to  inform  me  whether  you  will  take  passage  on 
the  American  packet  for  New  York,  and  upon  reaching  there  report  to  JVIr.  Seward.    In* 


PARAGUAYAN  -INVESTIGATION.  175 

form  me  at  once  whether  you  will  accept  this  proposition."  I  was  a  good  deal  startled 
when  I  saw  this  and  said,  "  Mr.  Bliss,  you  ought  to  have  told  me  of  that  letter  before. 
Mark  me,  if  Admiral  Davis  does  not  attempt  to  make  use  of  that  letter  to  make  it  ap- 
pear that  he  has  heen  treating  you  and  Mr.  Masterman  in  a  gentle  manner,  and  if  you 
had  told  me  of  that  letter  before  I  would  have  put  you  on  your  guard."  "  But,"  says  I,  "  if 
there  should  be  any  investigation  about  this  matter,  as  I  hope  there  will  be,  and  the 
actual  facts  are  brought  out,  and  they  are  directly  in  opposition  to  that  letter,  it  will 
put  Admiral  Davis  in  contradiction." 

[Sunday  Chronicle,  ( Washingrton, )  February  23,  1869. J 

"  The  Paraguayan  trouble.— The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  yesterday  sent  to  Con- 
gress additional  correspondence  received  in  regard  to  the  Paraguayan  trouble.  Letters 
are  inclosed  from  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  late  members  of  our  legation  at  Para- 
guay, who  were  seized  by  Lopez  and  barbarously  treated.  It  seems  by  the  letter  of 
Mr.  Masterman  that  Admiral  Davis  is  not  liable  to  the  censure  which  published  ac- 
counts have  stated  he  was,  for  in  a  letter  to  the  admiral,  dated  January  23,  Mr.  Mas- 
terman writes : 

"  'I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  thank  you  most  gratefully  for  the  important 
service  you  rendered  me  by  delivering  me  from  a  cruel  captivity,  and  probably  violent 
death,  in  Paraguay.' 

• "  Mr.  Bliss  writes  that  he  would  accept  the  admiral's  oflfers  to  convey  him  home,  and 
would,  as  in  duty  bound,  report  in  person  to  the  State  Department." 

[New  York  Weekly  Herald,  February  20,  1869.| 

"  Our  Rio  Janeiro  letter  is  dated  December  29.  Admiral  Davis,  with  his  fleet  »nd 
the  two  prisoners,  had  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres.  lie  expresses  himself  satisfied  ^ith 
the  explanation  made  by  Lopez,  and  believes  that  Washburn,  Bliss,  and  Masterman 
were  all  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow  the  Paraguayan  government.  The  lem- 
nant  of  Lopez's  army  was  still  at  Angostura,  Luque  being  at  present  his  seat  of  govern- 
ment. Minister  McMahoii  was  with  him.  Caxijis's  anny  was  very  much  in  need  of 
reorganization  after  the  light  at  Villeta,  and  it  was  rumored  that  Porto  Alegre  had 
been  requested  to  assume  the  chief  command  of  the  army.  On  the  27th  of  December  a 
lire  broke  out  in  the  custom-honse  in  Rio  Janeiro,  and  as  no  one  was  permitted  to  open 
the  doors  unless  the  scnor  guardian  of  the  keys  was  present,  the  fire  gained  such  head- 
way that  l)ef<)re  it  wasextinguiwlu'd — two  persons  having,  after  a  long  delay,  concluded 
to  smash  o[)en  the  doors,  notwith.standing  the  regulations — ^property  was  destroyed  to 
the  amount  of  $250,000." 

Witness.  There  is  one  thing  I  omitted  to  mention,  and  that  is,  that  when  the  letter  of 
the  Spanish  admiral  was  being  discussed  on  the  quarter-deck,  Captain  Wolsey  told  Bliss 
that  he  seemed  to  consider  himself  a  prisoner  on  board  the  ship ;  that  he  was  not  a  pris- 
oner ;  that  he  was  a  guest.  After  the  return  of  the  letter  which  Bliss  had  written  to  ihe 
father  of  his  fellow  prisoner  in  Buenos  Ayres,  Captain  W^olsey  said  to  me  particula-ly 
that  Masterman  had  shown  a  very  bad  and  vindictive  spirit  on  board  ship.  I  did  i>ot 
know  what  he  alluded  to.  I  had  not  seen  anything  objectionable  in  his  conduct.  I 
asked  Masterman  what  he  had  done,  but  ho  was  iguoraut  of  having  done  anything  ♦■o 
which  offense  could  be  taken,  except  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Stewart,  in  win  >h 
he  stated  that  he  was  treated  a  little  better  than  he  was  on  the  Wasp. 

New  York,  October  26, 1869. 
Marius  Duvall  recalled  and  examined. 

To  Mr.  Orth  : 
I  omitted  yesterday  to  narrate  a  conversation  I  had  with  Captain  Ramsay  about  Mr. 
Washburn  at  Rio.  He  said  to  me :  "  What  right  had  Mr.  Washburn  to  report  to  Mr. 
Stewart,  the  British  minister  to  Brazil  ?"  alluding,  I  suppose,  to  a  letter  which  Mr. 
Washburn  had  written  to  Mr.  Stewart,  giving  information  about  matters  in  Paraguay. 
I  said  to  Captain  Ramsay  that  perhaps  it  did  not  occur  to  him  that  Mr.  AVashburn  was 
doing  the  public  a  great  benefit  by  giving  information  to  different  nations  of  the  con- 
dition of  their  subjects  in  Paraguay.  Captain  Erbin  met  me  one  day  on  the  wharf  at 
Rio,  and  we  commenced  to  talk  about  Paraguay  matters.  I  think  he  exhibited  some 
irritation  at  the  argument  I  had  with  him  at  General  Webb's  house,  and  he  asked  me 
why  I  had  talked  so  earnestly  at  that  time.  I  said  to  him  pleasantly  that  it  was  merely 
for  the  sake  of  argument ;  that  I  was  trying  to  convince  him.  That  seemed  to  quiet 
him.  I  remarked  to  him  that  he  might  depend  upon  it  that  the  officers  of  the  navy 
were  committing  a  very  grave  mistake  in  running  down  Mr.  Washburn ;  that  in  all 
probability  General  Grant  would  be  elected  to  the  presidency,  and  he  and  E.  B.  Wash- 
burne,  his  brother,  would  be  influential  men  in  the  government,  and  it  would  not  do  to 
have  them  opposed  to  the  navy.  I  merely  mention  this  to  show  that  I  was  doing  aU  I 
could  to  have  these  men  view  matters  in  a  different  light. 


176  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Testimony  of  Francis  M.  Ramsay. 

New  York,  October  26, 1869. 
Francis  M.  Ramsay  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  is  your  position  in  tlio  navy  ? — Answer.  I  am  a  commander  in  tho 
navy ;  am  at  i^resent  on  ordnance  duty  in  the  navy  yard  at  Washington. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  heen  in  the  navy  ? — ^A.  I  have  been  in  the  navy  over  nineteeix 
years. 

Q.  Wliat  was  your  position  in  the  navy  from  September,  1867,  to  September,  1869? — 
A.  From  September,  1867,  to  June,  1869,  I  was  fleet  cai)tain  and  chief  of  staff  of  tlio 
South  Athmtic  squadron,  and  from  Juno,  1869,  until  the  latter  part  of  July,  in  addition 
to  this  duty,  I  commanded  the  United  States  flag-ship  Guerriere. 

Q.  Who  was  your  admiral  ? — A.  Rear-admiral  C  H.  Davis. 

Q.  Wliere  were  you  stationed  in  October,  1868  ?— A.  On  the  28th  of  October  I  was 
on  board  the  flag-ship  Guerriere.  She  left  Rio  Janeiro  on  that  day  Avith  General  Mc- 
Mahon,  United  States  minister  to  Paraguay,  and  on  the  3d  day  of  November  anchored 
oft"  Montevideo.  On  the  7th  day  of  November  Admiral  Davis  transferred  his  flag  to 
the  Wasp  and  took  General  McMahon  to  Buenos  Ayres.  He  went  there  for  the  purpose 
of  consulting  with  Minister  Worthiugton  and  Mr.  Washburn,  who  was  there  at  that 
time.  On  the  10th  the  Wasp  returned,  bringing  the  admiral,  Minister  McMahon,  and 
Minister  Worthiugton.  On  the  17th  Minister  McMahon  left  the  Guerriere  and  went  to 
Buenos  Ayres.  On  the  19th  Admiral  Davis  again  transferred  his  flag  to  the  Wasp,  and 
I  went  with  him.  We  sailed  for  Paraguay,  and  on  the  20th  stopped  at  Buenos  Ayres 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  on  board  General  McMahon.  On  the  2l8t  we  sailed  from 
Buenos  Ayres  with  General  McMahon  on  board,  and  on  the  23d  arrived  at  Rosario 
del  Santa  r<S.  On  the  24th  we  left  Rosario.  Having  only  one  pilot,  the  ship  anchored 
every  night  and  ran  all  day.  On  the  30th  of  November  we  arrived  at  Corrientes, 
stopped  there  to  coal,  and  on  the  1st  of  December  we  sailed  from  there,  arriving  at 
Palmas  on  the  3d.  We  there  communicated  with  the  commanding  officers  of  the  Bra- 
zilian squadron,  and  then  j^assed  up  and  anchored  off  the  Paraguayan  batteries  at 
Angostura.  Commander  Kirkland,  of  the  Wasp,  was  sent  on  shore  with  a  letter  to 
President  Lopez.  He  returned  with  a  message  from  Lopez,  saying  that  he  would  be  at 
the  Angostura  batteries  in  a  short  time,  and  requested  that  Admiral  Davis  would  come 
on  shore  and  have  an  interview  with  him.  The  admiral  immediately  went  ashore,  ac- 
companied by  Commander  Kirkland,  and  had  an  interview  with  Lopez.  Some  cor- 
respondence passed  afterward  between  Lopez  and  Admiral  Davis.  All  of  the  letters 
passed  under  my  observation,  as  I  was  Admiral  Davis's  chief-of-staff.  These  letters 
have  all  since  been  published.  The  dates  I  have  here  given  I  obtain  from  a  note-book 
I  kept  at  the  time.  One  of  the  communications  sent  by  Lppez  to  Admiral  Davis  con- 
tained a  request  that  the  admiral  should  send  one  or  more  naval  ofiflcers  to  be  present 
at  the  tribunal,  to  witness  the  verification  of  the  declarations  that  had  been  made  by 
Bliss  and  Masterman.  Commander  Kirkland  and  myself  were  detailed  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

Q.  State  all  you  recollect  in  reference  to  that  transaction;  what  time  you  went 
there,  who  were  present,  and  what  transpired. — A.  At  10  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  8th  of  December  Commander  Kirkland  and  I  went  on  shore.  We  were  furnished 
with  horses,  and,  accompanied  by  a  lieutenant,  went  to  the  headquarters  of  President 
Lopez. 

Q.  How  far  distant  from  the  batteries? — A.  I  should  judge  about  six  miles.  We 
were  received  there  by  two  officers  ;  one,  I  think,  was  Lopez's  military  secretary,  and 
the  other  his  son,  who,  I  think,  was  a  major  in  rank.  We  paid  our  respects  to  the 
President,  and  I  think  it  was  about  mid-day  when  we  went  before  the  tribunals.  The 
persons  present  were  the  two  judges,  Lopez's  chief-of-staff,  and  two  officers  who  spoke 
English. 

Q.  Who  constituted  the  tribunal  ? — A.  I  supposed  that  the  judges  constituted  the 
tribunal,  and  that  these  officers  were  merely  present  as  interpreters,  and  perhajis  as  a 
matter  of  etiquette  toward  us. 

Q.  Did  these  persons  constitute  a  part  of  the  tribunal  ? — A.  I  did  not  so  understand 
it.  After  we  had  been  seated  in  the  hut.  Bliss  Avas  brought  in,  or  rather  came  in. 
Commander  Kirkland  asked  him  whether  he  was  Mr.  Bliss  or  Mr.  Masterman.  Ho 
answered  :  "  My  name  is  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss.  He  was  then  given  a  scat  on  one  side 
of  the  room.  I  am  not  sure  whether  he  was  then  informed  who  we  were  or  not ;  but 
he  was  so  informed  afterward,  and  before  he  left  the  hut. 

Q.  By  whom  was  he  so  informed  ?— A.  It  was  all  written  at  the  end  of  his  declara- 
tion, which  he  signed.  Our  names  and  rank  were  written  out  in  full.  We  were  also 
in  our  proper  uniform,  with  our  swords. 

Q.  Did  you  or  Captain  Kirkland  inform  him  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  he  informed  of  the  object  of  your  visit  ? — A.  No,  sir.    As  soon  as  Bliss  was . 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  177 

seated,  one  of  the  officers  who  spoke  English  commenced  reading  the  declarations  Bliss 
had  made  at  different  times.  As  each  declaration  was  read  he  was  asked  in  Spanish 
if  it  was  correct.  He  was  then  shown  his  signature  at  the  bottom  of  each  and  asked 
if  that  was  his  signature,  and  in  each  case  he  answered,  "  Yes." 

Q.  Do  you  speak  Spanish  ? — A.  I  can  understand  it.  Commander  Kirkland  under- 
stands Spanish  as  well  as  he  does  English,  and  I  referred  to  him,  when  anything  oc- 
curred I  could  not  understand.  During  the  reading,  the  officer  would  sometimes  hesi- 
tate as  if  he  did  not  understand  the  word;  Bliss  would  always  prompt  him  and  sup- 
ply him  with  the  necessary  word.  It  occupied  considerable  time  to  read  Bliss's  decla- 
rations ;  I  think  there  were  about  fourteen  of  them;  some  of  them  were  very  long. 
After  they  were  all  read,  a  paper  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  each  of  the  judges, 
Commander  Kirkland  aud  myself  as  witnesses,  and  theu  by  Bliss.  Tlie  paper  was 
simply  a  certificate  that  tliese  declarations  had  been  read  to  Mr.  Bliss  in  our  presence  ; 
that  he  had  acknowledged  that  they  were  all  correct;  and  that  he  again,  in  our  pres- 
ence, reiterated  tlie  statements. 

Q.  When  you  left  the  vessel  by  direction  of  Admiral  Davis  to  go  on  shore  and  have 
this  interview,  were  you  aware  that  you  were  to  proceed  to  this  tribunal  and  listen  to 
these  declarations  ? — A.  I  understood  my  duty  was  to  go  to  President  Lopez's  head- 
quarters; that  I  wouhl  then  go  before  the  tribunal,  and  that  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Master- 
man  would  there  be  called  upon  to  verify  their  signatures  to  these  declarations  and 
certify  to  their  correctness,  and  that  my  duty  was  to  be  present  during  these  proceed- 
ings and  witness  what  they  did.  That  was  my  solo  duty.  1  wjis  simply  a  witness  to 
their  wiguatures. 

Q.  Was  it  your  understanding  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  crhninals,  or  that  you 
went  out  there  to  demand  them  Jis  American  citizens  or  members  of  Mr.  Washburn's 
legation  ? — A.  All  tliat  I  knew  about  the  status  of  Bliss  and  Mastennan  was  what  I 
read  from  the  correspondence  which  Mr.  Washburn  had  had  with  the  Paraguayan  gov- 
ernment and  the  letters  which  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  at  different  times  after  he  left 
Paraguay.  I  knew  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  called  criminals  by  President  Lo- 
pez, because  I  read  all  of  Lopez's  communications,  and  he  always  spoke  of  them  as 
criminals ;  but  their  status  was  something  with  which  I  had  nothing  to  do.  Com- 
mander Kirkland  and  myself  were  sent  there  simply  as  witnesses  of  these  papers.  It 
was  the  request  of  Lopez  to  Admiral  Davis  that  one  or  more  officers  should  be  present 
to  verify  these  declarations. 

Q.  Were  you  not  sent  there  to  protect  Bliss  and  Masterman  as  American  citizens  ? — A. 
No,  sir ;  the  case  as  I  understood  it  when  I  left  the  ship  was  that  President  Lopez  in- 
tended to  give  up  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  Admiral  Davis  immediately,  but  that  before 
tbfiy  left  the  country  he  wanted  all  these  declarations  verified,  and  wanted  that  verifi- 
cation in  the  presence  of  a  United  States  officer.  That  was  the  way  I  undorstood.it, 
aud  my  duty  was  only  to  go  there  and  be  witness  to  what  they  said. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  you  give  these  men  to  understand  that  they  would  be  protected  in  telling  the 
truth — in  denying  these  statements ;  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  would 
protect  them  if  they  did  so  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  our  presence  was  sufficient  guarantee  of  that. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  In  this  connection  I  wish  you  would  describe  Mr.  Bliss's  personal  appearance,  his 
clothing,  &c.,  and  likewise  the  place  in  the  court-room  these  two  men  occupied  in  re- 
spect to  the  judges  and  the  officers  constituting  the  court. — A.  When  Mr.  Bliss  came 
in,  the  appearance  of  his  face  was  as  much  like  it  is  now  as  it  possibly  could  be.  He 
was  perfectly  calm  aud  self-possessed  and  answered  every  question  as  coolly  as  he  pos- 
sibly could  at  any  time.  His  clothes  were  very  shabby,  and  his  pantaloons  were  split 
up  a  little  at  the  bottom  of  the  legs  as  if  they  had  been  worn  a  great  length  of  time. 
He  wore  a  pair  of  shoes.  I  noticed  they  were  very  good  shoes,  except  that  the  In- 
dia-rubber was  a  little  stretched.  His  clothes  looked  as  if  they  had  been  worn  a 
great  deal  without  any  care.  The  tribunal  was  in  a  small  room  ;  Bliss  and  Masterman 
sat  on  one  side  of  the  room ;  on  the  opposite  side  sat  the  officers  I  spoke  of.  At  the 
end  of  the  room  was  a  table  and  behind  the  table  sat  the  two  judges  aud  the  person, 
who  read,  and  opposite  them  at  the  other  end  of  the  room  sat  Commander  Kirkland 
and  myself. 

Q.  Did  you  see  Mr.  Bliss  come  in  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  came  in  alone. 

Q.  Had  you  any  conversation  with  him  at  that  time  ? — A.  None  whatever. 

^.  What  insignia  of  office  did  these  judges  or  the  other  officers  exhibit  ?— A.  They 
were  all  in  the  uniform  of  the  Paraguayan  army  and  wore  their  swords.  The  judges, 
wore  a  cross ;  I  believe  they  were  both  priests. 

Q.  What  part  did  these  judges  take  in  this  examination  ?— A.  They  merely  sat  there 
and  administered  the  oath.  Both  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  sworn.  After  Bliss's 
declaration  was  finished  he  was  allowed  to  retire,  and  it  was  proposed  that  we  should 
take  a  short  recess.    And  I  suppose  it  is  proper,  in  this  connection,  to  refer  to  Mr.. 

12  PI 


178  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Bliss's  statement  in  regard  to  myself.  WhUe  standing  outside,  talking  to  these  officers, 
one  of  whom  had  been  in  London  and  the  other  in  Paris,  a  boy  passed  by,  wearing  a 
pretty  embroidered  shirt,  which  I  remarked  upon,  and  asked  if  that  was  the  work  of 
the  country.  They  told  mo  that  it  was,  and  that  their  women  prided  themselves  on 
that  kind  of  work.  He  then  sent  into  the  house  for  some  specimens  of  the  work,  and 
a  shirt  and  a  towel  were  brought  out.  He  handed  me  the  towel  and  said  :  "  Perhaps 
your  countrymen  would  like  to  see  some  specimens  of  Paraguayan  work.  Won't  you 
take  this  ?"  He  then  gave  me  the  towel,  which  I  have  brought  with  me,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  it  to  the  committee.  I  received  nothing  else.  They  also  brought  out 
some  caiia  and  cigars,  and  asked  us  to  partake  of  them.  I  neither  smoke  nor  drink, 
80  I  did  not  accept  of  their  invitation.  Commander  Kirkland,  however,  did  take 
some ;  and  after  a  short  recess  we  returned  to  the  hut  where  the  tribunal  was  held, 
and  Masterman  was  brought  iu.  While  we  had  been  out  I  saw  a  person  standing  beside 
a  tree,  with  a  sentry  near  him,  which  I  supposed  to  be  Mr.  Masterman.  As  Mr.  Mas- 
terman came  in  he  had  to  pass  close  by  my  side,  and  as  ho  passed  me  he  said  :  "  You 
must  forgive  me  for  what  I  am  going  to  say.  I  hoped  to  be  spared  this  shame."  Those 
were  his  exact  words,  and  I  wrote  them  down  as  soon  after  as  I  could.  When  he  was 
first  sworn  he  exhibited  great  fear.  His  manner  was  that  of  a  man  very  much 
alarmed ;  and  when  he  took  his  seat,  he  twitched  and  moved  about  all  the  time.  He 
seemed  very  uneasy.  After  his  first  declaration  had  been  read,  and  he  certified  to  its 
correctness  and  verified  his  signature,  I  said :  "  Mr.  Masterman,  do  you  understand 
everything  that  has  been  read  to  you  there?" 

Q.  Did  you  make  that  remark  in  the  presence  of  the  court  and  officers  ? — A.  Yes ; 
before  everybody.  He  said,  "Yes;"  and  then  one  of  these  Paraguayan  officers  spoke 
up  and  said :  "  Mr.  Masterman  wrote  part  of  this  in  Eugiish,  and  it  was  translated 
into  Spanish,  and  he  had  an  interpreter  to  explain  to  him'  all  that  had  been  written." 
Mr.  Masterman  immediately  spoke  up,  and  said:  "I  understand  Spanish  very  well.  I 
have  been  speaking  it  for  seven  years.  I  wrote  a  greater  part  of  the  declaration 
myself."  "  Then,"  said  I,  "  Mr.  Masterman,  I  am  to  understand  that  all  you  have  stated 
in  your  declaration  is  true  ;  and  that  is  your  e\nidence  under  oath."  To  this  he  stam- 
mered out :  "  Yes ;  but  please  don't  ksk  me  any  questions."  One  of  the  officers  present 
then  said :  "  Why  don't  you  want  to  be  asked  any  questions  ?"  asking  him  this  in  Spanish. 
He  said,  because  "  it  will  take  up  the  time  of  the  court,"  or  words  to  that  effect.  So  I 
made  no  more  remarks  to  him.  After  he  had  finished  his  evidence,  as  he  was  going 
out,  he  made  some  remark  to  Commander  Kirkland,  the  exact  words  of  which  I  can- 
not remember ;  but  the  sense  of  it  was  this  :  "  Are  we  not  going  away  with  you  ?  I 
understood  you  came  here  to  take  us  away."  That  is  the  tenor  of  what  he  said.  It 
was  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  before  we  got  through. 

Q.  What  impression  was  made  upon  your  mind  by  these  remarks  of  Mr.  Master- 
man  ? — A.  I  will  read  a  note  I  made  in  my  memorandum-book  at  the  time  :  "  Went  to 
the  tribunals  and  heard  declarations  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  Am  sure  Bliss  lied,  and 
think  Masterman  did  also." 

Q.  Then  the  impression  made  upon  your  mind,  as  I  understand  from  this  memo- 
randum, was  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  not  guilty  of  the  charges  they  con- 
fessed ? — A.  The  reason  I  said  I  thought  Bliss  lied,  was  because  be  made  reference  to 
things  v/hich  I  knew  were  not  true. 

Q.  Did  you  mean  by  that  memorandum  that  you  thought  these  confessions  were  ex- 
torted from  him  ? — A.  I  took  it  for  granted  that  they  were.  I  never  saw  a  man  ex- 
hibit such  fear  as  Masterman  did.    We  returned  to  the  ship  about  9  o'clock. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  report  to  the  admiral  when  you  arrived  ? — A.  I  told  him,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  recollect,  everything  that  occurred. 

Q.  Did  you  apprise  the  admiral  of  the  impression  made  on  your  mind  as  to  whether 
those  confessions  were  voluntary  or  extorted  ? — A.  I  am  pretty  sure  I  did,  because  the 
memorandum  was  written  immediately  on  getting  on  board  the  ship. 

Q.  What  reply  did  the  admiral  make  to  this  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember.  Of  course, 
when  we  got  back,  the  admiral  was  very  anxious  to  know  what  had  occurred  during 
the  day,  and  I  gave  him  as  clear  a  statement  as  I  could. 

Q.  Were  your  orders  to  bring  Bliss  and  Masterman  back  with  you  to  the  ship  ? — A. 
]No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  suggestion  to  the  admiral  in  regard  to  bringing  them  aboard 
that  night  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  left  them  in  the  hands  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities  when  you  passed  from 
the  tribunal  to  the  vessel  ? — ^A.  Yes,  sir ;  we  left  them  just  as  we  found  them. 

Q.  Did  the  admiral  make  any  suggestion  as  to  bringing  these  men  upon  his  vessel 
-when  you  apprised  him  that  you  regarded  these  confessions  as  the  effect  of  compul- 
sion?— A.  I  understood  before  I  left  the  vessel  in  the  morning  that  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  would  be  delivered  up  to  Admiral  Davis  as  soon  as  an  officer  was  sent  to  verify 
the  declarations. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  179 

Q.  StiU,  yon  went  away  from  the  tribunal  without  hringing  them  on  board  ?— A. 
Yes,  8ir.  President  Lopez  had  informed  Admiral  Davis  that  he  would  deliver  them  on 
board  of  the  Wasp  as  soon  as  their  declarations  had  been  verified. 

Q.  Did  you  request  their  deliverance  up  to  you  ?— A.  No,  sir.  It  would  not  have 
been  proper.    Their  delivery  had  already  been  arranged  in  official  correspondence. 

Q.  Then  from  what  you  and  Captain  Kirkland  heard,  you  had  no  reason  to  believe 
that  they  would  be  delivered  up  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  expected  they  would  be  delivered  up, 
from  what  I  knew. 

Q.  Did  you  expect  they  would  be  delivered  up  when  you  started  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  did 
not  expect  they  would  be  delivered  up  to  me.  I  should  have  declined  to  receive 
them. 

Q.  Why  so  f — A.  Because  I  had  no  guard  or  American  fla^  with  me.  I  could  not 
have  received  them  at  all,  unless  they  were  delivered  to  me  in  my  boat  on  the  river. 
Moreover,  the  question  of  their  delivery  had  been  already  settled.  They  were  to  be 
delivered  on  board  the  Wasp.    I  had  been  sent  to  perform  a  specific  duty. 

Q.  Let  me  state  a  hypothetical  case :  Suppose  you  found  in  some  barren  country  an 
American  citizen  deprived  of  his  liberty,  mijustly  accused  of  crime,  would  you  not  feel  it 
your  duty,  as  a  naval  officer,  to  obtain  his  release,  even  if  you  had  not  the  means  to  com- 
ply with  all  the  rules  of  etiquette  pertaining  to  the  navy ;  for  instance,  if  you  had  not 
an  American  flag,  would  you  not  endeavor  to  rescue  him  ? — A.  It  would  depend  entirely 
upon  how  I  was  placed.  I  would  allow  no  mere  question  of  etiquette  to  interfere  with 
the  proper  performance  of  my  duty.  It  would  be  absurd  for  a  subordinate  officer,  sent 
on  special  duty,  in  a  case  fully  understood  by  his  superior,  six  miles  from  his  vessel, 
and  in  a  military  camp,  to  attempt  to  rescue  a  prisoner  for  whose  release  certain  ar- 
rangements had  already  been  made. 

Q.  When  were  Bliss  and  Masterraan  put  on  board  the  ship  ?—  A.  About  II  o'clock  on 
the  10th  of  December. 

Q.  Who  received  them  when  they  arrived  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  remember  what  officer  re- 
ceived them.  I  was  in  my  state-room  at  the  time.  It  was  no  part  of  my  duty  to  re- 
ceive them.  .  , 

Q.  When  did  you  first  see  them  after  they  reached  the  vessel  ?— A.  I  saw  them  walk- 
ing about  the  deck  the  next  morning. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  as  to  their  having  been  received  and  held  as  prisoners  ? — A. 
I  know  nothing  as  to  what  occurred  at  the  time  of  their  reception.  I  know  from  being 
told,  not  from  my  own  observation,  that  a  sentinel  was  phiced  over  them  the  first 
night  they  came  on  board.    I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  command  of  the  Wasp. 

Q.  How  were  they  regarded  on  the  Wasp  from  the  time  you  left  Angostura  until  you 
reached  Montevideo ;  as  prisoners,  or  freemen  ? — A.  So  far  as  I  know,  they  had  perfect 
liberty  to  go  about  .the  vessel. 

Q.  All  over  the  vessel? — A.  All  over  the  vessel  where  men  are  allowed  to  go.  They 
lived  forward  with  the  men. 

Q.  How  was  it  when  you  arrived  at  Montevideo  ? — A.  I  remember  most  distinctly 
that  I  suggested  to  Admiral  Davis  that  the  request  of  President  Lopez  could  only  be 
carried  out  by  keeping  them  under  sentinel's  charge.  President  Lopez  expressly  asked 
that  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  communicate  with  his  enemies. 

Q.  Then  Admiral  Davis  complied  with  the  request  of  Lopez,  that  they  should  be 
kept  under  guard  ? — A.  President  Lopez  made  no  such  request  of  Admiral  Davis  that  I 
am  aware  of. 

Q.  Then  you  did  not  regard  them  as  freemen  ? — A.  They  were  freemen,  except  that 
they  could  not  go  on  shore  or  give  information  about  President  Lopez,  which  they  both 
seemed  very  anxious  to  do.    I  thought  they  had  too  much  liberty. 

Q.  And  you  thought  this  confession  of  Bliss  and  Mastermau  was  extorted,  and  that 
they  were  innocent  men  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  did  not  say  that  they  were  innocent,  but  I 
thought  the  confessions  were  extorted.  T  never  saw  a  man  more  frightened  than  Mr. 
Mastermau,  and  I  never  saw  a  man  more  cool  than  Bliss ;  and  I  knew  Bliss  did  not  tell 
the  truth,  because  he  made  statements  that  I  knew  were  not  true. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Did  you  suppose  that  Bliss  and  Mastermau  were  making  this  confession  for  the 
purpose  of  saving  their  lives  and  getting  away  from  Paraguay? — A.  No,  sir;   that 
never  entered  my  head. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Had  you  any  knowledge  of  these  two  gentlemen — of  their  personal  history  and 
their  connection  with  the  Paraguayan  government  ? — A.  I  had  heard  of  Mr.  Bliss ;  I 
had  never  heard  of  Mr.  Mastermau.  I  heard  of  Mr.  Bliss  having  been  employed  by 
General  Webb. 

Q.  In  this  official  letter  you  speak  of  from  President  Lopez,  did  he  make  any  stipu- 
lation that  they  were  not  to  communicate  with  anybody  on  shore  ?— A.  My  impressioa 
is  that  it  was  a  request  merely.    The  letter  is  on  file  in  the  department. 


180  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  were  under  the  impression  that  they  were  delivered  up  as  a  matter  of  cour- 
tesy to  the  United  States,  and  not  because  Lopez  believed  them  to  be  innocent  ? — A. 
My  impression  was  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  regarded  as  criminals  in  Paraguay, 
but  that  President  Lopez,  on  account  of  his  friendship  to  the  United  States  and  the 
request  of  Admiral  Davis,  was  willing  to  give  them  up  and  trust  to  the  United  States 
for  any  punishment  that  might  be  necessary.  Lopez  always  styled  them  in  his  letters 
as  criminals. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  At  what  time  were  these  persons  transferred  from  the  Wasp  to  the  Guerriere  ? — 
A.  On  the  18th  of  December  the  Wasp  arrived  in  Montevideo,  and  a  little  while  after- 
ward they  were  transferred  to  the  Guerriere.  I  would  like  to  make  a  remark  in  regard 
to  the  statements  in  Mr.  Bliss's  memorial  to  the  government.  He  says :  ''  The  head 
torturer,  who  sat  directly  opposite  to  me  sword  in  hand."  That  is  not  true.  No  one 
sat  there  sword  in  hand.  Every  person  present  had  a  sword,  and  for  a  matter  of  con- 
venience the  officers  sat  with  their  swords  between  their  legs. 

Q.  Was  the  sword  in  the  scabbard  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  Mr.  Bliss  further  states,  "the  tor- 
turer ;ind  other  persons  adding  their  own  signatures."  The  only  persons  who  signed 
the  papers  were  the  two  judges,  Commander  Kirkland,  and  myself. 

Q.  Who  was  the  chief  torturer  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  the  man  they  called  the  chief 
torturer.  Some  say  it  was  one  of  the  judges,  some  say  it  was  others.  Bliss  says  fur- 
ther on,  "Not  a  word  was  said  to  me  by  these  officers,  except  to  ask  my  name  in  a  rude 
manner,  and  to  say,  '  speak  in  English,'  when  I  recognized  my  signature  for  the  first 
time."  Commander  Kirkland  said  to  him  as  he  came  in,  "  Are  you  Mr.  Bliss  or  Mr.  Mas- 
terman ?"  There  was  no  rudeness  in  the  manner  of  asking  the  question ;  if  there  was 
any  rudeness  at  all  it  was  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Bliss,  in  the  way  he  answered.  When  he 
verified  his  statements  Commander  Kirkland  said  to  him,  in  ordinary  tone  of  voice, 
"Say  that  in  English."  Mr.  Bliss  goes  on  farther  to  state,  in  regard  to  his  letters,  that 
they  were  "  all  under  the  censorship  of  Admiral  Davis,  who  opened  letters  sent  to  me, 
and  suppressed  correspondence  to  and  from  me."  All  the  letters  that  I  know  of  that 
came  for  Mr.  Bliss  came  enclosed  to  Admiral  Davis.  They  were  all  open,  not  sealed  at 
all.  I  know  this  because  I  was  the  admiral's  chief-of-staff,  and  was  his  medium  of 
communication  to  the  captain  of  the  ship,  and  all  the  letters  that  came  to  Admiral  Davis 
or  Captain  Wolsey  for  Mr.  Bliss  passed  through  my  hands. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  you  hear  of  a  letter  being  sent  from  Captain  Hill,  an  officer  in  the  Paraguayan 
army,  to  Mr.  Bliss,  sent  to  him  December  30tii,  and  kept  back  until  January  8th? — 
A.  I  do  not  remember  anything  of  it.  I  know  perfectly  well  that  such  a  thing  was 
never  done  by  Admiral  Davis  as  to  open  a  letter  that  was  sealed. 

Q.  If  such  a  letter  had  been  sent  would  it  go  through  your  hands  ? — A.  It  would  go 
through  either  my  hands  or  Captain  Wolsey's.  We  lived  together  in  a  small  cabin, 
and  every  paper  that  had  any  connection  with  Bliss  or  Masterman  was  either  handed 
to  me  by  him,  or  to  him  by  me  ;  it  depended  upon  whichever  way  it  was  going.  Mr. 
Bliss  further  states  :  "  Meanwhile  calumnious  imputations  were  published  in  the  news- 
papers concerning  me,  proceeding  from  officers  of  the  United  States  squadron,  which  I 
was  not  allowed  to  refute,  and  extracts  were  published  from  my  extorted  depositions 
which  had  been  furnished  by  Lopez  to  the  officers  of  the  expedition."  The  only  persons 
who  saw  President  Lopez  were  Admiral  Davis,  Commander  Kirkland,  and  myself,  and 
all  the  correspondence  passed  through  my  hands.  I  received  every  letter  that  came 
from  President  Lopez,  and  kept  it  in  my  possession,  and  I  wrote  every  letter  that  went 
to  him,  and  there  were  no  extracts  in  any  of  those  letters  from  any  depositions.  A 
sealed  package  of  papers  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  State  came  on  board  the  Wasp 
with  Bliss  and  Masterman.  This  package  came  to  me  sealed  as  it  came  to  the  admiral, 
and  was  kept  by  me  under  lock  and  key  until  I  put  it  in  the  department  mail  bag. 

Q.  Did  you  or  Captain  Kirkland  have  a  copy  of  those  declarations  read  by  Bliss  and 
Masterman  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  Mr.  Bliss  may  have  made  requests  to  refute  articles  in  the 
papers,  but  if  he  did  it  was  very  strange  that  I  should  not  have  heard  it,  because  Cap- 
tain Wolsey  came  to  me  about  every  matter  that  occurred  in  regard  to  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman. Bliss  goes  on,  "  I  also  abstain  from  alluding  to  the  conduct  of  Minister 
McMahon  after  landing  at  Angostura."  Mr.  Bliss  knows  nothing  about  the  conduct  of 
Minister  McMahon  after  he  landed  at  Angostura,  because  the  Wasp  sailed  within  an 
hour  after  Minister  McMahon  landed.  I  was  the  last  person  to  talk  to  him  then,  and  I 
was  the  first  person  outside  of  Paraguay  to  communicate  with  him  afterward,  so  that 
Mr.  Bliss  had  no  means  of  knowing,  in  any  way,  anything  that  Minister  McMahon  did. 
This  letter  of  Bliss's  was  written  after  Minister  McMahon's  landing  at  Angostura  and 
before  I  communicated  with  him  in  May  last.  Mr.  Bliss  also  states  that  he  "  does  not 
comment  on  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis  in  delaying  so  long  the  departure  of  the 
South  Atlantic  squadron  for  Paraguay."  If  Mr.  Bliss  was  in  Paraguay  up  to  the  time 
the  Wasp  came  up  there,  he  knows  nothing  about  what  occurred  in  the  squadron  be- 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  181 

fore  that  time.  Mr.  Masterman  says  in  his  statement,  "  but  as  the  interpreters  sat  one 
on  each  side  of  me."  This  is  untme,  for  the  interpreters  sat  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
room  and  I  sat  between  the  interpreters  and  Mr.  Masterman.  He  further  states, 
"Aveiro,  who  sat  facing  me  with  a  sword  in  his  hand,"  &c.  That  is  not  true.  The 
sword  was  in  the  scabbard.    He  may  have  held  it  in  his  hand  to  rest  on  it. 

Q.  How  near  did  he  sit  to  Masterman  ?— A.  He  sat  as  far  from  him  as  the  size  of 
the  room  would  permit.  The  room  was  about  fourteen  feet  square.  While  the  depo- 
sitions were  being  read  Bliss  and  Masterman  sat  on  one  side  of  the  room  and  the  Para- 
guayan officers  on  the  other.  Commander  Kirkland  and  myself  were  the  nearest  per- 
sons to  them.  These  gentlemen  have  taken  on  themselves  to  mention  about  the  pres- 
ents the  officers  received.  That  small  towel  was  the  only  present  received,  and  that 
was  given  to  me.  Nothing  was  even  given  us  to  eat,  and  I  was  from  8  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing until  9  o'clock  at  night  without  even  a  mouthful  of  water.  This  caiia  and  cigars 
were  set  before  us,  but  I  did  not  touch  either. 

Q.  How  long  after  Masterman  and  Bliss  came  on  board  the  Wasp  did  Minister  Mc- 
Mahon  leave  that  vessel? — A.  They  came  on  board  at  11  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the 
lOtli,  and  Minister  McMahon  was  to  have  landed  at  1  o'clock  the  next  day.  But  the 
Brazilian  iron-clads  came  up  and  attacked  the  batteries  at  Angostura,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  drop  out  of  the  way  and  remain  until  the  next  day,  when  we  returned,  and 
at  3  p.  m.  General  McMahon  was  landed. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  request  made  by  Mr.  Bliss  for  the  purpose  of  having  an  in- 
terview with  Minister  McMahon  prior  to  his  landing  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  heard  him  say 
something  about  talking  with  these  men ;  but  I  think  it  was  determined  he  had  better 
not. 

Q.  By  whom  was  it  determined? — A.  That  is  hard  to  say.  Admiral  Davis,  Minister 
McMahon,  Commander  Kirkland,  and  myself  all  lived  together,  and  we  talked  these 
matters  over  together. 

Q.  It  was  the  result  of  conference  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  there  was  a  request  made  for  an  interview  ?— A.  I  cannot  recollect  now.  I 
might  not  know  it. 

Q.  Would  the  commander  of  the  ship  communicate  directly  with  Minister  Mc 
Mahon  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  the  captain  would  make  it  direct  to  Minister  McMahon,  and 
it  would  not  come  through  me. 

Q.  State  to  the  committee  what  consultations  were  had  between  Minister  McMahon, 
Admiral  Davis,  Captain  Kirkland,  and  yourself,  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  Bliss 
and  Masterman  having  an  interview  with  Minister  McMahon. — A.  I  have  only  a 
slight  recollection  that  something  was  said  about  it.  I  cannot  remember  the  circum- 
stances. 

Q.  The  propriety  of  it  was  discussed? — A.  I  cannot  even  say  that.  It  was  discussed 
at  the  time.    I  know  what  my  opinion  of  it  was. 

Q.  Did  you  give  your  opinion  at  the  time  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  any  other  person  present  give  any  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of 
granting  the  request  ? — A.  It  made  very  little  impression  on  my  mind.  It  was  an 
ordinary  conversation.  If  I  gave  any  opinion,  it  was  that  Minister  McMahon  should 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  request  that  was  made  by  Bliss  or  Masterman  to  have  an 
interview  with  Admiral  Davis  ?— A.  There  were  several  requests  on  board  the  Guer- 
riere. 

Q.  Any  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  interview  between  Admiral  Davis  and  Bliss  or  Masterman, 
on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Or  on  board  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  Admiral  Davis  had  several  interviews  on  board 
the  Guerriere  with  Mr.  Masterman. 

Q.  Did  he  have  any  with  Mr.  Bliss  ? — A.  I  heard  that  he  did.    I  did  not  see  any. 

Q.  Do  you  know  if  any  difference  was  made  between  the  treatment  of  Hlise 
and  of  Masterman  while  on  board  the  Wasp  or  Guerriere  ;  whether  one  was  allowed 
more  freedom  than  the  other  ?— A.  They  both  lived  in  the  same  mess  on  board  the 
Guerriere — the  warrant  officers'  mess.  On  board  the  Wasp  they  lived  forward,  with 
the  men.  Mastermau  objected  very  much  to  having  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  the 
marines  over  him,  and  he  applied  to  the  admiral  to  have  him  removed. 

Q.  Where  was  that  ? — A.  On  board  the  Guerriere. 

Q.  While  you  were  still  in  port?— A.  Yes,  ^r;  at  Montevideo;  and  he  gave  his  parole 
that  if  the  surveillance  were  removed  he  would  not  communicate  or  attempt  to  com- 
municate with  anybody  on  shore  without  permission. 

Q.  Then  it  was  removed  as  far  as  Masterman  was  concerned? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  it  removed  so  far  as  Bliss  was  concerned  ? — A.  I  am  not  able  to  state.  It 
was  not  removed  at  the  same  tkne. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  that  Masterman  was  a  British  subject  when  you  first  landed 
at  Villeta;  or  did  you  regard  him  as  an  American  citizen?— A.  I  regarded  him  as  a 
British  subject,  although  called  by  Mr.  Washburn  an  attach^  of  his  legation. 


182  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Was  Admiral  Davis  apprised  of  the  contemplated  arrival  of  Minister  McMahon 
at  Rio,  before  he  left  there  f — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  he  express  any  unwillingness  or  hesitation  to  forward  Minister  McMahon  to 
his  point  of  destination  ? — A.  On  the  contrary,  he  offered  to  forward  him  there,  and 
also  to  accompany  him  himself.    Ho  offered  him  every  facility. 

Q.  Did  Minister  McMahon  take  up  his  quarters  on  the  Guerriere  prior  to  her  sailing 
for  Montevideo  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  he  came  on  board  but  an  hour  or  two  before  she  sailed. 
He  came  on  board  at  11  o'clock,  and  she  sailed  at  3  o'clock  of  the  same  day. 

Q.  You  stated  a  while  ago  that  you  paid  a  second  visit  to  Paraguay,  I  think  in  May, 
subsequent  to  the  release. — Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  it  an  official  visit  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  purport  of  it  ? — A.  To  carry  dispatches  to  Minister  McMahon,  and 
ascertain  where  he  was.  He  had  not  been  heard  from  since  he  left  us  at  Angostura. 
"Efforts  had  been  made  to  communicate  with  him,,  but  to  no  effect,  as  the  allies  would 
not  allow  a  flag  of  truce  to  jiass. 

Q.  Were  your  dispatches  from  the  Department  of  State  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  They  had 
been  collecting  from  the  time  he  went  into  Paraguay  up  to  that  time. 

Q.  How  did  you  go  up  to  Paraguay? — A.  I  went  up  in  a  passenger  ship.  The  Argen- 
tine government  gave  j)ermission  for  a  flag  of  truce  to  go  with  dispatches  to  Minister 
McMahon. 

Q.  Did  anybody  accompany  you  ? — A.  Only  Lieutenant  Davis,  son  of  the  admiral. 
He  went  because  he  was  a  good  French  scholar  and  had  better  knowledge  of  Spanish 
than  myself.    His  orders  were  to  accompany  me  as  interpreter. 

By  Mr.  8wann  : 

Q.  You  stated  a  little  while  ago  that  you  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  these  men, 
Bliss  and  Masterman ;  that  if  you  were  in  Admiral  Davis's  place  you  would  not  grant  them 
so  much  liberty.  You  seemed  to  be  unfavorabiy  impressed  in  regard  to  these  men. 
Will  you  state  the  cause  of  those  impressions  ? — A.  I  was  very  unfavorably  impressed 
with  the  statements  which  I  understood  Bliss  had  made  in  those  confessions,  especially 
some  statements  he  made  against  Commander  Kirkland.  Then  I  had  heard  of  Mr. 
Bliss  before.    I  knew  nothing  of  my  own  knowledge  about  him. 

Q.  Where  had  you  heard  of  him  ? — A.  I  had  heard  of  him  on  the  station,  as  soon  as 
his  name  came  up  in  connection  with  this  affair. 

Q.  Had  you  heard  anything  to  liis  disadvantage  ? — ^A.  Yes. 

Q.  Did  that  information  come  from  reliable  sources  ? — ^A.  It  was  one  of  those  rumors 
flying  about.  I  could  not  even  say  who  it  was  that  gave  me  the  information.  Bliss 
seemed  to  be  very  well  known  by  people  along  the  river. 

Q.  Men  of  respectability  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  character  of  this  charge  ? — A.  It  was  general  rumor.  One  story  was 
that  he  had  been  in  General  Webb's  employ  as  a  tutor,  and  that  General  Webb  discharged 
him  for  fear  he  would  contaminate  his  children ;  that  he  was  not  a  proper  character  to 
be  associated  with  young  persons. 

Q.  That  induced  you  to  make  that  remark  that  you  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
him  ? — A.  That  was  one  of  the  things.  Then  his  manner  and  conduct  before  the  tri- 
bunal was  such  that  it  gave  me  the  impression  that  he  was  perfectly  well  aware  of 
what  he  was  doing.  He  went  into  Mr.  Washburn's  private  character.  He  was  not 
satisfied  to  speak  of  his  official  character,  but  spoke  of  what  he  had  done  before  he 
^ent  to  Paraguay,  and  alluded  to  Mrs.  Washburn. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  it  occur  to  you  that  when  that  confession  was  made,  these  untruths  were 
stated  in  such  a  way  as  to  carry  along  with  them  a  refutation  of  the  whole  thing — that 
the  facts  were  so  clearly  untrue,  that  those  who  knew  the  circumstances  would  not 
believe  it  ? — A.  I  supposed  that  it  was  made  for  an  object. 

Q.  Were  you  not  aware  before  you  went  to  Paraguay  that  Lopez  was  in  the  habit  of 
resorting  to  torture  to  compel  his  prisoners  to  confess  ? — ^A.  I  heard  that  through  Mr. 
Washburn. 

Q.  You  heard  thq,t  previous  to  going  there  ? — ^A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  there  any  effort  made  by  any  of  the  officers,  or  by  Minister  McMahon,  to  as- 
certain the  real  condition  of  things  relative  to  the  capture  and  imprisonment  of  these 
two  men  ? — A.  Not  by  any  of  the  officers  that  I  know  of.  General  McMahon  had  no 
communication  with  Lopez  until  after  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  delivered  on  board 
the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  any  of  the  officers  ask  Bliss  and  Masterman  as  to  the  condition  of  things  in 
Paraguay  after  they  got  on  board  the  vessel  ? — A.  That  I  do  not  know.  I  frequently 
saw  them  talking  with  officers  of  the  ship. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  see  Admiral  Davis  confer  with  them  ? — A.  I  have  with  Mr.  Master- 
man.    Admiral  Davis  told  me  that  the  first  request  Mr.  Masterman  made  was  not  to  be 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  183 

placed  on  the  same  footing  with  Mr.  Bliss ;  that  he  thought  it  was  derogatory  to  him 
to  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  him. 

Q.  When  you  went  to  the  tribunal  you  was  prejudiced  against  Mr.  Bliss  from  what 
you  heard  ? — A.  I  had  a  very  unfavorable  impression  of  him.  Mr.  Masterman  I  knew 
nothing  about. 

Q.  Did  you  not  know  that  Mr.  Washburn,  the  former  minister  there,  regarded  these 
men  as  innocent  of  the  charges  that  Lopez  made  against  them  ? — A.  I  had  read  Mr. 
Washburn's  letter  to  Mr.  Stewart. 

Q.  What  did  you  understand  as  the  reason  why  you  and  Captain  Kirkland  should  go 
out  there  and  listen  to  the  confession  ;  what  was  that  for  ? — A.  It  was  the  request  of 
Lo])ez. 

Q.  But  why  did  he  want  you  to  come  out  in  the  midst  of  his  army  and  listen  to  thig 
confession  ? — A.  My  idea  wfis  that  he  intended  to  send  these  declarations  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington,  and  their  correctness  having  been  certified  to  by  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Mr.  Masterman,  in  the  presence  of  two  American  officers,  it  would  rather  add  to  their 
official  character  and  give  them  force. 

Q.  Had  you  any  idea  that  any  good  could  be  accomplished  when  you  were  in  the 
midst  of  his  army,  with  no  force  with  you  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  my  being  there  gave  any 
strength  to  them  one  way  or  the  other.  I  was  sent  there  simply  in  accordance  with 
that  letter,  to  be  a  witness— not  to  question  the  correctness  of  them,  or  anything  of 
that  kind.    I  was  simj)ly  a  witness. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  As  to  whether  or  not  these  parties  had  signed  these  papers  freely  and  not  under 
compulsion,  so  far  as  your  observation  extended,  and  admitted  their  signatures  to  be 
true? — A.  Yes,  sir;  as  I  understood  it;  these  declarations  which  they  had  made  at 
diftercnt  times  were  to  be  read  to  them  in  our  presence,  and  they  were  to  swear  to  their 
correctness  before  us.    We  were  simply  two  additional  witnesses. 

By  Mr.  Wilkixson  : 

Q.  Did  not  that  very  fact  convey  to  your  mind  that  there  was  something  wrong — 
that  if  these  confessions  were  voluntary  they  could  just  as  well  be  made  on  board 
the  Wasp — that  it  was  not  necessary  for  you  to  go  into  the  interior,  surrounded  by 
Lopez's  army  ? — A.  As  I  understood.  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  been  both  formerly  in 
Lopez's  employ — Masterman  as  surgeon  in  the  army  and  Bliss  in  some  other  capacity ; 
that  during  the  time  they  were  in  the  employ  of  Lopez  they  committed  some  offenses 
against  the  laws  of  Paraguay. 

Q.  Did  you  suppose  they  were  to  answer  for  these  charges  in  this  country  ? — A.  I  un- 
derstood that  they  were  to  answer  before  the  tribunals  of  Paraguay. 

Q.  I  ask  you  again  whether  or  not  it  occurred  to  you  that  there  was  something 
wrong  in  Lopez  wanting  you  to  go  in  the  midst  of  his  army  and  witness  this  confes- 
sion, and  get  your  certificate  that  it  was  a  voluntary  one  ;  that  if  it  was  a  voluntary 
one,  it  could  as  well  have  been  made  on  the  Wasp  ? — A.  I  suppose  they  could  as  well 
be  made  on  the  Wasp ;  but  these  charges  had  been  made  before  the  judges,  and 
I  looked  upon  it  as  being  a  mere  matter  of  form.  I  did  not  consider  it  a  matter  of 
importance,  one  way  or  the  other. 

Q.  You  understood  the  Lopez  courts  had  resort  to  torture  in  order  to  extort  confes- 
sion out  of  persons  ? — A.  I  only  know  through  Mr.  Washburn's  communication,  i 
knew  nothing  else  about  it.  I  had  not  the  least  idea  when  I  went  there  whether  any- 
thing had  been  done  to  Bliss  or  Masterman  or  not.  I  learned  on  a  subsequent  visit  to 
Paraguay,  from  foreigners,  that  neither  one  nor  the  other  bad  been  tortured. 

Q.  You  learned  that  from  one  of  Lopez's  officers?— A.  Ko,  sir.  It  was  from  English- 
men.    One  of*  them  was  a  surgeon  in  Lopez's  army.    His  name  was  Skinner. 

Q.  Why  did  not  Lopez  allow  two  other  Englishmen,  both  engineers,  to  leave  the 
country  ? — A.  He  owed  them  both  money,  I  believe. 

Q.  Don't  you  know,  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  country,  that  Lopez  would  not  let 
these  men  go  ?— A.  He  would  not  if  he  could  prevent  them  ;  but  he  would  not  resort 
to  strong  measures  against  them.  These  men  were  both  fine  engineers,  and  they  re- 
fused all  the  time,  so  I  was  told,  to  serve  in  his  army. 

Q.  Could  they  have  left  the  country  with  you,  at  the  time  you  saw  them  ?— A.  I 
don't  suppose  they  could.  They  asked  me  to  say  to  their  minister  they  wanted  to  get 
away. 

Q.  Was  that  said  in  the  presence  of  any  officer  of  Lopez? — A.  In  the  presence  of  Dr.. 
Skinner. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  that  you  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  these  men.    Don't  you  think  it 

was  the  duty  of  our  government  and  its  officers  to  inquire  into  the  real  condition  of  these 

men  relative  to  their  treatment ;  Mr.  Bliss  being  an  American  citizen,  don't  you  think  it 

was  the  duty  of  Admiral  Davis  to  make  inquiry  as  to  the  manner  these  men  were 


18^  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

treated? — A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  it  was.  But  before  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  in  Para- 
guay this  whole  matter  had,  as  I  understood  it,  been  referred  to  the  government  at 
Washington ;  and  when  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  were  sent  on  board  there  was  a 
very  large  package  of  dispatches  came  on  board,  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Q.  These  dispatches  were  from  Lopez  ? — A.  Yes,  sir  ;  and  as  Lopez  had  referred  the 
entire  case  to  the  government  at  Washington,  and  was  Avilling  to  allow  it  to  rest 
there,  I  did  not  think  it  was  our  business  to  interfere  with  it. 

Q.  Suppose  you  were  in  Europe,  and  an  American  citizen  there  complained  of  being 
ill-treated  by  some  foreign  government,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  your  duty,  as  an 
American  naval  ofiicer,  stationed  there,  to  inquire  into  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  ? — A.  If  there  was  no  civil  representative  there,  such  as  minister,  consul,  or  charg6 
d'affaires,  or  the  case  had  not  been  referred  to  Washington,  I  would  investigate  it. 

Q.  Even  if  it  had  been  referred  to  Washington,  would  you  not  have  felt  it  your  duty 
to  investigate  the  case?— A.  I  think  it  my  duty,  on  all  occasions,  to  get  all  the  in- 
formation I  can  for  the  government.  This  case  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  a  very 
peculiar  one.  I  had  listened  to  tlieir  declarations,  and  the  impression  left  on  my  mind 
was,  that  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  I  had  better  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  was  your  duty  to  have  informed  Admiral  Davis  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances that  fell  under  your  observation  when  you  were  before  the  tribunal  ? — A.  I 
did  so  inform  him. 

Q.  If  you  had  been  the  superior  officer  there,  would  you  not  have  felt  it  your  duty 
to  have  inquired  into  the  facts  a  little  further  after  these  men  were  released  ? — A.  The 
case,  as  it  stood  when  these  men  were  delivered  on  board  the  Wasp,  was  just  this  : 
President  Lopez  had  made  his  statement  of  the  case  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Seward,  and  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  under  the  protection  of  Admiral  Davis,  to  be 
sent  at  the  earliest  convenience  to  the  United  States,  there  to  report  to  Secretary 
Seward.  They  could  then  tell  their  case  very  much  better  than  Admiral  Davis  could- 
write  about  it.  Minister  McMahon  was  also  going  into  the  country,  and  could  there 
get  all  the  information  necessary. 

Q.  Is  it  the  usual  policy  of  naval  officers,  when  an  American  citizen  has  been  held 
in  captivity  by  a  foreign  government,  and  his  release  demanded  by  the  United  States, 
to  keep  him  a  prisoner  on  the  American  vessel  after  he  is  surrendered  ? — A.  If  it  was  a 
case  in  which  I  was  called  upon  to  act,  I  should  inform  myself  fully  in  regard  to  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case.  If  it  was  a  case  in  which  I  was  not  required  to  act,  I  should  not 
think  it  necessary  for  me  to  make  these  inquiries.  In  this  case,  as  well  as  I  can  under- 
stand, all  the  action  that  was  required  was  taken.  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  were  de- 
manded from  President  Lopez  unconditionally.  Admiral  Davis  expressly  stated  that 
it  was  not  his  place  either  to  discuss  or  define  their  position ;  that  he  simply  came 
there  to  demand  that  these  men  should  be  released,  and  the  whole  case  then  referred 
to  the  government  at  Washington. 

Q.  Do  you  understand  that  they  were  delivered  up  unconditionally  ? — A.  Certainly, 
they  were  delivered  up  unconditionally.  The  only  request  made  was,  that  they  should 
not  communicate  with  the  enemies  of  Paraguay.  This  was  merely  a  request — not  a 
condition.    Otherwise,  they  might  go  on  shore  and  give  a  good  deal  of  information. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  these  acts  of  courtesy  were  due  from  our  naval  officers  to 
Lopez,  after  the  treatment  he  had  extended  to  our  minister  ? — A.  If  I  answer  that 
question,  I  must  give  my  opinion  as  to  Mr.  Washburn's  conduct.  I  do  not  think  that 
Mr.  Washburn  conducted  himself  as  an  American  minister  should  have  done.  He  had 
two  persons  in  his  legation  whom  he  called  attaches — Bliss  and  Masterman.  He  was 
informed  that  he  could  have  his  passports  whenever  ho  wanted  them,  but  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  could  not.  He  knew  that  when  he  hauled  down  the  American  flag 
from  his  legation  these  persons  would  be  arrested  ;  but  so  long  as  he  staid  there  they 
would  be  protected.  But  still,  knowing  this,  he  hauled  down  his  flag.  *He  abandoned 
these  two  attaches  (as  he  called  them)  to  the  Paraguayan  soldiers,  and  left  the  country. 
Such  conduct  on  the  part  of  an  American  minister  I  cannot  approve. 

Q.  How  do  you  know  that  Mr.  Washburn  would  have  been  safe,  had  he  remained? — 
A.  I  only  know  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  the  representative  of  the  United  States  of 
America  accredited  to  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and  there  was  no  danger  for  any 
representative  of  a  foreign  government.  He  could  have  remained  there  with  perfect 
safety.     I  felt  humiliated  when  I  read  Mr.  Washburn's  letters. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  Lopez  charged  Mr.  Washburn  with  being  implicated  in  the 
same  crime  for  which  he  arrested  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  I  only  know  what  Wash- 
burn says  himself.  I  think  that  as  long  as  Mr.  Washburn  was  the  representative  of 
the  American  government,  and  kei)t  his  legation  open,  he  would  have  been  j)erfectly 
safe. 

Q.  Suppose  they  had  broken  up  all  intercourse  ? — A.  His  passports  would  then  have 
been  handed  him. 

Q.  What  protection  would  he  then  have  had  ? — ^A.  He  would  have  been  safe  to  the 
advanced  posts  of  that  country.    His  passjjorts  would  have  passed  him  through. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  that  Bliss  and  Masterman,  knowing  all  the  circumstances,  advised 


PARAGUAYAN  JNVESTIGATION.  185 

Mr.  Washburn  to  take  the  course  lie  "did  take?— A.  I  read  that  in  tue  letter  of  Mr. 
Washburn. 

Q.  Had  you  any  reason  to  doubt  it? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Arc  you  not  aware  that  Rodriguez,  secretary  of  the  legation  of  Uruguay,  duly 
accredited  to  Lopez,  was  kept  in  the  country  after  relations  were  suspended,  was  ar- 
rested, tortured,  and  executed  by  Lopez ;  and  that  if  he  did  it  in  one  case  he  would  do 
it  in  another? — A.  I  know  nothing  about  the  case.  I  do  not  believe  all  these  stories. 
I  have  dined  with  one  of  the  men  after  it  was  reported  that  Lopez  tortured  and  killed 
him. 

Q.  Who  was  this  person  ? — A.  Caminos. 

Q.  What  evidence  had  you  seen  of  his  death  prior  to  that  time  ? — A.  The  same  as  in 
every  other  case.  It  was  published  in  the  newspapers  as  among  the  barbarities  of  Lo- 
pez. It  was  published  in  the  papers  that  Lopez  had  killed  his  mother.  It  was  stated 
on  tlirec  different  occasions.  It  was  afterward  reported  that  she  had  committed  sui- 
cide, having  become  horrified  by  Lopez's  torture  of  her  sous.  Yet  she  was  living  when 
I  was  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  Do  you  believe,  from  these  false  reports,  that  Lopez  never  tortures  his  prison- 
ers ? — A.  No,  sir;  I  believe  that  he  docs  torture  his  prisoners. 

Q.  Wliy  do  you  believe  it  ? — A.  I  believe  it  from  the  fact  that  I  was  told  so  at  his 
lieadquarters.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I  do  not  believe  any  of  these  stories  about 
Lopez.  I  mean  to  say  that  ho  has  not  been  guilty  of  one-half  the  barbarities  that  he 
is  accused  of. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Was  any  effort  made  upon  your  return  to  Montevideo  to  communicate  with  Bliss 
and  Mastcrnian  by  outside  parties  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  Early  one  morning  an  American 
dentist,  living  in  Montevideo,  named  Dr.  Bourse,  came  on  board,  bringing  with  him  a 
Paraguayan  named  Don  Carlos  Saguier,  and  a  known  enemy  of  Lopez.  Bourse  said 
to  me :  '*  Mr.  Saguier  has  come  on  board  with  a  desire  to  Bee  Mr.  Bliss.  Ho  thinks  that 
Bliss  has  been  made  a  tool  of  by  Lopez,  and  he  wants  to  see  and  talk  with  him."  I 
said :  "  I  shall  let  the  admiral  know  your  request,  but  I  do  not  think  ho  will  allow  any 
communication  with  Mr.  Bliss."-  I  did  see  the  admiral,  and  he  declined  to  let  him  see 
Mr.  Bliss.  The  admiral  was  not  then  up,  as  it  was  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning, 
and  I  told  the  gentlemen  if  they  waited  they  could  see  the  admiral  himself,  but  they 
declined,  saying  they  had  an  engagement  on  shore.  Mr.  Worthington,  minister  to  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  came  on  board  at  the  same  time,  and  I  supposed  at  first  they 
came  together,  but  he  told  me  they  came  on  their  own  responsibility.  Mr.  Worthing- 
ton came  down  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  get  all  the  information  he  could  from  the  admiral 
about  Paraguay  matters.  He  sent  for  Bliss  and  Masterman,  had  them  in  the  cabin  a 
long  time,  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  them. 

Q.  Was  that  the  only  attempt  made  to  communicate  with  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — 
A.  That  was  the  only  one  in  Montevideo  that  I  know  about.  They  were  allowed  to 
communicate  with  the  oflBcers  of  the  ship  at  any  and  all  times.  I  know  that  Mr.  Bliss 
was  closeted  for  hours  every  day  with  Surgeon  Duvall.  I  know  this  from  Carpenter 
Mager,  of  the  Guerriere,  who  complained  of  his  room  being  used  in  this  way.  My  an- 
swer was,  that  it  was  none  of  my  business. 

Q.  Did  you  know  Dr.  Duvall  ? — A.  He  was  surgeon  of  the  fleet  and  surgeon  of  the 
Guerriere. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  a  misunderstanding  between  Dr.  Duvall  and  Admiral 
Davis  ? — A.  Dr.  Duvall  was  tried  by  court-martial  for  overstaying  his  leave  a  week 
and  for  writing  a  communication  to  the  commander-in-chief,  in  which  he  made  a  false 
statement. 

Q.  What  was  the  finding  of  the  court? — A.  The  finding  of  the  court  was  that  he  had 
overstayed  his  leave  one  week  and  he  had  written  a  communication  to  the  commander- 
in-chief,  in  which  he  had  made  a  false  statement ;  but  the  court  acquitted  him  of  the 
charges.  Admiral  Davis  issued  an  order  on  the  subject,  which  was  approved  by  the 
Navy  Department. 

Q.  What  was  the  cause  of  all  these  troubles  and  difficulties  in  the  South  Atlantic 
squadron ;  are  they  usual  in  the  navy  ? — ^A.  So  far  as  Dr.  Duvall  is  concerned,  he  has 
made  trouble  wherever  he  has  been. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  I  have  been  requested  by  Mr.  Bliss  to  propound  the  following  question :  "Would 
it  have  been  safe  for  Mr.  Bliss  not  to  ratify  his  confessions  ?"  referring,  doubtless,  to  the 
time  when  you  were  before  the  tribunal. — A.  I  do  not  see  why  not. 

Q.  There  is  another  question  he  desires  me  to  ask :  "  Did  you  ever  see  published  in 
Buenos  Ayres  a  portion  of  the  document  sent  to  the  State  Department  ?" — A.  I  never 
did. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Bliss  by  the  commander  of  the 
Spanish  squadron  ? — A.  I  never  heard  of  it. 


186  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

<^.  None  was  received  by  you  or  by  Admiral  Davis  to  your  knowledge  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Could  these  dispatches  which  you  took  up  to  Minister  McMahon  on  your  second 
trip  have  been  sent  as  well  by  flag  of  truce  ? — A.  The  dispatches  could  have  been  sent, 
but  my  instructions  were  to  deliver  them  to  General  McMahon  in  person,  and  get  an 
answer  from  him,  as  the  department  wanted  information  from  him. 

Q,  Wore  you  sent  at  the  expense  of  the  government  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  say  that  Dr.  Skinner  told  you  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  not  tortured  ; 
what  means  had  he  of  knowing  about  it  ? — A.  I  do  not  know.  He  was  chief  surgeon 
of  Lopez's  army. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  there  was  ever  an  organized  conspiracy  in  Paraguay  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  Lopez  government  in  which  Washburn,  Bliss,  and  Masterman,  or  any 
other  person,  was  engaged  ? — A.  My  only  positive  information  on  that  point  comes  from 
Connnander  Kirkland,  that  Mrs.  Washburn,  wife  of  Minister  Washburn,  had  stated  to 
him  in  his  cabin,  in  the  i)resence  of  another  gentleman,  that  there  was  a  conspiracy.  I 
have  no  personal  knowledge  of  it. 

Q.  What  is  your  belief  in  regard  to  the  conspiracy,  so  far  as  you  have  heard  ? — A.  I 
do  not  know  that  I  have  any  belief  on  that  point. 

Q.  What  grounds  had  you  for  believing  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  accused  of 
crimes  before  their  connection  with  the  American  legation  at  Asuncion  ? — A.  I  have 
no  positive  information.  It  was  my  understanding  that  they  were.  I  understood 
there  was  an  affidavit  on  file  in  the  British  consul's  office,  either  at  Buenos  Ayres  or 
Montevideo,  I  do  not  remember  which,  accusing  Masterman  of  opening  letters  that  did 
not  belong  to  him. 

Q.  Who  did  you  hear  that  from  ? — ^A.  I  heard  that  from  Admiral  Davis,  who  was  in- 
formed by  one  of  the  British  consuls. 

Q.  Is  that  towel  the  only  present  you  got  from  Lopez? — A.  I  got  no  present  from 
Lopez.    That  towel  was  given  by  one  of  the  judges. 

Q.  Did  you  get  any  present  from  Mrs.  Lynch  ? — A.  She  gave  me,  when  I  was  there 
on  the  16th  of  May,  a  small  ring,  of  work  peculiar  to  the  country. 


Testimony  of  Rear-Admiral  G.  R.  Davis, 

New  York,  Octoher  27,  1869. 

Charles  H.  Davis  sworn  and  examined. 
By  IVIr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  is  your  occupation  ? — Answer.  I  am  rear-admiral  in  the  navy. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  connected  with  the  navy  ? — A.  Forty-six  years. 

Q.  What  was  your  command  during  the  years  1867,  1868,  and  1869  ? — A.  I  was  in 
command  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron. 

Q.  Where  were  your  headquarters? — ^A.  Our  coal  depot  and  storehouses  were  at 
Eio. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  of  the  troubles  in  Paraguay  when  you  were  stationed  at  Rio  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Were  you  instructed  by  the  Navy  Department  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  ?— A.  Yes, 
sir ;  but  I  did  not  receive  the  instructions  until  after  I  had  been  there  and  returned. 
I  had  executed  these  instructions  in  anticipation.  The  course  I  pursued  was  in  strict 
accordance  with  those  instructions  in  every  respect,  with  one  exception,  and  that  was 
that  I  had  conducted  the  correspondence  instead  of  Minister  McMahon. 

Q.  Were  you  aware  of  General  McMahon's  contemplated  arrival  in  Rio  before  you 
left  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  I  so  reported  to  the  department  in  an  official  letter. 

Q.  Did  General  McMahon  on  his  arrival  at  Rio  go  on  board  your  vessel  upon  your 
invitation  or  at  his  request  ? — A.  By  my  invitation.  I  invited  him  to  go  down  the  river 
with  me,  after  having  conferred  with  him  upon  Paraguayan  matters. 

Q.  He  was  not  detained  at  Rio  any  length  of  time  1 — A.  A  few  days  only. 

Q.  Where  did  you  go  from  Rio  ? — A.  We  went  to  Montevideo,  in  the  Guerriere,  and 
then  up  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  up  the  river  to  Paraguay. 

Q.  How  far  up  did  you  ascend  the  river? — A.  Up  to  Angostura. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  with  any  delay  or  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  allies? — A.  None  on 
that  occasion. 

Q.  Had  you  asked  their  permission  ? — A.  I  had  received  the  consent  of  the  Buenos 
Ayrean  government  and  the  Uruguayan  government,  but  I  think  not  of  the  Brazilian 
government,  although  the  Brazilian  plenipotentiary  at  Buenos  Ayres  had  signified  his 
willingness  to  General  McMahon  that  we  should  go  up. 

Q.  When  did  yon  receive  the  first  official  notice  of  the  imprisonment  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman  ?— A.  I  must  have  received  the  first  information  from  a  letter  of  Mi\  Wash- 


PAEAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  187 

bum  to  Mr.  Stewart,  British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres.  .  I  then  learned,  for  the  first 
time,  of  their  imprisonment. 

Q.  You  determined  then  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  and  effect  their  release,  without 
awaiting  instructions  from  the  home  department  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  waited,  however, 
for  our  minister  to  arrive. 

Q.  Did  he  bring  instructions? — A.  No,  sir;  but  I  considered  it  his  business.  He,  as 
minister  to  Paraguay,  had  a  right  to  be  consulted,  and,  indeed,  to  take  direction,  and 
that  was  the  intention  of  the  government,  as  he  was  specially  instructed  to  act  in 
co-operation  with  mo,  and  I  in  co-operation  with  him. 

Q.  Did  General  McMahon  inform  you  of  these  instructions  when  ho  arrived  in  Rio? — 
A.  No,  sir ;  I  did  not  receive  those  instructions  until  my  return  from  Paraguay. 

Q.  lu  what  light  did  you  consider  Bliss  and  Mastemian — in  tlio  light  of  prisoners  or 
otherwise  ? — A.  I  §ot  my  idea  of  their  status  from  Mr.  Washburn's  correspondence,  and 
from  interviews  with  Mr.  Washburn  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  Did  that  interview  result  in  confirming  your  original  impressions  ? — A.  He  ex- 
pressed the  same  views  as  ho  had  in  his  letters  to  Mr.  Stewart. 

Q.  Laboring  under  that  impression  you  i)roceeded  up  the  Paraguay  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  that  impression  changed  prior  to  your  reaching  Asuncion  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  the 
course  I  took  had  been  determined  upon  before  I  arrived  in  the  La  Plata. 

Q.  I  find  in  these  instructions,  the  execution  of  which  you  say  you  had  anticipated, 
the  following  language.  It  is  on  i)age  117  of  Executive  Document  No.  5.  After  reci- 
ting that  it  is  unusual  for  naval  officers  to  receive  instructions  from  the  State  Depart- 
ment, Mr.  Welles  says :  "  But  Mr.  Seward  writes  mo  *  that  the  situation  thus  presented 
seems  to  me  so  critical  that  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  advise  the  President  that  the 
rear-admiral  should  be  instructed  to  proceed  wifh  an  adequate  force  at  once  to  Para- 
guay, and  take  such  measures  as  maj-^  l)e  found  necessary  to  prevent  violence  to  the 
lives  and  property  of  American  citizens  there,  and  in  the  exercise  of  a  sound  discretion 
to  demand  and  obtain  promx)t  redress  for  any  extreme  insult  or  violence  that  may  have 
been  arbitrarily  committed,' "  &c.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  had  anticipated 
these  instructions  and  pursued  what  you  found  subsequently  were  therein  set  forth  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  wish  you  would  look  at  this  letter  of  yourself  to  Lopez,  dated  December  3,  1868, 
prmted  on  pa^e  89  of  Executive  Document  79,  forty-first  Congress,  and  state  what  an- 
swer you  received  to  it  ? — A.  That  was  followed  by  a  personal  interview. 

Q.  State  what  transpired  in  that  interview. — A.  The  interview  occurred  on  the 
evening  of  the  3d  of  December.  I  will  read  my  report  to  the  department  on  the  sub- 
ject.   (This  report  is  found  on  page  88  of  Executive  Document  79.) 

Q.  Did  you  in  that  interview  receive  a  different  impression  in  reference  to  the  char- 
acter of  Bliss  and  Masterman  than  that  which  you  entertained  in  the  river  La  Plata, 
prior  to  going  up  the  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  do  not  recollect  that  the  character  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman  was  the  subject  of  conversation. 

Q.  I  mean  their  character  as  American  citizens  ? — A.  I  regarded  them  exactly  in  the 
light  in  which  they  were  placed  in  Mr.  Washburn's  correspondence. 

Q.  Was  the  result  of  this  interview  with  Lopez  such  as  to  change  your  opinion? — 
A.  No,  sir ;  I  neither  formed  or  could  form  any  conclusive  opinion  as  to  whether  they 
were  criminals.  My  idea  of  their  status  was  derived  entirely  from  Mr.  Washburn's 
correspondence.  My  mode  of  extricating  them  from  that  difficulty  was  also  derived 
from  the  same  source. 

Q.  Were  your  ideas  changed  by  that  interview  with  Lopez  ? — ^A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  After  that  interview  with  Lopez  you  still  determined  to  demand  and  obtain  prompt 
redress  ? — A.  I  meant  to  get  the  men  if  I  could,  so  far  as  that  could  be  called  redress. 

Q.  Did  you  construe  the  language  of  Mr.  Seward  to  demand  and  obtain  prompt  re- 
dress to  mean  only  "to  obtain  their  liberation  ?" — A.  The  course  to  be  pursued  was  left 
to  my  discretion,  in  connection  with  General  McMahon,  and  these  men  were  represented 
by  Mr.  Washburn  to  be  in  danger  of  their  lives  and  sufiering  torture,  and,  as  he  over 
and  over  again  said,  would  be  probably  dead  before  I  got  there. 

Q.  In  that  interview  with  Lopez  did  he  characterize  them  as  criminals  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir  ;  he  talked  of  them  as  criminals  as  he  did  in  his  correspondence. 

Q.  After  that  interview  you  wrote  the  letter  marked  B,  on  page  90  of  Executive 
Document  79  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  To  w^hich  you  received  the  reply  marked  C,  in  the  same  document  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  send  Captain  Kirkland  and  Captain  Eamsay  to  have  an 
interview  with  Lopez ;  was  it  prior  or  subsequent  to  your  letter  marked  D  ? — ^A.  It 
was  subsequent  to  that.    It  was  in  the  letter  marked  F  that  I  offered  to  send  them. 

Q.  What  were  your  instructions  to  these  two  captains  as  to  their  mission  and  how 
they  should  act? — A.  They  were  sent  to  witness  the  verification  of  the  declarations  of 
Bliss  and  Masterman.    My  instructions  were  confined  simply  to  that. 

Q.  Had  they  nothing  else  to  do  ? — No,  sir. 


188  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  In  your  interview  with  Lopez  did  you  demand  the  release  of  these  two  men?— 
A.  I  did. 

Q.  What  was  his  answer  ? — A.  His  answer  was  uniformly,  "  The  men  will  be  given, 
up."    He  made  no  other  answer. 

Q.  He,  however,  placed  their  delivery  in  the  future  ? — A.  I  demanded  the  release  of 
the  men.    I  told  him  in  that  interview  that  I  should  demand  their  release. 

Q.  But  he  only  made  a  promise  infiiturof — A.  Ho  told  me  they  would  be  given  up. 

Q.  But  you  made  a  demand  in  your  first  letter  and  they  were  not  delivered  up  ? — A. 
The  case  was  just  as  it  is  related  in  that  correspondence.  He  said  in  this  interview 
he  would  give  them  up,  but  requested  me  to  withdraw  that  letter  and  write  another 
which  would  bo  more  acceptable  to  him  as  president,  saying  that  otherwise  he  would 
bo  obliged  to  transfer  the  correspondence  to  his  secretary  of  state. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  in  changing  the  substance  of  the  letter  as  it  appears  in  A 
and  B? — A.  To  carry  out  the  object  I  went  up  there  for.  I  would  thus  get  them 
more  speedily.  I  knew  that  Asuncion  was  about  to  fall,  and  that  if  Lopez  left  the 
river  bank  and  went  into  the  interior,  as  he  did  immediately  afterward,  it  would  have 
been  very  difficult  to  carry  on  correspondence  with  him. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Had  you  sufficient  force  to  have  taken  Bliss  and  Masterman  against  the  wishes 
of  Lopez  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  When  did  you  first  hear  of  the  confessions  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  I  do  not 
know  when  I  heard  it  for  the  first  time. 

Q.  Prior  to  that  interview  with  Lopez  ? — A.  In  the  letter  of  Lopez's  military  sec- 
retary, Palacios,  to  myself,  he  says  :  "  I  am  happy  to  inform  your  excellency  that  the 
prosecuting  officers  who  have  received  the  orders  of  his  excellency,  with  a  recommenda- 
tion to  be  brief,  expect  to  get  through  in  time  for  the  embarkation  of  the  criminals, 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  by  3  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  instant,  and  at  the  same 
time  they  have  expressed  a  wish,  which  they  hope  will  be  gratified,  that  your  excel- 
lency will  name  one  or  two  of  your  officers  who  can  witness,  on  the  morning  of  the 
same  day,  the  verifications  of  the  declarations  of  both  the  accused  in  the  case."  I 
think  I  must  then  have  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  confessions. 

Q.  What  was  your  imjpression  as  to  the  truth  or  falsity  of  tliese  declarations  ? — ^A.  I 
did  not  exercise  any  judgment  upon  the  question  at  all.  I  received  no  impression  and 
did  not  endeavor  to  form  any  opinion. 

Q.  Did  Captains  Ramsay  and  Kirkland  report  to  you  what  occurred  at  the  tribunal  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  either  of  the  captains  state  to  you  what  impression  had  been  made  upon  their 
minds  as  to  the  truth  or  falsity  of  these  declarations  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  they  dwelt 
upon  that  point.  They  spoke  of  the  appearance  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  They  spoke 
of  Bliss  as  being  cool  and  self-possessed,  and  Masterman  as  being  very  frightened. 

Q.  Did  Captain  Ramsay  remark  to  you  that  the  impression  left  upon  his  mind  was, 
that  these  confessions  were  the  result  of  force  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  that  he  did.  I  think 
that  Captain  Ramsay  said  that  some  of  the  statements  in  which  his  name  was  men- 
tioned were  false. 

Q.  You  have  no  recollection  of  Captain  Ramsay  making  any  statement  in  regard  to 
the  impression  upon  his  mind  ? — A.  I  think  not.  The  general  impression,  however, 
was,  that  the  statements  were  false.  That  was  the  impression  upon  my  mind  before 
I  went  up  the  Paraguay,  and  was  produced  by  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  any  reasons  for  changing  that  impression  ? — A.  I  had  not  at  that 
time.    I  have  seen  since. 

Q.  Did  these  captains  report  to  you,  after  their  return  from  the  tribunal,  any  promise 
or  pledge  upon  the  part  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities  that  these  prisoners  should  be 
released  on  any  subsequent  day  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  They  were  brought  on  board  on  the  10th. 
I  expected  them  on  the  9th. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  interview  or  correspondence  with  Lopez  between  the  8th  and 
the  10th?— A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  At  what  hour  of  the  day  were  they  sent  on  board  ? — A.  About  11  o'clock  at  night. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  on  their  arrival  ? — A.  No,  sir;  I  had  retired. 

Q.  Had  you  left  any  instructions,  prior  to  retiring,  as  to  how  they  should  be  re- 
ceived ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  When  were  you  informed  of  their  arrival  ? — A.  Immediately  upon  their  coming 
on  board. 

Q.  Did  you  give  any  instructions  at  that  time  as  to  how  they  should  be  received  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir.  I  gave  instructions  that  they  should  be  taken  care  of  and  given  some  food. 
I  mentioned  particularly  that  food  should  be  supplied  them. 

Q.  How  were  they  treated  on  their  arrival ;  were  they  kept  as  prisoners  or  free- 
men ? — ^A.  T  have  a  report  here  made  to  the  department,  which  I  would  like  to  read  to 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  189 

the  committee,  in  explanation  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  treated.  It  is  a  letter 
officially  forwarded  to  me,  for  my  information,  by  Captain  Kirkland,  of  the  Wasp. 
The  writer  of  the  letter  is  Mr.  H.  C.  Wisner,  an  ensign  in  the  regular  navy,  who  was 
on  board  the  Wasp,  and  is  addressed  to  his  commanding  officer. 

"United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

Montevideo,  May  29,  1869. 

"Sir  :  In  obedience  to  your  request  of  yesterday  I  give  the  folio  winj^  account  of  the 
reception  and  disposal  of  Messrs.  Masterman  and  Bliss  on  board  this  vessel,  on  the 
evening  of  December  10, 1868. 

"  I  was  officer  of  the  deck  from  8  p.  m.  iwitil  midnight  of  that  day,  this  vessel  then 
lying  just  below  Angostura  battery,  in  the  Paraguay  River. 

"About  11. 'iO  p.  ni.  a  canoe  came  alongside,  and  a  Paraguayan  officer  came  on  board 
and  requested  to  see  you.  I  sent  the  orderly  to  report  to  you,  and  in  a  few  moments 
you  came  on  deck,  and  after  speaking  to  the  officer  you  said  to  me  :  '  Let  those  men 
come  on  board.'  Bliss  and  Masterman  then  came  on  board.  Both  saluted  and  spoke 
to  you.  You  said  to  them:  'Well,  you  are  safe  enough  now;'  upou  which  Bliss 
remarked :  '  Yes,  I  believe  we  are  at  last  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Philistines.'  You 
then  said :  '  Mr.  Wisner,  send  for  the  master-at-arms  and  let  him  take  these  men  forward 
to  the  yeoman's  room,  and  do  the  best  you  can  for  them.'  Bliss  then  said  :  '  Captain,  I 
hope  you  do  not  take  us  for  mechanics ;'  and  Masterman :  '  Captain,  I  think  you  mistake 
us.  Mr.  Bliss  is  the  son  of  a  minister,  and  I  was  once  a  lieutenant  in  her  Majesty's 
service.'  Bliss  said  :  *  I  only  spoke  as  I  heard  you  address  us  as  men  ;  to  be  sure  when 
you  last  saw  us  we  were  considered  as  criminals.'  You  then  remarked :  '  Would  you 
have  me  call  you  women  V  Masterman  replied :  '  No,  sir ;  but  I  hope  you  will  not  con- 
sider us  guilty  until  we  are  i)rovon  so.'  You  then  said  to  him :  '  Your  guilt  or  innocence 
will  be  determined  when  you  reach  the  United  States.  I  will  make  you  as  comfortable 
as  I  can,  and  if  you  do  not  wish  to  sleep  below  you  can  remain  on  deck.'  You  then 
called  mo  one  side,  and  told  me  to  make  them  as  comfortable  as  I  could  ;  to  put  a  sentry 
over  them,  and  give  him  orders  not  to  let  the  men  interfere  with  them  ;  to  keep  his  eye 
on  them,  and  go  with  them  if  they  wished  to  move  about. 

"  I  took  them  forward  «f  the  hurricane  deck,  and  they  told  me  it  was  so  warm  they 
would  prefer  to  sleep  on  deck ;  they  were  very  tired,  and  would  be  comfortable  enough 
anywhere.    The  thermometer  stood  102  F.  at  the  time. 

"  I  then  had  some  sails  spread  for  them  and  they  went  to  sleep. 

"  I  offered  to  have  some  coffee  made.  Mr.  Bliss  thanked  me  and  said  :  *  We  are  so 
tired  and  sleepy  that  we  will  wait  till  morning.' 

"  I  then  placed  a  sentry  over  them,  and  gave  him  the  orders  before  mentioned,  and 
left  them  apparently  very  comfortable. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"H.C.  WISNER, 
"  Ensign  United  States  Navy, 

"  Lieutenant  Commander  W.  A.  Kirkland, 

"  U.  S.  N.,  Commanding  U.  S.  S.  Wasp,  (ith  rate). 

"Forwarded  for  the  information  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Lieutenant  Commander,  Commanding." 

Q.  When  did  you  first  see  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  I  saw  them  the  next  day  at  a 
distance. 

Q.  Were  they  then  in  charge  of  a  sentinel  ? — ^A.  They  were  not.  They  had  a  person 
to  look  after  them  all  the  time. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  them  as  prisoners  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  No,  sir;  and  if  the 
committee  will  allow  me  I  will  read  an  extract  from  a  letter  I  addressed  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  on  the  29th  of  January,  1869,  after  they  had  left  for  the  United  States, 
which  will  explain  how  I  did  regard  them.  "  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  re- 
ceived on  board  as  temporary  visitors,  were  admitted  to  the  forward  officers'  mess,  and 
were  not  allowed  to  pay  any  compensation  for  subsistence.  Their  situation  was  anom- 
alous and  was  one  that  could  not  have  been  anticipated  by  any  provision  of  law.  The 
papers  which  I  sent  through  the  department  to  Mr.  Seward,  (those  j)apers  were  sealed 
and  I  never  saw  them  except  in  their  inclosures,)  and  other  circumstances ;  above  all, 
the  scandalous  defamation  by  Mr.  Bliss  of  our  late  minister  at  Paraguay,  directed 
against  his  private  life  as  well  as  his  j)ublic  character,  will  account  for  an  estrange- 
ment toward  the  gentlemen  felt  by  some  of  the  officers.  While  they  were  unrestricted 
in  their  movements  they  were  overlooked  to  prevent  the  enemies  of  Paraguay  from 
communicating  with  them ;  this  supervision  was  subsequently  removed  at  Mr.  Mas- 
terman's  request."  This  states  the  condition  they  were  in,  and  I  wish  to  state  to  the 
committee  that  these  men  could  not  have  been  made  prisoners  in  the  squadron  under 
my  command  by  the  authority  of  any  one  except  myself;  that  I  never  gave  such  au- 


190  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

thority,  and  that  any  statement,  by  A^^hoever  made,  which  declares  that  these  men  were 
ever  regarded  as  prisoners  in  the  squadron  under  my  command,  is  incorrect  in  point  of 
fact. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  state  that  these  men  were  received  on  hoard  as  "  temporary  visitors."  Is  it 
usual  in  the  navy,  when  a  person  temporarily  visits  a  ship  by  permission  of  the  com-| 
manding  officer,  to  place  a  sentinel  over  him? — A.  It  would  bounder  those  circum-i 
stances.  My  first  duty  in  regard  to  these  men  was  not  to  allow  them  to  communicate  ■ 
with  the  enemy  ;  that  is  required  by  military  law  and  usage,  and  I  had  no  confidence 
in  the  individual  honor  of  these  men  such  as  would  lead  me  to  trust  to  their  not  doing  it.  * 

Q.  Two  of  your  captains  were  in  the  enemy's  country ;  would  you  permit  them  to 
communicate  with  the  enemy  ? — A.  They  would  not  do  it.  It  would  be  a  violation  of, 
honor  to  do  it. 

Q.  Had  you  any  reason  to  believe  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  communicate  with 
the  enemy  ? — A.  I  had  some  reason  to  believe  it.  It  was  a  matter  in  which  I  would  not 
run  any  risk.    I  considered  the  character  of  these  men  doubtful,  particularly  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  You  considered  the  character  of  Mr.  Bliss  doubtful  from  the  fact  that  he  maligned 
the  character  of  Mr.  Washburn,  both  his  official  and  personal  character  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  suppose  you  have  reference  to  the  book  Mr.  Bliss  wrote  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Had  you  seen  that  book  before  you  received  them  on  board  ? — ^A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  had 
a  copy  of  it.  '  ] 

Q.  Did  you  believe  that  book  to  be  true  ? — A.  I  never  formed  any  opinion  about  it. 
I  never  read  much  of  the  book.  I  only  read  enough  to  see  that  Mr.  Bliss  had  intro- 
duced in  it  statements  relating  to  events  of  his  early  life  which  occurred  many  years 
before  he  went  to  Paraguay.  They  had  no  connection  with  Lopez,  and  therefore 
amounted  to  wanton  defamation. 

Q.  That  was  the  impression  made  upon  your  mind  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  memorandum  of  those  extracts  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  a  copy  of  that  book  with  you  now  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  have  a  copy  in  New 
York. 

Q.  Could  you  furnish  the  committee  with  translations  of  extracts  from  the  book  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir.  There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  cannot  be  translated  very  well,  and  that 
is  the  tone  and  style  of  the  book — its  sneering,  sarcastic  manner. 

The  following  are  the  extract  s  furnished  by  Admiral  Davis : 

[Translation.— From  Porter  C.  Bliss's  "Historia  Secreta,"  &c.] 

"Washburn  was  born  in  the  State  of  Maine,  some  forty  years  ago.    He  is  one  of  the 
younger  of  seven  brothers,  of  whom  the   elder   dispersed  through  several  States, 
have  advanced  in  fortune  and  influence  to  such  an  extent  that  three  of  them  have  met ; 
m  the  halls  of  Congress  in  Washington,  as  representatives  from  three  separate  States, 
to  which  circumstance  it  is  owing  that  Charles  has  been  able  to  take  part  in  politics. 

"In  this  very  respectable  flock  our  hero  was  the  hlack  sheep — the  real  Jonah  of, the 
ship!  Among  other  ^reciows  qualities  which  adorned  this  hope  of  the  family,  and  which 
caused  serious  anxiety  to  his  parents,  was  a  constitutional  inability  to  distinguish  ^'meum 
et  iuum."    *     *     * — pp.  2  and  3. 

*  *  *  "  His  family  destined  him  for  the  army,  and  having  obtained,  through  the 
eflPorts  of  a  member  of  Congress,  a  nomination  as  cadet  in  the  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  he  went  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  to  that  i)lace,  to  enter  upon  the  course  of 
studies  that  were  expected  to  make  of  him  a  Grant !  or  a  Napoleon !  But  what  must 
have  been  the  surprise  and  shame  of  his  respectable  family  when,  after  a  few  days, 
they  saw  the  expected  future  conqueror  and  military  glory  of  his  race  return  with  his" ; 
hea!d  down  on  account  of  his  not  having  been  able  to  pass  the  examination  previous  tO' 
his  admission  to  that  school  where  the  heroes  of  the  last  civil  war  were  educated!!, 
*  *  *  He  then  endeav^ored  to  correct  somewhat  the  defects  of  education 
on  which  his  hopes  of  military  glory  were  shipwrecked,  by  means  of  a  course  of  study 
in  Bowdoin  College,  in  his  native  State.  It  must  be  admitted  for  truth's  sake,  that 
our  talented  youth  acquired  some  tincture  of  Latinity,  for  even  now  he  is  in  the  habit 
of  sprinkling  some  pedantic  display  of  it  through  his  conversation  with  those  who 
are  familiar  Avith  the  idiom  of  Cicero  ;  for,  as  it  is  said,  '  a  fool  cannot  be  wholly  a  fool 
without  knowing  some  Latin.' — p.  4. 

*  *  *  "It  hi  a  source  of  real  regret  to  the  author  to  be  obliged  to  state  that  his 
learned  hero  did  not  emerge  from  liis  studies  with  academic  honors,  for  a  mysterious  event 
clipped  his  wings !  The  cause  of  this  misfortune  is  not  perfectly  clear,  and  was  one  of 
those  matters  concerning  which  he  always  preserved  a  significant  silence;  but  the 
explanation  supplied  by  iiimor  is,  that  the  event  was  not  altogether  disconnected  with 
the  disappearance  of  certain  silver  spoons  from  the  table  of  the  academic  commons! 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  191 

"  If  such  were  the  case,  the  prudent  reader  must  not  attribute  this  little  circumstance 
to  a  want  of  honor  on  the  part  of  the  punctilious  hero,  hut  to  his  well-known  organic 
infirmity  of  kleptomania. — p.  6.  *****  »# 

"  Through  the  influence  of  his  elder  brothers,  who,  as  has  been  said,  had  already 
reached  respectable  positions  in  the  state,  he  obtained  an  appointment  to  a  place  in  the 
office  of  public  lands,  (General  Land  Office,)  in  Washington,  with  a  compensation  of 
$1,200  per  anmim.  It  might  now  bo  supposed  that,  launched  so  early  in  the  official 
career,  and  enjoying  the  advantage  of  having  relatives  in  Congress,  our  hero  would 
make  gigantic  strides  toward  the  realization  of  his  golden  dreams  of  greatness !  Alas  I 
again  the  inexorable  shears  of  the  fates  cut  the  thread  of  his  aspirations !  After  enjoy 
ing  for  a  few  months  the  pleasures  of  the  capital,  another  painful  and  unexplained  event 
occasioned  his  expulsion  from  his  new  position  without  carrying  with  Mm  a  certifcate  of 
character! — p.  7. 

*  *  *  "  There  is  no  doubt  that  our  hero  passed  those  few  months  of  his  career  in 
Washington  abandoned  to  the  pleasures  and  orgies  of  the  capital,  solving  Ma  tvild  oats,  as 
the  saying  is,  in  connection  with  the  dissolute  youth  he  met  there,  and  left  behind  a 
well-established  character  as  a  rake,  and  as  one  addicted  to  the  bottle,  to  gamhUng,  and 
to  t\x&  pleasures  of  the  table.  He  reformed  his  religion  with  the  new  dogma  of  making  a 
god  of  his  belly,  and  conceived  the  firm  puri)ose  of  getting  money — honorably  if  pos- 
sible, but  in  any  case  getting  money  !  He  carried  his  real  ruling  passion  for  gold  to  such 
an  extreme,  that  one  who  knew  him  well  has  said  of  him,  that  he  would  steal  the  coppers 
from  the  eyes  of  a  dead  negro  !  and  that  '  if  the  devil  should  spread  his  nets  for  Wash- 
burn with  the  bait  of  half  a  real,  he  would  catch  his  soul ." 

"  But  Lucifer  is  not  as  niggardly  as  our  hero,  and  has  thrown  him  his  bait  of  some 
good  thousands  of  ounces." — p.  8. 

By  Mr.  Okth  : 

Q.  What  is  your  present  impression  in  regard  to  that  book  ? — A.  I  cannot  refer  to  Mr. 
Bliss's  testimony  now,  but  when  ho  was  spoken  to  on  that  subject  by  Mr.  Worthing- 
ton,  at  Montevideo,  he  said  what  amounted  to  this :  That  besides  the  false  charges 
that  he  had  been  compelled  to  bring  against  Mr.  Washburn  by  Lopez,  ho  had  also  in- 
troduced other  supererogatory  statements  in  such  a  manner  as  to  destroy  his  own  cred- 
ibility ;  and  it  was  this  supererogatory  matter  that  destroyed  my  reliance  on  his  char- 
acter. 

Q.  Were  you  not  aware  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  told  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  take 
any  course  which  they  might  deem  necessary  in  order  to  save  their  lives ;  to  implicate, 
him  in  the  conspiracy  if  they  desired  ? — A.  The  point  I  make  is  not  in  regard  to  the 
statements  touching  Mr.  Washburn's  life  in  Paraguay,  but  things  which  do  not  affect 
Washburn's  relations  to  Lopez  or  to  Paraguay.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  heard  that  Wash- 
burn ever  gave  Bliss  license  to  write  these  things. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  Mr.  Washburn  making  any  statement  to  you,  saying  that  he 
gave  Bliss  and  Masterman  full  license  to  say  anything  about  him  they  pleased  ? — A. 
No,  sir,  I  do  not ;  but  whatever  Lopez  compelled  Bliss  to  say  under  threat  of  torture 
must  be  necessarily  limited  to  occurrences  in  Paraguay. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  say  you  regarded  these  persons  as  temporary  visitors  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  do  not  exactly  understand  that  term.  Suppose  I  came  on  board ;  I  would  be  a 
temporary  visitor? — A.  I  do  not  desire  to  justify  the  term  as  strictly  applicable.  We 
have  a  place  on  board  a  man-of-war  for  everybody.  If  you  went  on  boaixl  the  ship  you 
would  be  probably  a  passenger.  If  I  were  to  take  a  destitute  man  fiom  a  foreign  port 
to  the  United  States,  he  would  come  under  such  a  head  as  ^'  distressed  seaman."  We 
have  a  term  that  applies  to  everybody  that  comes  on  board  the  ship,  under  every  sup- 
posable  case;  but  this  was  an  extraordinary  case — one  which  could  not  be  anticipated ; 
and  in  accounting  for  the  expenditure  thus  incurred  I  spoke  of  them  in  that  way.  They 
did  not  come  under  any  special  head. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 

Q.  Then  it  was  not  to  define  the  real  status  of  these  men  that  you  applied  this  term 
to  them,  but  merely  to  account  for  their  expenditure? — A.  Yes,  sir.  I  think  their 
status  on  board  the  vessel  is  more  nearly  defined  in  Mr.  Washburn's  dispatch,  which 
formed  the  basis  and  ground  for  my  demand  for  them.  This  language  he  used  in 
respect  to  these  men  before  I  went  up  there,  and  it  was  from  it  I  took  my  cue  as  to  my 
action  in  the  case.    He  writes : 

*'  The  law  of  nations  clearly  prescribes  the  course  to  be  followed  when  persons,  mem- 
bers of  a  legation,  are  found  to  be  engaged  in  any  unlawful  acts.  It  says  that  the  gov- 
ernment which  it  has  offended  may  ask  that  they  shall  be  sent  to  their  own  country  to 
be  tried,  when  the  minister  will  be  bound  to  comply  with  the  request.  Therefore,  if 
the  charges  and  proofs  against  Mr;  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  shall  be  furnished  me, 
with  request  that  they  should  be  sent  to  their  respective  countries  to  be  tried,  I  shall 


192  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

then  have  no  alternative  but  to  comply,  and  at  the  first  opportunity  send  them  away — 
the  one  to  the  United  States,  the  other  to  the  custody  of  the  English  minister  in  Buenos 
Ayres.  This  course  it  is  hoped  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  government  of  Paraguay, 
as  it  will  remove  persons  obnoxious  to  it  from  the  country,  and  will  subject  them  to 
trial  according  to  the  laws  of  their  own  countries,  and  as  there  is  little  doubt  that  an 
American  gunboat  will  soon  be  in  these  waters,  there  will  probably  be  but  little  delay 
in  carrying  it  into  effect." 

The  only  object  I  have  in  reading  this  is  to  show  my  theory  of  the  case  when  I  went 
up  to  Paraguay.  Before  I  went,  of  course  I  had  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  course  I 
was  to  pursue,  and  in  looking  at  the  dispatches  of  Mr.  Washburn,  I  decided  not  to  at- 
tempt to  exercise  any  discretion  in  their  case,  or  any  judicial  functions,  but  to  demaud 
them  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  same  circumstances  that  he  had  demanded 
them. 

Q.  Did  Lopez  make  any  terms  or  conditions  with  you  as  to  how  they  should  be 
treated  when  they  were  put  in  your  possession  ? — A.  No,  sir.  He  merely  requested  that 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  communicate  with  his  enemies.  That,  however,  was  an 
unnecessary  request.  Even  the  women  and  children  that  were  taken  away  by  the 
Italian  and  French  gunboats  were  not  allowed  to  land.  They  were  put  on  board  the 
passenger  steamer  and  sent  off  immediately.  That  is  according  to  the  usages  of  war. 
I  did  not  allow  them  to  go  on  parol  because  of  the  slight  estimation  I  had  of  Bliss's 
character,  formed  partly  from  what  I  had  read  of  his  book  and  partly  what  I  had 
heard. 

Q.  You  say  you  met  them  the  morning  after  their  arrival  under  charge  of  a  sentinel ; 
did  you  have  any  conversation  with  them  at  that  time  ? — A.  No,  sir.  They  were  not, 
however,  under  charge  of  a  sentinel  as  prisoners  are.  That  phrase  would  give  a  wrong 
idea  of  their  condition.  A  person  merely  looked  after  them  to  prevent  them  from  com- 
municating with  the  enemy. 

Q.  Was  that  condition  changed  prior  to  their  removal  to  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  No,  sir ; 
it  was  not. 

Q.  Was  it  removed  after  they  were  removed  to  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  it  removed  in  regard  to  both  of  them  ? — A.  I  think  it  was ;  at  least,  I  gave 
the  order  in  regard  to  both  of  them.  In  regard  to  Mr.  Bliss's  character,  I  will  say  that 
Captain  Kirkland  told  me  that  the  American  minister  in  Rio,  in  whose  family  Bliss 
was,  told  him  that  he  was  deficient  in  truthfulness ;  that  he  discharged  him  because 
he  was  afraid  he  would  corrupt  his  children.  His  general  character  on  the  La  Plata 
was  not  very  good. 

[Admiral  Davis  here  read  a  letter  written  by  Captain  Kirkland  to  him  in  regard  to 
this  matter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy :] 

"  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

"  Montevideo,  June  5,  1869. 

"Admiral  :  I  have  just  read  the  reports  of  the  treatment  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  on 
board  the  Wasp,  and  am  astonished  that  two  such  votary  slanderers  should  have  received 
credit  among  our  enlightened  contrymen. 

"  Almost  every  assertion  made  in  Bliss  and  Masterman's  memorial,  with  which  my 
name  is  connected,  is  either  false,  or  else  is  so  entirely  changed  in  spirit  as  to  render  it 
untrue. 

"In  Bliss's  declarations,  where  my  name  occurs,  I  believe  the  dates  are  correct ;  but 
the  alleged  contents  of  the  letters  exchanged  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  myself  are 
false.  I  attributed  his  bare-faced  lying  belbre  the  tribunal,  and  in  my  presence,  to  his 
fear  of  the  Paraguayan  officials,  and  therefore  took  no  notice  of  it,  beyond  mentioning 
the  fact  to  the  fleet-captain,  and  to  yourself  when  I  returned  on  board  from  witnessing 
the  declarations ;  but  the  new  series  of  lies  against  myself  and  the  oflicers  of  the  Wasp, 
who  did  not  invite  the  parties  to  mess  with  them,  require  a  word  or  two  by  way  of 
remark : 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  cabin  was  fully  occupied  by  yourself,  your  fleet-captain.  Gene- 
ral McMahon,  and  myself,  and  the  wardroom  and  steerage  were  both  so  full  of  occu- 
pants that  two  officers  of  your  staff  slept  on  deck. 

"  Secondly,  I  considered  Bliss  to  be  an  unfit  subject  to  mess  and  live  with  gentlemen, 
as  in  January,  1863,  General  Webb  had  him  for  a  private  tutor,  and  brought  him  to 
this  river  from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  where  he  left  him,  because  he  was  a  natural  liar,  whose 
example  the  general  feared  would  contaminate  his  children.  This  I  heard  from  the 
general's  own  lips  at  that  time.  Bliss  was  also  mentioned  to  me  frequently  by  Wash- 
burn as  "  a  most  unprincipled  man,  but  a  walking  encyclopedia  of  knowledge."  He 
was  further  suspected  by  parties  in  Buenos  Ayres  of  being  a  spy  in  Washburn's  house; 
and  lastly,  he  was  the  author  of  the  scandalous  pamphlet  against  Mr.  Washburn  pub- 
lished in  Buenos  Ayres,  in  December  last,  which,  false  or  true,  should  forever  damn  the 
writer  among  gentlemen.  I  also  gathered  from  Mr.  Washburn's  conversation,  if  not 
from  his  very  words,  that  Masterman  was  a  poor,  ndserable  creatiire,  which,  judging 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  193 

from  his  manner,  I  should  agree  to  ;  and  I  am  only  sorry  now  that  I  did  not  place  the 
pair  entirely  by  themselves,  instead  of  having  associated  two  such  slanderous  liars  with 
the  petty  officers  of  the  ship,  who  are  decent  and  honest  men. 

"The  report  of  jVIr.  Leckron,  sworn  to  before  the  consul,  and  that  of  Mr.  Wisner,  who 
was  the  officer  of  the  deck  when  the  two  men  were  brought  on  board,  have  already 
been  forwarded  to  you,  and  will,  I  hope,  be  laid  before  the  committee  of  the  House 
ordered  to  investigate  the  Paraguayan  affair. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  . 

"  W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Commander  United  States  Navy.      ^ 
"Rear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  U.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron."  ', 

Q.  The  statements  that  are  made  in  that  letter  were  communicated  to  you  before 
Bliss  and  Masterman  came  in  your  custody  ? — A.  The  statements  in  regard  to  Mr.  Bliss's 
declarations  were  communicated  to  me  the  night  he  came  down  from  witnessing  the 
declarations.  That  part  in  regard  to  what  General  Webb  had  said  was  communicated 
to  me  before.  I  may  remark  in  that  connection  that  when  Mr.  Bliss  professes  it  as  his 
object  in  making  these  statements  to  destroy  his  own  credibility,  it  is  rather  strange 
he  should  complain  that  it  produced  that  effect  on  my  own  mind. 

Q.  You  state  that  after  your  personal  interview  you  wrote  the  letter  dated  Decem- 
ber 4th ;  what  reply  did  you  receive  to  that  ? — A.  I'received  a  reply  from  Lopez's  chief 
military  secretary,  dated  December  5th.  It  is  published  in  Executive  Document  5, 
page  90. 

Q.  Then  I  understand  from  this  letter  that  Lopez  refused  to  deliver  them  up  to  you 
under  the  terms  of  your  letter  of  December  4th  f — A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  expressly  stated  that 
I  should  recognize  them  as  criminals. 

Q.  When  ho  made  that  demand  on  you  that  you  should  acknowledge  them  as  crimi- 
nals and  as  accomplices  of  Mr.  Washburn,  what  reply  did  you  make  ?— A.  I  stated  to 
him  in  words  that,  "  it  is  no  part  of  my  official  duty  either  to  offer  or  to  refuse  any  terms 
which  will  affect  the  alleged  criminal  condition  of  the  two  persons  in  question."  As  I 
have  repeatedly  stated  to  the  committee,  I  adopted  the  view  presented  by  Mr.  Wash- 
burn himself  with  regard  to  these  men,  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  criminality ; 
my  own  government  was  the  judge  of  that. 

Q.  Was  it  your  agreement  with  Lopez  that  you  should  receive  these  men  as  prison- 
ers and  keep  them  in  security? — A.  No,  sir;  there  is  no  agreement  between  Lopez  and 
myseli^  and  nothing  passed  between  Lopez  and  myself  except  what  appears  upon  the 
documents  printed. 

Q.  How  do  you  consider  this  passage  in  your  letter  to  Lopez  of  the  5th  of  December : 
"  I  have  to  ask  your  excellency  to  embark  the  accused  persons.  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
on  board  this  vessel,  in  order  that  I  may  keei)  them  in  security,  subject  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  United  States  ?"— A.  I  considered  it  literally— in  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
words.    As  I  have  said  before,  it  was  my  expectation  that  these  men  would  be  glad  to 

fet  out  of  the  country  and  return  to  the  United  States ;  and  it  was  my  intention  when 
took  them  to  keep  them  in  security  and  return  them  to  the  United  States. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  you  whether  you  received  them  as  criminals,  and 
as  his  accomplices  in  this  alleged  conspiracy  ? — A.  No,  sir.    I  have  repeatedly  stated 
that  I  exercised  no  discretion  whatever  in  regard  to  Mr.  Washburn's  difficulties,  or  the 
connection  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  with  them,  but  acted  only  in  accordance  with  the 
course  previously  laid  down  by  Mr.  Washburn  himself.     I  did  not  receive  them  as 
criminals  or  judge  the  case.    I  did  not  accuse  Mr.  Washburn,  or  suspect  him,  at  that  f 
time  of  being  in  a  conspiracy.    At  that  time  I  did  not  believe,  from  the  representations  j 
made  to  me  by  Mr.  Washburn,  that  there  was  any  conspiracy. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  stated  you  went  up  the  Paraguay  and  acted  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
instructions  you  afterward  received  from  the  Navy  Department  and  Mr.  Seward,  with 
one  exception,  and  that  was,  that  the  correspondence  was  conducted  by  yoiu'self  in- 
stead of  by  Minister  McMahou? — A.  Yes,  sir;  they  were  in  strict  accordance  with 
those  instructions,  with  the  exception  that  Mr.  Seward  authorized  General  McMahou 
to  conduct  the  corresi)ondence  before  he  x)resented  his  credentials.  General  McMahon 
and  myself,  after  consultation,  thought  that  it  was  not  expedient  to  do  that, 

Q.  In  this  letter  which  Mr.  Welles  addressed  to  you  December  12, 1868,  he  quoted 
from  a  letter  Mr.  Seward  addressed  to  him,  and  makes  it  a  part  of  his  letter. to  you. .  He 
says  that  JVIr.  Seward  writes  him  that  "  the  situation  thus  presented  seems  to  me  so 
critical  that  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  advise  the  President  that  th.e  rear-a.dmiral 
should  be  instructed  to  proceed  with  an  adequate  force  at  onoe  to  Paraguay,  and  take 
such  measures  as  may  be  found  necessary  to  prevent  violence  to  the  lives,  and  property 

13  PI 


194  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

of  American  cifcizens  there,  and,  in  the  exercise  of  a  sonnd  discretion,  to  demand,  and 
to  obtain,  prompt  redress  for  any  extreme  insult  or  violence  that  may  have  been  arbi- 
trarily committed  against  the  flag  of  the  United  States  or  their  citizens."  You  liave 
stated  that  you  acted  in  accordance  with  these  instructions,  which  you  afterward  re- 
ceived. I  wish  you  now  to  state  whether,  after  receiving  this  letter  from  Lopez,  dated 
December  5,  it  was  not  proper  for  you  to  repel  the  insult  therein  contained,  charging 
this  crime  upon  Mr.  Wasliburn? — A.  General  McMahon  and  myself  acted  in  consulta- 
tion together,  and  that  was  the  course  our  judgment  led  us  to  pursue. 

Q.  You  did  not,  theUj  in  your  correspondence  or  interview  repel  that  insult  ? — ^A.  I 
did  not  mention  Mr.  Washburn  in  any  of  my  corresiaondence. 

Q.  Did  you  not  regard  it  as  an  insult  to  the  American  government  to  charge  that 
crime  against  its  minister  ? — A.  It  was  no  doubt  very  injurious  to  the  American  gov- 
ernment that  the  charge  was  so  made,  but  it  was  not  my  province  to  form  a  judgment 
as  to  its  truth  or  falsity. 

Q.  Is  it  not  your  duty,  as  the  representative  of  the  American  navy,  to  repel  an  insult 
of  that  kind  against  an  American  minister? — A.  I  did  not  consider  that  at  that  time  I 
was  called  upon  to  act  as  Mr.  Washburn's  vindicator,  or  to  decide  on  his  guilt  or  inno- 
cence. 

Q.  Did  you  not  regard  him  as  the  agent  of  the  United  States  ? — A.  Does  it  follow, 
then,  that  I  am  necessarily  his  vindicator  ? 

Q.  It  would  be,  I  think,  after  you  were  instructed  in  terms  to  redress  any  insult. — A. 
With  regard  to  that  I  have  only  to  say,  that  I  took  that  course  after  consultation  with 
General  McMahon. 

Q.  You  and  General  McMahon  decided,  then,  to  take  no  notice  of  that  charge  by  Lo- 
pez ? — A.  I  do  not  think  we  took  any  notice  of  the  charge  at  all. 

Q.  Was  not  your  mind  called  to  it  ? — A.  No  more  than  by  the  correspondence  before. 
What  he  said  in  that  letter  was  only  what  he  had  said  over  and  over  again  in  his  cor- 
respondence. 

Q.  You  then  tLoaght  it  was  perfectly  proper  for  you  to  pass  that  by  in  silence? — ^A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  still  think  so  ? — A.  I  do. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  where  an  American  citizen  is  deprived  of  his  liberty,  or  injured 
in  any  way,  by  a  foreign  power,  that  his  personal  character  makes  any  difference  as  to 
the  duty  of  this  government  to  vindicate  his  rights  ? — A.  No,  none  whatever.  I  dem- 
onstrated that  when  I  took  Walker  and  his  companions  out  of  Nicaragua.  When  it 
was  said  by  some  persons  that  I  had  better  had  left  them  there,  I  replied,  that  if  a  man 
falls  overboard  we  do  not  stop  to  inquire  as  to  his  moral  character  before  we  throw  him 
a  rope.  I  would  render  assistance  to  any  man  in  danger,  whether  he  was  a  good  or  a 
bad  man,  as  I  did  in  the  case  of  Bliss  when  I  got  him  out  of'  the  hands  of  Lopez,  who, 
it  was  represented  to  me,  had  killed  him  half  a  dozen  of  times,  and  in  half  a  dozen 
•ways. 

Q.  Then  this  story  that  Captain  Kirkland  writes  to  you  about  General  Webb  turning 
him  away  was  entirely  immaterial  to  you  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Why,  then,  do  you  introduce  this  letter  as  evidence  ?— A.  I  have  expressly  stated 
that  I  introduced  it  to  show  why  I  kept  Bliss  under  surveillance  when  he  came  in  mv 
squadron.  I  thought  it  necessary  to  do  so  to  prevent  him  from  violating  the  rules  of 
war. 

Q.  How  long  did  Bliss  and  Masterman  remain  on  board  your  ship  ? — A.  My  letter 
requesting  them  to  take  the  mail  steamer  to  the  United  States  shows  the  time.  It  is 
dated  at  Rio,  January  23. 

Q.  Ho\v  long  did  you  remain  at  Montevideo  ? — A.  I  think  I  must  have  left  the  17th 
or  isth  of  January. 

Q.  Why  did  you  go  from  Montevideo  to  Rio  Janeiro  ? — A.  To  meet  the  mail,  partly, 
and  partly  for  the  disposition  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman. 

Q.  Was  it  primarily  your  object  to  dispose  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — My  primary 
object  in  going  was  to  get  the  mail.  I  expected  to  receive  instructions  from  the  gov- 
ernment in  relation  to  the  recent  occurrences,  and  particularly  in  relation  to  those 
prisoners. 

Q.  Was  not  there  a  regular  mail  service  between  Montevideo  and  Rio  Janeiro  ? — ^A. 
I  wanted  to  be  there  in  time  to  send  replies  by  the  return  steamer. 

Q.  Suppose  these  men  had  refused  to  go  to  the  United  States,  what  would  you  have 
done  ? — A.  I  would  have  let  them  go  on  shore  at  Rio.  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  keep 
them  on  board  the  vessel  until  I  left  the  seat  of  war. 

Q.  What  was  the  cost  of  running  yom-  vessel  from  Montevideo  to  Rio  ? — A.  I  could 
not  tell  without  making  some  calculation. 

Q.  How  much  coal  would  it  take  ? — A.  About  two  hundred  tons. 

Q.  Had  you  any  conversation  about  the  Igt  of  October,  1868,  with  the  admiral  of  the 
British  fleet  in  relation  to  the  course  of  Minister  Washburn  in  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  think 
it  is  very  probable  I  did,  but  none  of  any  importance.  The  difficulties  in  Paraguay 
were  then  the  princixoal  topics  of  conversation,  and  we  talked  of  them  a  good  deal. 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  195 


Q.  Did  yon  not  tell  the  British  admiral  that  yon  thonght  Minister  Washbuni's  testi- 
mony in  regard  to  Paraguay  matters  was  not  to  be  relied  npon  ? — A.  I  do  not  think 
did.     Such,  however,  is  my  present  opinion. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  telling  him  you  had' received  private  information  from  Captain 
Kirkland  differing  entirely  from  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  No,  sir. 
But  I  say  now  I  did  receive  a  letter  from  Captain  Kirkland — not  private,  but  unoffi- 
cial— which  influenced  my  conduct  in  the  matter.  It  contained  some  information.  I 
do  not  know  that  it  was  different,  but  additional  to  that  contained  in  the  public  dis- 
patches. 

Q.  Have  you  that  letter  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  It  was  written  to  me  on  the  return  of  the 
Wasp  from  Paraguay  when  she  brought  down  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family. 

"  U.  S.  S.  Wasp,  (4th  rate,)  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 

"  Montevideo,  September  28,  1868. 

"  Admiral  :  In  forwarding  to  yon  my  report  of  proceedings,  &c.,  during  the  service 
performed  by  the  Wasp  on  her  last  trip  to  Paraguay,  I  limited  myself  to  a  mere  official 
statement  of  the  particular  duty  performed  by  the  vessel  and  by  myself. 

"  As  liis  Excellency,  Mr.  Washburn,  has  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the  La  Plata 
his  correspondence  with  the  Paraguayan  government,  and  as  my  name  occurs  in  con- 
nection with  one  or  two  of  his  statements,  I  think  it  proper  to  inform  you,  unofficially, 
of  several  incidents  which  1  cannot  give  an  opinion  on,  but  which,  I  suppose,  you 
might  possibly  wish  to  furnish  to  the  government. 

*'  On  the  2d  day  of  September,  I  first  visited  President  Lopez.  I  inquired  after  Mr. 
Washburn,  and  Lopez  replied,  '  I  am  sorry  to  say  we  are  very  bad  with  Mr.  Washburn.' 
I  said  that  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  it.  Lopez  said,  *  Mr.  Washburn  is  an  enemy  to 
Paraguay.'  I  said  I  didn't  believe  it ;  and  he  continued ;  '  I  do  not  doubt  it ;  I  have 
the  proofs.'  I  then  said  again :  *  I  do  not  believe  it,  but  if  he  is,  it  is  none  of  my  busi- 
ness.' Lopez  then  said,  'I  wish  you  to  take  a  part  in  this,  and  tiy  to  arrange  the 
matter  between  myseU  Juud  Mr.  Washburn,  as  I  am  very  loth  to  take  any  step  inimical 
to  the  United  States.'  I  replied  that  my  mission  was  a  specific  one  ;  that  I  was  not  a 
diplomat,  and  that  I  would  not  interfere  in  the  matter  in  any  way.  He  remarked  that 
unless  the  thing  coidd  bo  arranged,  he  feared 'he  would  have  to  detain  Mr.  Washburn ; 
and  I  answered  him,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  as  follows:  *  Any  steps  taken  against 
the  United  States  minister  will  be  avenged  by  that  government,  even  should  the 
minister  be  in  the  wrong  in  the  first  instance.  Your  duty  is  to  allow  him  to  depart 
peaceably,  and  to  refer  your  complaint,  if  you  have  any,  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  and  you  may  rest  assured  thaf  if  the  minister  has  been  guilty  of  unfriendly 
acts  to  the  government  of  Paraguay  while  residing  in  your  country,  that  he  will  be 
called  to  account  for  it;  but,  if  you  take  the  law  in  your  own  hand,  and  insult  his 
sacred  diplomatic  character  by  such  an  act,  a  fleet  of  six  light -draught  monitors,  with 
fifteen  and  twenty-inch  guns,  which  was  in  Pemambuco,  bound  to  this  river  for  the 
purpose  of  forcing  the  Brazilian  blockade,  will  take  sides  with  the  allies,  will  jiass  your 
batteries,  knoclc  down  your  towns  and  cities,  and  the  government  of  the  United  States 
will  hunt  you  over  the  world,  and  demand  you  from  any  government  that  may  have 
given  you  shelter.  I  shall  wait  a  proper  time,  and  if  Mr.  Washburn  is  not  put  on  board, 
or  I  am  not  allowed  to  embark  him  with  the  means  at  my  command,  I  shall  return 
immediately,  and  report  to  the  government  that  he  is  a  prisoner  at  your  hands.'  Lopez 
then  asked  how  long  I  would  remain.  I  replied,  '  Only  a  few  days,  as  I  have  strict 
orders  on  the  subject.'  Lopez,  after  a  short  while,  said:  'You  are  right;  I  will  let 
Mr.  Washburn  go,  and  will  rei)reseut  his  conduct  to  his  government.' 

**  My  opinion  is  that  Lopez  wished  to  have  the  ship  in  the  river,  as  appearing  to  give 
him  a  moral  support ;  and  ho  wished  to  ascertain  whether  I  would  remain  an  indefinite 
length  of  time  awaiting  Mr.  Washburn  ;  because,  as  soon  as  I  told  him  that  I  would 
only  wait  a  proper  length  of  time,  and  that  I  would  not  inform  him  what  that  length 
of  time  would  be,  he  immediately  said  that  Mr.  Washburn  should  be  embarked  as 
speedily  as  possible.  I  have  no  idea  that  Lopez's  remark  was  intended  as  any  threat 
against  Mr.  Washburn's  liberty ;  but  he  was  very  anxious  to  have  the  ship  in  the  river, 
if  possible,  and  thought  he  could  accomplish  that  by  temporizing. 

"  Mr.  Washburn  was  a  good  deal  agitated  on  reaching  the  ship,  and  at  the  dinner 
table  stated  that,  in  his  belief,  I  had  saved  his  life.  I  mentioned  what  Lopez  had  said 
about  detaining  him,  upon  which  he  made  use  of  strong  and  rather  undiplomatic  lan- 
guage, in  a  note  which  he  addressed  to  Lopez  after  passing  his  batteries. 

^'  Lopez  told  me  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  refused  to  leave  Asuncion  when  the  city 
was  ordered  to  be  evacuated,  and  that  he  had  sheltered  a  lot  of  persons  who  were 
intriguing  against  the  government ;  that  he,  out  of  respect  for  the  United  States,  had 
allowed  him  to  remain,  and  had  done  nothing  to  endanger  his  house,  either  by  putting 
batteries  near  it,  mining,  or  by  any  other  means  which  an  officer  fortifying  a  place 
could  have  readily  made  use  of  to  disencumber  himself  of  a  troublesome  tenant. 

*'  Mr.  Washburn  told  me  that  he  had  never  heard  anything  of  a  revolution  or  con- 
spiracy against  the  government ;  but,  on  one  occasion,  Mrs.  Washburn,  when  her  hus- 


=  r 


196  PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

"band  was  not  present,  said  that  there  was  a  plan  to  turn  Lopez  out  of  power,  and  to 
put  in  his  place  his  two  brothers,  Verancio*  and  Benigo.  As  Mrs.  Washburn  had 
entirely  agrted  with  her  husband  when  he  emphatically  denied  ever  having  heard  of 
any  plan,  this  admission  on  her  part  rather  astonished  me ;  but  I  did  not  comment 
on  it. 

"Mr.  Washburn  remarked  to  me  that  he  would  like  to  stop  near  Caxias's  headquar- 
ters, expressing  his  intention  of  informing  the  allies  of  Lopez's  force,  position,  sources, 
&c.  I  informed  him  that  such  conduct  on  his  part  would  be  a  violation  of  the  neu- 
trality which  we  were  bound  to  regard ;  and  that  if  he  did  such  a  thing,  I  shonld  feel 
it  my  duty  to  report  the  fact  to  our  government.  He  replied  that  he  was  responsible 
for  his  actions ;  and  I  informed  him  that  I  was  also  responsible  for  the  actions  of  per- 
sons on  board  the  Wasp,  and  that  I  would  not  stop  at  the  place  mentioned.  However, 
when  I  stopped  to  board  the  Brazilian  admiral  at  Villa  Franca,  a  Mr.  Gould,  British 
chargd  d'affaires  at  Buenos  Ay  res,  a  declared  enemy  of  Lopez,  and  open  friend  of  Brazil, 
came  on  board  from  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  gunboat  Linnet,  and  Mr.  Washburn  gave 
him  the  above  information,  w^hich  was  transferred  to  the  Brazilian  admiral  immediately, 
and  thence  sent  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  published  in  the  newspapers  before  our  arrival. 

"  I  have  the  reputation  with  Mr.  Washburn  of  having  saved  his  life ;  and  although  I 
regard  the  fear,  on  his  part,  as  entirely  imaginary,  I  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to  make 
him  feel  himself  less  of  the  martyred  diplomat,  and  am,  consequently,  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  him. 

"  He  informs  me  that  he  wrote  a  cheerful  character  for  Captain  Crosby,  which  he 
addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  which  he  has  no  doubt  was  the  cause  of  Com- 
mander Crosby's  promotion.  He  has  promised  to  do  the  same  thing  for  me  ;  and  I  only 
hope  he  will.  You  will  see  by  the  papers  the  different  stexis  taken  by  Mr.  Washburn, 
which  require  no  comment. 

"I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  &c., 

W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
^'Lieutenant  Commander,  Commanding  U.  S.  S.  Wasp. 

"Eear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  U.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron^ 

Some  parts  of  that  letter,  I  may  mention,  were  sent  to  the  department  when  it  was 
received.  That  part  of  letter  relating  to  JMrs.  Washburn,  and  to  Mr.  Washburn's 
desiring  to  communicate  the  military  condition  of  the  country  to  the  Brazilian  com- 
mander-in-chief, was  not  mentioned. 

Q.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  an  article  published  in  the  Buenos  Ayres  Standard 
of  December  23,  and  mentioned  in  Dr.  Duvall's  testimony.  Was  not  that  information 
necessarily  furnished  by  some  officer  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  I  have  not  the  slightest 
idea. 

Q.  Did  this  paper  have  any  means  of  obtaining  information  as  to  what  transpired  in 
Paraguay,  except  through  some  persons  connected  with  the  Wasp  ? — A.  Vessels  were 
going  up  and  down  constantly. 

Q.  I  mean  as  to  what  transpired  between  the  officers  of  the  Wasp  and  Lopez  ? — A.  No, 
I  should  think  not. 

Q.  Could  any  correct  information  have  been  received  at  that  time  at  Buenos  Ayres 
except  by  being  brought  down  by  some  j)arty  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  I  know  nothing 
about  it,  nor  have  I  the  slightest  reason  for  supposing  that  it  proceeded  from  the  Wasp. 

Q.  This  extract  states  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  are  held  as  prisoners. — A.  That  is  not 
true.    They  never  were  prisoners.    They  went  about  the  ship  as  much  as  anybody  else. 

By  Mr.  Swaxn  : 

Q.  Did  you  suffer  Mr.  Bliss,  after  you  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres,  to  receive  any  com- 
munication from  the  shore? — A.  He  did  receive  communications  from  the  shore. 

Q.  Did  you  open  and  examine  them  ? — A.  I  think  I  opened  one.  I  cannot  recollect, 
but  generally  I  sent  them  to  him  after  looking  at  them. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  a  letter  to  Mr.  Bliss  from  Captain  Hill? — A.  Yes;  I  think  I  do. 
I  have  a  partial  recollection  of  it.    I  have  no  recollection  of  its  contents. 

Q.  The  letter  was  dated  December  30,  and  detained  by  you  until  January  7  ? — A.  I 
do  not  think  that  is  correct. 

Q.  Dr.  Duvall  has  testified  here  that  on  January  7  he  found  Mr.  Bliss  in  great  agita- 
tion over  a  letter  he  had  just  received  from  one  Captain  Hill.  The  letter  was  dated 
December  30,  had  been  opened  and  sent  to  him  some  ten  days  afterward,  but  that  tho 
agitation  of  Mr.  Bliss  arose  from  the  fact  that  it  was  very  important  he  should  answer 
the  letter,  but  it  was  then  too  late,  as  Captain  Hill  had  gone  away.— A.  I  have  no  recol- 
lection of  the  circumstances. 

Q.  What  was  your  practice  in  respect  to  transmitting  letters  for  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman ? — A.  I  gave  them,  generally,  to  Captain  Ramsay,  my  fleet  captain ;  I  always 
sent  them  immediately. 

Q.  Did  you  permit  them  to  receive  or  send  letters  without  their  first  being  opened 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  197 

by  you  or  some  other  ofl&cer  ?— A.  They  did  send  letters  -without  being  read,  so  far  as  I 
know. 

Q.  With  your  consent  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  general  rule  ui)on  the  subject  ? — A.  They  were  not  allowed  to  have 
any  correspondence  with  any  of  Lopez's  enemies. 

Q.  Were  the  letters  they  received  inspected  ? — A.  I  think  not.  I  never  inspected 
them,  although  I  felt  authorized  to  do  it.  At  the  spme  time  I  forbid  their  corre8j)ond- 
ing  with  parties  whom  I  believed  represented  the  allies. 

Q.  Was  there  any  difference  in  your  treatment  of  these  two  men  ? — A.  There  was  after 
they  had  been  on  board  the  Guerriero.  I  cannot  say  a  difiference  in  treatment  strictly. 
Mr.  Masterman,  while  he  th.anked  me  very  cordially  for  my  kindness  and  for  having 
saved  his  life,  relieving  him  from  a  scene  of  suffering  and  torture,  said  that  the  only 
complaint  he  had  was,  that  I  had  obliged  him  to  mess  with  Mr.  Bliss,  whom  he  de- 
nounced in  bitter  terms,  to  which  I  replied  that  they  came  together  on  board  the  ship, 
were  associated  together  in  my  mind,  and  I  had  no  idea  there  was  any  difference  or  any 
ill-feeling  between  them.  Mr.  Masterman  had  several  conversations  with  me  in  which  he 
impressed  me  as  a  man  of  very  fair  intentions  and  simple  character,  but  rather  defi- 
cient in  manhood. 

Q.  What  was  the  difference  in  treatment  that  they  received  ? — A.  it  principally 
amounted  to  my  talking  with  Mr.  Masterman. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  What  was  your  reason  for  making  any  difference  in  your  treatment  or  feeling  be- 
twccu  thosi)  two  men  ? — A.  My  becoming  acquainted  with  Mr.  Masterman,  his  coming 
u])  and  talking  with  me.  The  only  difference  consisted  in  this,  that  I  talked  with  Mr. 
Mastt'rrnan  and  did  not  with  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  Mr.  Masterman  states  that  after  he  told  you  he  was  not  a  friend  of  Mr.  Bliss,  that 
you  treated  him  better  ? — A.  That  statement  is  not  strictly  correct. 

Q.  Were  they  both  under  the  same  surveillance  prior  to  your  arriving  at  Rio  ? — ^A. 
I  made  no  distinction  between  them  in  my  orders. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Masterman  stat^  to  you  the  grounds  of  his  objection  to  Mr.  Bliss ;  whether 
there  were  any  distinct  charges,  or  did  he  talk  of  his  general  character? — A.  General 
character.     Ibi  did  not  enter  into  details  ;  I  did  not  enc<)urag(^  him  to  do  so. 

Q.  Did  not  Masterman  claim  different  treatment  from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  an 
officer  of  the  British  navy  ? — A.  He  seems  to  liave  done  so,  the  night  he  came  on  board, 
but  I  do  not  think  he  did  afterward.  The  only  ground  he  took  with  me  was  his  objec- 
tion to  beinjo:  associated  with  Mr.  Bliss.  I  would  observe  that  Mr.  Masterman  states 
himself  in  his  declaration  that  he  was  an  apothecary,  and  according  to  the  regulations 
of  the  navy  apothecaries  are  messed  with  the  forward  officers. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  :' 

Q.  What  regulation  of  the  service  says  that  employes  like  physician  or  translator  of 
a  legation,  shall  be  put  with  the  forward  ofificers  or  with  the  steerage  ? — A.  There  is  no 
regulation  upon  the  subject. 

Q.  Any  custom  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  you  that  supposing  the  head  of  the  legation  had 
actually  been  seized  and  sent  off  under  similar  terms  under  which  Bliss  and  Masterman 
were  sent,  whether  you  would  have  treated  them  in  the  same  way  ? — A.  I  deny  that 
these  men  were  sent ;  they  came  on  board  the  ship  voluntarily.  Mr.  Washburn  ought 
to  be  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  manner  in  which  a  minister  is  treated  on  a  man- 
of-war  while  he  was  on  board  of  my  vessel ;  he  was  treated  with  the  extremest  cour- 
tesy. 

Q.  But  how  about  his  attaches? — A.  It  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  they  came 
on  board.  I  have  already  stated  that  Mr.  Bliss's  status  was  determined  in  my  mind  by 
his  scandalous  defamation  of  his  former  friend  and  employer. 

Q.  I  am  requested  by  JMr.  Bliss  to  ask  you  whether  this  surveillance  or  the  position 
of  the  sentries  placed  over  these  men  was  changed  as  far  as  Mr.  Bliss  was  concerned, 
after  Masterman  had  been  placed  on  parol  ? — A.  Not  to  my  knowledge.  The  order  to 
accept  the  parol  of  the  two  was  given  to  the  captain  of  the  ship  without  any  dis- 
crimination. 

Q.  Did  you  accept  Bliss's  parol  ?— A.  I  did  not  see  him.  I  consider  Mr.  Masterman's 
as  covering  both. 

Q.  Was  the  sentry  removed  from  Mr.  Bliss  at  that  time? — A.  I  do  not  know.  If  it 
was  kept  on  it  was  not  by  any  order  from  me.  Mr.  Bliss's  use  of  the  word  sentry  is  in- 
appropriate. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  You  have  stated  in  your  testimony  that  at  the  time  of  your  arrival  in  Paraguay 
you  had  formed  no  opinion  in  regard  to  the  charges  and  rumors  in  reference  to  Mr. 


198  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Washburn — charges  that  had  been  made  against  him,  and  the  speculations  in  regard 
to  his  public  conduct  there.  Did  you  ever,  at  any  other  time,  form  or  express  an 
opinion  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  think  I  ever  did.  I  felt  incompetent  to  form  any 
opinion  on  the  subject,  and  therefore  never  made  it  the  subject  of  inquiry. 

Q.  Wliat  were  your  relations  to  Mr.  Washburn  there  ? — A.  Entirely  friendly.  My 
relations  were  of  two  kinds — by  letter  and  in  person.  The  letters  speak  for  them- 
selves ;  they  are  printed.  My  personal  intercourse  with  Mr.  Washburn  was  of  the 
same  character.  The  last  time  I  met  him  was  at  Montevideo,  and  we  spent  an  hour 
together  veiy  pleasantly.  Whatever  ill  feeling  Mr.  Washburn  may  entertain  toward 
me  has  grown  up  since  I  saw  him  the  last  time. 

Q.  How  do  you  account  for  it  ? — A.  I  do  not  try  to  account  for  it.  I  suppose  some 
of  my  enemies  prejudiced  his  mind. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  of  any  person  or  persons  that  may  have  prejudiced  him  in 
regard  to  this  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.    I  think  it  is  very  probable  that  General  Webb  did. 

Q.  You  had  frequent  communications  with  General  Webb  ?— A.  Yes,  sir.  • 

Q.  How  were  your  relations  with  him  ? — A.  My  relations  with  him  were  friendly  up 
to  the  time  of  these  occurrences  in  Paraguay,  and  we  then  diifered  as  to  the  course  of 
proceedure.  He  then  pursued  what  I  supposed  he  considered  the  proper  diplomatic 
course,  of  denouncing  me  in  the  newspapers  in  Rio. 

Q.  Did  General  Webb  undertake  to  instruct  you  in  regard  to  your  lino  of  duty  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Wllkdstson  : 

Q.  Why  did  you  permit  them  to  land  at  Rio,  and  refuse  such  permission  at  Buenos 
Ayres  and  Montevideo  ?— A.  I  permitted  them  to  land  a  few  hours  before  the  sailing  of 
the  steamer.    Mr.  Bliss  told  me  that  morning  that  he  wished  to  make  some  purchases. 

Q.  Suppose  they  wanted  to  make  these  purchases  at  Buenos  Ayres,  would  you  have 
permitted  it  ? — A.  Certainly,  under  proper  restrictions.  Buenos  Ayres  was  near  the 
seat  of  war. 

Q.  How  near  was  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  seat  of  war  ?— A.  Twelve  hundred  miles.  Cir- 
cumstances had  changed  in  regard  to  Paraguay  by  the  time  we  arrived  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  Lopez  had  been  driven  to  the  Sierra,  and  the  allies  had  possession  of  Asun- 
cion, and  Angostura  had  fallen. 

Q.  Did  you  give  any  instructions  to  Captain  Kirkland  in  regard  to  the  treasure  in 
Paraguay ;  and  if  so,  what  Avere  those  instructions  ?— A.  At  that  time  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time  ? — A.  I  did  afterward. 

Q.  State  what  those  instructions  were. — A.  I  directed  Captain  Kirkland,  on  going 
to  Paraguay  in  my  absence,  (that  was  after  the  release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,)  to 
receive  any  treasure  that  might  be  offered  him,  and  with  the  understanding  that  I 
should  share  with  him  the  responsibility.  That  is  in  accordance  with  the  laws  and 
regulations  of  the  service.  If  Lopez  or  anybody  else  had  offered  to  send  any  money 
down  while  I  was  there,  the  question  would  have  been  decided  by  myself  on  the  spot. 
When  Mr.  Washburn  brought  treasure  down,  it  was  decidecf"by  Captain  Kirkland. 

Q.  Had  you  not  been  advised  by  Mr.  Washburn  that  Lopez  would  probably  want  to 
send  down  treasure,  and  that  a  large  part  of  this  had  been  stolen  from  foreigners 
whom  he  had  seized  and  robbed  ? — A.  I  have  no  recollection  of  it.  The  truth  is,  as  I 
wish  to  say  to  the  committee,  that  in  my  intercourse  with  Mr.  Washburn  I  talked 
with  him  as  one  gentleman  would  talk  to  another,  not  taking  notes  of  what  tran- 
spired. 

Of.  He  made  no  written  communication  to  you  on  the  subject  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  read  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  Mr.  Stewart,  the  British  minister  at 
Rio  ? — A.  I  read  the  letter ;  but  I  have  no  recollection  of  that  fact  being  statc^d,  I 
read  the  letter  to  find  out  the  condition  of  Paraguay.  Such  a  statement  would  not 
interest  me. 

Q.  Would  you  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  instructing  Captain  Kirkland  to 
bring  away  any  treasure  that  may  have  been  surreptitiously  taken  by  Lopez  ? — A.  I 
should  not  have  instructed  him  in  regard  to  Lopez's  treasure,  but  only  in  regard  to 
treasure  generally.  I  had  in  my  mind  his  sending  treasure  down,  and,  according  to 
the  usages  of  the  service  from  time  immemorial,  if  I  had  been  there  I  should  have 
been  authorized  to  receive  it.    I  should  not  know  how  it  had  been  obtained. 

Q.  Did  you  take  any  steps,  in  your  interview  with  Lopez,  to  ascertain  whether  any 
property  had  been  confiscated  or  taken  away  from  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  No,  sir. 
Nothing  had  occurred  to  turn  my  thoughts  in  that  direction. 

Q.  Did  you  question  Lopez  concerning  the  alleged  use  of  torture  to  extort  confes- 
sions from  Bliss  and  Masterman  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  I  did  not. 

By  Mr.  Willard  : 
Q.  Had  you  any  knowledge,  from  any  source,  that  they  had  been  tortured  ? — A.  I 
think  Mr.  Washburn  said  so.    He  said  if  they  made  any  declaration  it  would  be  under 
torture. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  199 

Q.  Did  you  inquire  whether  any  other  American  citizen  besides  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  had  been  imprisoned,  tortured  or  executed  ? — A.  No ;  I  was  under  the  impres- 
sion that  there  were  no  Americans  there ;  but  Mr.  McMahon  went  into  the  country 
immediately,  and  that  subject  was  in  his  hands.  I  never  heard  of  any  other 
Americans. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  James  Manlove,  John  A.  Duffleld,  and  Thomas  Carter,  who 
suiiered  at  that  time  at  the  hands  of  Lopez  ? — A.  Manlove  is  mentioned  in  Mr.  Wash- 
bum's  dispatches.    I  do  not  recollect  the  other  names. 

Q.  Did  General  McMahon  ever  inform  you  of  the  contents  of  a  letter  Mr.  Washburn 
addressed  to  him  about  those  men  ? — ^A.  No,  sir :  not  to  my  recollection. 

Q.  In  this  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  Air.  Stewart,  which  you  have  informed  the 
committee  you  have  read,  is  the  following : 

"  The  plan  of  Lopez  appears  to  be  to  get  this  money  into  his  hand  and  then,  by  tor- 
ture or  threats,  to  extort  confessions  of  being  cither  conspirators  or  plunderers  of  the 
treasury.  On  these  confessions  they  will  probably  be  executed,  on  the  precautionary 
principle  of  foot-pads  and  other  murderers,  that  *  dead  men  tell  no  tales.'  How  Lopez 
expects  to  escape  witli  the  money  thus  obtained  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  he  thinks 
that  some  neutral  gunboat  will  take  him  and  his  jdunder  away  at  the  last  moment. 
But  I  hero  give  notice  that  the  money  thus  taken  does  not  belong  to  Lopez.  It  is  the 
property  ot  citizens  of  those  i>owers  that  are  able  to  pursue  it  and  return  it  to  its 
rightful  owners/' 

Do  you  remember  that  paragraph  T — A.  I  do. 

Q.  What  instructions  did  you  give  Captain  Kirkland  when  he  went  up  the  Paraguay 
to  bring  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  away  ? — A.  (The  atlmiral  here  read  his  letter  to 
Secretary  Welles  dated  April  23, 18G8,  and  printed  on  page  41  of  Executive  Document 
No,  79,  and  also  of  M:iy  20,  18G8,  page  42,  Executive  Document  79 ;  also,  letter  to  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Kirklaud,  March  14,  18G8,  paj'o  44,  Executive  Document  79 ;  and 
also  a  letter  from  him  to  Minister  Washburn,  dated  March  15,  1868,  page  44,  Executive 
Document  79.) 

Q.  What  measures  did  you  take  to  send  that  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  It  was 
sent  in  quadruidicate.  I  gave  one  copy  to  the  American  consul'  in  Montevideo,  one 
copy  to  the  American  consm  in  Buenos  Ayres,  one  copy  I  left  with  Captain  Woolsey, 
to  be  disposed  of,  and  the  other  copy  I  sent  directly  to  Mr.  Washburn— but  how,  I  do 
not  recollect.  1  think  I  put  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Brazilian  commander-in-chief  at 
Montevideo. 

Q.  Was  there  any  possibility  that  either  one  of  those  copies  could  reach  Mr.  Wash- 
burn without  a  special  messenger  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  know.  I  made  use  of  the  means 
that  were  pointed  out  to  me. 

Q.  Ml-.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  if  you  made  use  of  the  same  means  as  you  did 
in  the  case  of  his  successor,  when  you  wanted  to  send  dispatches  to  him  ? — A.  I  leave 
it  to  the  committee  to  judge  the  interest  I  took  in  the  matter,  when,  in  the  first  place, 
I  ordered  Captain  Kirkland  to  go  up  the  Parana  with  no  other  delay  than  that  of 
getting  up  steam,  and  then  sent  this  dispatch  to  Mr.  Washburn  in  quadruplicate. 

Q.  Had  you  any  other  means  of  sending  your  letter  through  to  Mr.  Washburn  ? — 
A.  I  put  one  in  the  hands  of  the  United  States  consul  at  Montevideo,  to  send  up  by 
some  means ;  one  in  the  hands  of  the  American  consul  at  Buenos  Ayres,  who,  I  ex- 
pected, would  send  it  up  by  some  vessel ;  one  I  left  with  Captain  Woolsey,  with  the 
instructions  that  are  given  in  my  letter  to  him,  printed  among  the  correspondence  ; 
and  the  other  I  sent  directly,  but' in  what  manner  I  cannot  now  state  ;  but  I  believe 
by  a  Brazilian  vessel  of  war  or  transport. 

Q.  Were  there  any  means  of  communication  unless  you  sent  a  special  messenger,  or 
by  vessel  ? — A.  Vessels  Avero  going  up  and  down  constantly.  There  was  no  reason 
why  letters  should  not  go  through.  Mr.  Washburn's  object  is  evidently  to  make  it 
appear  that  I  was  his  personal  enemy.  I  would  like  to  read  three  letters  I  wrote  to 
Commander  Kirklaud. 

(The  letters  are  printed  on  pages  45  and  46  of  Executive  Document  No.  79.) 

Q.  Did  "you  believe,  or  had  you  reason  to  believe,  and  if  so,  upon  what  was  your  be- 
lief founded,  that  the  sending  of  the  Wasp  up  to  the  seat  of  war  would  enable  Mr. 
Washburn  to  retire  from  the  country  if  he  desired  to  do  so  ? — ^A.  I  did  believe  so.  It 
was  founded  upon  universal  experience.  It  was  also  founded  upon  the  wish  of  the  de- 
partment that  a  -vessel  should  be  sent  him. 

Q.  How  far  was  Mr.  Washbuin  from  the  blockade  at  that  time  ?— A.  I  do  not  know. 
I  miderstood  he  was  some  distance. 

Q.  Had  you  received  permission  for  the  Wasp  to  pass  the  blockade  ? — A.  No,  sir  ; 
we  did  not  anticipate  any  difficulty.  When  the  permission  was  finally  refused,  the 
case  was  placed  by  me  in  the  hands  of  the  American  minister  at  Rio,  who  exacted 
from  the  Brazilian  government  permission  to  pass  the  blockade. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time  express  an  opinion  to  General  Webb  that  the  Brazilians  had 


200  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

a  right  to  refuse  permission  to  pass  the  blockade  ? — A.  Not  to  my  recollection.  But  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  military  right  to  refuse  permission  to  a  neutral  to  pass  a  blockade 
when  it  interferes  with  the  current  events  of  the  war.  We  did  that  during  the  war 
over  and  over  again.    Our  instructions  upon  that  subject  are  explicit. 

Q.  You  cannot  say  whether  you  told  General  Webb  that  or  not? — A.  No,  sir.  It  was 
undoubtedly  a  violation  of  courtesy  to  refuse  such  permission  ;  but  the  refusal  woulfl. 
be  sufficiently  apologized  for  if  shown  that  it  w^ould  interfere  with  military  opera- 
tions under  way. 

Q.  How  soon  after  receiving  definite  information  from  Captain  Kirkland  that  he  was 
unable  to  pass  the  blockade  did  you  confer  with  General  Webb  ?— ^A.  The  nearest  I 
can  get  to  it  is  in  the  letter  I  wrote  to  General  Webb  on  July  1,  1868,  I  published  on 
page  54  of  Executive  Document  No.  79.  I  had  a  personal  interview  with  General 
Webb  before  writing  that  letter,  and  we  agreed  upon  a  course  to  be  pursued ;  and  I 
then  wrote  this  official  letter  to  him. 

Q.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  whether  General  Webb,  in  an  interview  with  you, 
did  not  inquire  what  you  were  going  to  do  in  regard  to  the  Wasp  being  detained,  and 
whether  you  said  you'had  received  letters  from  Captain  Kirkland  several  days  before, 
and  that  you  had  not  opened  them  ? — A.  I  do  not  recollect  any  such  thing.  I  do  not 
know  what  Mr.  Washburn  alludes  to.  What  business  had  General  Webb  with  my 
correspondence  as  long  as  my  department  was  satisfied  ?  If  I  received  letters  from 
Captain  Kirkland  Avhich  I  knew  did  not  require  my  attention,  who  was  to  be  the  judge 
as  to  when  they  should  be  opened  ?  I  do  not  recollect  making  any  such  statement  to 
Mr.  Webb.  I  supposed  at  the  time  I  was  dealing  w^th  men  who  were  gentlemen,  but 
I  now  find  they  Avere  taking  notes  of  all  our  private  conversations  with  a  view  to  con- 
fuse me  by  asking  me  about  them. 

Q.  Did  you  state  to  Mr.  Washburn,  on  the  stairway  of  the  Hotel  Provence  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  that  you  knew  General  McMahou  was  coming  with  instructions,  and  wanted  Mr. 
Washburn  to  remain  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  having  said  that.  I  remember  having  a 
conversation  with  him  at  that  place. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Washburn  state,  that  in  consequence  of  his  superior  knowledge  of  Lopez's 
character  and  government,  that  it  would  be  important  for  him  to  return  to  Paraguay 
on  the  Wasp  at  the  .time  you  went  up ;  and  if  so,  what  reply  did  you  make  ? — A.  He 
said  something  of  that  purport,  something  amounting  to  an  ofier  to  go  up.  But  it  was 
entirely  out  ot  the  question  to  consider  it.  A  minister  had  already  been  appointed. 
I  considered  Mr.  Washburn's  state  of  mind,  as  shown  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Stewart,  as 
incapacitating  him  for  judicious  action  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  Was  there  any  statement  in  that  letter  to  Mr.  Stewart  which  has  not  been  veri- 
fied since ;  have  you  reason  to  believe  that  those  declarations  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  were  obtained  by  force  ? — A.  I  have  reasoa  to  believe  that  they  were  not  obtained 
by  force. 

Q.  Will  you  state  those  reasons  ? — A.  Mr.  Masterman  made  a  written  statement, 
which  appeared  in  the  European  Mail  of  April  9,  1869,  in  which  he  says,  "  The  priest 
urged  me  to  confess  and  save  my  life,  and  said  that  Mr,  Bliss  had  only  been  shown  the 
torturing  instruments,  and  was  now  making  the  statements  they  required."  I  would 
add  to  that,  that  the  day  after  Mr.  Bliss  came  on  board,  he  was  examined  by  the  sur- 
geon of  the  Wasj),  Dr.  Gale,  and  it  was  so  reported  me  by  Captain  Kirkland,  and  that 
no  marks  of  torture  were  found  upon  his  body.  I  will  read  further  a  letter  from  the 
clerk  of  Captain  Kirkland,  the  contents  of  which  are  sworn  to  before  the  United  States 
consul  at  Montevideo : 

"United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

"  Montevideo,  May  18,  1869. 

"  Sir  :  After  reading  the  statement  of  Mr.  G.  F.  Masterman,  as  published  in  the 
European  Mail  of  the  9th  ultimo,  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  himself  and  Mr.  Porter 
C.  Bliss  by  President  Lopez,  of  Paraguay,  I  cannot  but  feel  surprised  at  the  discrepancy 
between  that  statement  and  certain  things  which  were  communicated  to  me  by  Mr. 
Bliss  on  the  day  after  he  came  on  board  the  Wasp. 

"I  did  not  seek  a  conversation  with  him,  but  having  occasion  to  go  to  the  yeoman's 
store-room  I  found  Bliss  there.  He  commenced  the  conversation  by  saying  that  he  was 
glad  to  be  on  board  the  Wasp,  I  remarked,  then,  that  after  three  months  of  torture 
and  confinement  w^hich  he  had  undergone  it  must  indeed  be  a  relief  to  find  himself  once 
more  with  those  who  had  the  power  and  the  will  to  protect  him.  He  then  said  that  as 
far  as  torture  was  concerned  he  had  never  been  subjected  to  it,  or  even  threatened  with 
anything  of  the  kind;  that  he  had  not  been  in  irons;  that  he  and  Mr.  Masterman  had 
a  hut  as  comfortable  as  any  of  those  occupied  by  the  Paraguayans ;  that  they  were  given 
every  day  a  sufficient  allowance  of  beef  and  mandioca,  as  well  as  yerba  ;  and  that  the 
only  thing  he  complained  of  was  that  he  could  not  go  any  distance  from  his  quarters 
without  being  accompanied  by  a  Paraguayan  soldier. 

"  I  then  asked  about  the  conspiracy  against  Lopez.  He  said  '  the  world  will  never 
know  the  truth  of  that  affair  from  me.'  Those  were  the  w^ords  he  used,  and  he  empha- 
sized the  word  'truth.' 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  201 

"  How  Mr.  Bliss  can  reconcile  this  with  the  statements  he  has  since  made,  I  cannot 
imagine,  but  as  this  afiair  has  caused  considerable  discussion  in  the  United  States,  I 
deem  it  my  duty  to  make  the  foregoing  known  to  you. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"THOS.  Q.  LECKRON, 

"  Cajaiain'8  Cle}± 
"Lieut.  Commander  W.  A.  Kirkland, 

"  U.  S.  N.,  C&mmanding  U.  S.  S.  Wasp." 

"Consulate  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

"  At  Monteviedo,  May  29,  1869. 
On  the  day  of  the  aate  hereof^  before  me  the  undersigned,  consul  of  the  United  States 
of  America  for  Montevideo  and  its  dependencies,  personally  appeared  Thomas  QuantriU 
Leckrou,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  made  oath  that  the  foregoing  statement  signed  by  him 
is  true,  and  that  the  facts  therein  stated  are  substantially  correct. 
"  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  the  day  and  year  above  written. 
[SEAL.]  "  J.  DONALDSON  LONG, 

"  United  States  Consul. 
"  Forwarded  for  the  information  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Lieutenant  Commander,  Commanding." 

The  next  fact  I  will  mention  is  that  after  we  had  been  several  months  without  com- 
munication from  General  McMahon,  I  sent  Captain  Ramsay  and  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander Davis,  (my  son,)  to  go  through  the  lines  into  Lopez's  camp  to  carry  dispatches  to 
General  McMalion.  Captain  Ramsay  remained  in  the  lines  live  days,  and  told  me  when 
he  returned  that  Dr.  Skiinicr,  tlu;  1m;uI  of  the  medical  stafi"  of  Lopez,  had  told  him  that 
Lopez  had  never  tortured  131iss  or  Ma«terman. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  evidence  from  any  person  residing  in  Paraguay,  either  before  or 
during  the  war,  that  led  you  to  believe  that  there  was  at  any  time  a  conspiracy  against 
Lopez  ? — A.  Mr.  Washburn  in  his  dispatch  to  Senor  Benitez,  dated  at  Asuncion,  July 
20,  1868,  uses  the  following  language  : 

"  You  will  admit  that  I  had  good  reason  to  be  surprised  at  the  statement  in  your  last 
note  that  a  combination  had  been  formed  which,  by  af;reement  with  the  enemy,  v/as  to 
have  broken  out  shortly  in  the  country,  for  the  overthrow  of  its  government  and  the 
extermination  of  the  army  which  combats  for  its  existence.  That  something  of  a 
dangerous  character  had  been  discovered  I  had  previously  supposed,  from  having 
learned  that  certain  energetic  and  unusual  measures  had  recently  been  taken  by  the 
government.  But  of  its  form  or  extent,  or  of  the  persons  implicated  in  it,  I  had  not  the 
most  remote  idea.  Such  conspirations  not  unfrequently  happen  duriug  long  periods  of 
war,  but  I  did  not  suppose  there  were  men  enough  in  Paraguay  to  make  such  a  com- 
bination at  all  formidable  who  would  have  the  lolly  to  attempt  it.  There  may  have 
been  men  bad  enough  to  attempt  it,  but  I  did  not  suppose  there  were  any  so  foolish  as 
to  engage  in  a  combination  that  could  not  offer  any  other  issue  than  their  own  ruin. 
Your  note  of  the  16th,  however,  convinces  me  that  something  of  the  kind  has  been 
attempted.  But  I  cherish  the  hope  that  it  will  be  found,  after  full  investigation,  that  it 
is  not  so  extensive  as  may  have  been  apprehended,  and  I  am  very  anxious  to  know,  as 
I  now  confidently  believe  that  it  will  appear  to  be  confined  to  a  circle  with  which  no 
person  who  has  ever  lived  in  this  legation  had  any  relations,  connections,  or  intimacy, 
and  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  such  a  result  of  the  investigation  is  the  one  that  is  most 
desired  by  his  excellency  Marshal  Lopez." 

I  learned  from  that,  that  Mr.  Washburn  believed  there  was  a  conspiracy. 

Q.  Had  you  any  other  evidence  ? — A.  Only  that  letter  from  Captain  Kirkland  which 
I  have  read  to  the  committee. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  Mr.  Washburn  stating  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Stewart,  that  he  after- 
ward found  that  the  story  of  the  conspiracy  was  untrue  f — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  read  that 
letter. 

Q.  Did  you  state  on  your  return  to  Rio,  to  any  person,  and  if  so,  to  whom,  that  you 
had  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  conspiracy? — A.  No,  sir;  all  that  I  have  said  in  rela- 
tion to  that  subject  was,  first,  the  declaration  of  Mrs.  Washburn,  which,  of  course,  I 
never  spoke  of  officially,  or  even  privately,  as  a  matter  of  delicacy ;  second,  the  surprise 
it  caused  in  my  mind  that  Mr.  Washburn,  who  had  been  living  privately  in  his  house, 
secluded  from  the  whole  world,  should  insist  that  there  was  no  conspiracy.  I  could 
understand  why  he  insisted  that  there  was  no  conspiracy  in  which  ho  took  part,  but 
why  he  insisted  repeatedly  that  there  was  no  conspiracy  at  all,  I  could  not  imagine. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time,  while  at  Rio  or  elsewhere,  express  any  doubt  as  to  the  truth 
of  Mr.  Washburn's  statement  in  reference  to  these  transactions  ? — A.  I  have  answered 
that  question  in  part,  in  saying  that  the  declaration  of  Mrs.  Washbmrn  that  there  \yas 
no  conspiracy  made  me  waver  on  that  point,  as  also  did  Mr.  Washburn's  own  admission 
in  that  letter. 


202  .  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Did  you,  at  Buenos  Ayres,  have  consultation  witli  Ministers  McMahon  and 
Wortbington  without  inviting  Mr.  Washburn  to  take  any  part  in  it  ? — A.  I  bad  no 
formal  consultation  "with  either  of  them,  that  I  recollect.  With  these  gentlemen  I  went 
to  see  Mr.  Washburn  immediately  on  my  arrival  in  Buenos  Ayres.  I  think  I  paid  him 
two  visits,  in  which  Paraguayan  matters  Avere  almost  the  only  matters  discussed.  He 
was  as  much  consulted  as  anybody ;  I  thought,  at  the  time,  so  much  consulted  that  I 
had  obtained  all  the  information  he  had  to  give. 

Q.  Did  you  show  to  Minister  Washburn  the  same  courtesy  that  you  did  to  other  minis- 
ters ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  invited  him  on  board  the  Guerriere,  and  sent  the  barge  for  him, 
but  he  did  not  come. 

Q.  What  day  was  that  ? — A.  I  do  not  recollect ;  it  was  before  I  went  to  Paraguay. 

Q.  When  you  first  learned  of  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  had  you  information 
that  General  McMahon  had  been  appointed  minister  to  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  had  private 
letters  stating  that  he  had  been  appointed,  and  was  going  out  in  that  steamer.  That 
was  my  motive  for  waiting.  These  letters  were  not  to  me,  but  private  letters  to  Cap- 
tain Ramsay. 

Q.  If  no  person  had  been  appointed  as  successor  to  Mr.  Washburn,  would  you  still 
have  gone  to  Paraguay  for  the  release  of  these  men  ? — A.  Certainly.  If  there  had  been 
no  minister  coming  I  should  have  acted  on  my  own  authority,  but  when  there  was  a 
minister  coming  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  wait  for  him. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  How  long  did  you  wait  for  General  McMahon  after  you  heard  of  the  arrest  of 
these  men  ? — A.  I  think  probably  a  fortnight  before  he  arrived. 

Q.  When  did  you  hear  of  their  arrest  I — A.  I  do  not  recollect  the  date.  I  think  it 
was  about  October  12. 

By  Mr.  Sw.ys^N : 

Q.  Are  you  acqainted  with  Surgeon  Duvall  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  He  was  fleet  surgeon  of 
the  squadron,  and  also  surgeon  of  the  Guerriere. 

Q.  He  states  in  his  testimony  before  this  committee  that  he  made  application  to  you 
to  go  up  the  Paraguay  in  the  Wasp,  and  you  did  not  give  him  that  permission.  Yon 
asked  him  why  he  desired  to  go,  and  he  said  he  had  a  new  breech-loading  gun,  and  he 
wanted  to  try  it  in  shooting  birds  along  the  river ;  and  he  stated  that  afterward  there 
was  some  misunderstanding  between  yourself  and  him.  I  should  like  to  have  your 
estimation  of  that  officer,  and  what  the  relations  were  between  you. — A.  During  a 
greater  part  of  the  cruise  my  relations  with  Surgeon  Duvall  were  very  intimate,  and 
continued  to  be  pleasant  until  my  return  from  Paraguay.  On  my  return  from  Para- 
guay it  was  officially  reported  to  me  by  the  commander  of  the  ship  that  he  had  staid 
live  days  out  of  the  ship  without  leave,  and  that  when  he  was  called  upon  to  account 
for  this  military  offense,  he  assigned  as  a  reason  for  it  that  I  had  given  him  leave,  a 
statement  which  was  incorrect  in  point  of  fact.  I  ordered  a  court-martial  in  his  case, 
and  he  was  found  guilty  of  the  specification  charging  him  with  staying  out  of  the  ship 
five  days  without  leave,  and  also  found  guilty  of  making  a  statement  incorrect  in  point 
of  fact,  and  sentenced  by  the  court  to  be  reprimanded.  I  thought  the  jjunishment  was 
very  insufficient  for  the  grave  military  offense  committed,  and  said  so  in  a  general 
order  which  was  afterward  published  by  the  Secretary  of  .the  Navy  and  approved  by 
him.  I  believe  that  he  was  the  active  cause  of  the  supposed  difficulty  between  Mr. 
Washburn  and  myself,  and  the  real  difficulty  between  General  Webb  and  myself.  He 
sympathized  with  Mr.  Washburn  and  with  the  minister  at  Rio,  and  was  opposed  to  me. 
I  will  offer  in  that  connection  these  two  statements  in  relation  to  the  part  which  I  be- 
lieve Dr.  Duvall  has  taken  in  bringing  about  the  difficulties  which  it  is  the  object  of 
this  committee  to  discuss  and  to  consider  : 

"  United  States  Steamer  Guerriere, 

^'Montevideo,  Uruguay,  A2>ril  29,  1869. 
"  Sir  :  In  obedience  to  your  request  of  this  date  I  respectfully  state,  that  in  a  con- 
versation between  Fleet  Surgeon  Marius  Duvall,  Passed  Assistant  Paymaster  John  H. 
Stevenson,  and  myself,  with  reference  to  the  reports  of  the  barbarous  treatment  of 
Messrs.  Masterman  and  Bliss  while  on  board  this  vessel,  upon  my  saying,  '  Cer- 
tainly no  one  believes  those  rejiorts,'  Fleet  Surgeon  Marius  Duvall  said,  '  Yes,  I  do ;  I 
originated  them  ;  I  instigated  them/  or  words  to  that  effect. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"T.S.WILLIAMS, 
"  Ensign  United  States  Navy. 
"  Rear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  U.  S.  N., 

^'Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

"  P.  S. — This  conversation  took  place  in  the  main  entrance  to  the  Hotel  Oriental, 
Montevideo,  Uruguay,  on  or  about  the  21st  instant. 

"T.S.WILLIAMS, 
"  Ensign  United  States  Navy." 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  203 

"  United  States  Steamer  Pawnee,  (2d  rate,) 

"  Monteiideo,  April  30,  1869. 
"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communication  of  this 
date,  inclosing  a  copy  of  a  statement  from  Ensign  T.  S.  Williams,  United  States  Navy. 
"  The  conversation  alluded  to  in  the  statement  of  Mr.  Williams  occurred  in  my  pres- 
ence, and  Surgeon  Marius  Duvall  did  use  the  language  imputed  to  him  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liaxQS. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOHN  H.  STEVENSON, 
"  Passed  Assistant  Paymaster  United  States  Navy. 
"Rear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  U.  S.  N., 

"Commanding  South  Atlantic  Sqaadron,  U.  S.  Flag-ship  Chierriere,  (1st  rate.) 

"  Forwarded. 

"J.  W.  B.  CLITZ, 

"Captain  U.  S.  N.,  Com^g  U.  S.  Steamer  Pawnee,  (2d  rate.)" 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  If  you  have  any  statement  to  make,  admiral,  which  has  not  been  called  out  by 
any  particular  question,  you  are  at  liberty  to  make  it. — A.  I  would  like  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  committee,  in  relation  to  the  cruel  treatment  of  Mr.  Bliss  on  board  the 
Guerriero,  to  this  statement  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Bliss  to  his  father,  dated  December  19, 
1868 :  "  I  am  under  no  restraint  on  board  this  magnificent  vessel,  and  am  treated  very 
well  by  the  officers."  This  statement  is  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  statements  in 
his  memorial,  and  they  contradict  each  other  so  decidedly  that  it  is  impossible  for  both 
to  be  true.  Then,  again,  I  will  remark,  in  regard  to  Mr.  Masterman,  that  in  a  letter 
which  Mr.  St.  John  Munroe,  the  British  charge  d'affaires  at  Rio,  wrote  to  me,  he  says : 
"  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Masterman,  in  which,  although  speaking  in  the 
highest  terms  of  your  kindness  to  him,  he  complains  to  me  of  the  outrage  to  his  feel- 
ings by  being  treated  as  a  criminal  by  the  officers  under  your  command."  I  introduce 
that  to  show  that  he  admitted  my  universal  kindness  to  him.  Mr.  Masterman  says  to 
me,  in  another  letter  dated  at  Rio  Janeiro,  January  30,  1869 :  "  1  avail  myself  of  this 
o])portunity  to  thank  you  most  gratefully  for  the  important  service  you  rendered  me 
in  delivering  me  from  a  cruel  captivity  and  a  x^robable  violent  death  in  Paraguay."  1 
do  not  know  that  I  have  anything  else  to  add.  I  think  it  must  be  obvious  that  at  the 
time  these  people  were  taken  out  of  Paraguay  it  was  supposed  by  all  persons  who  de- 
rived their  information  from  Mr.  Washburn's  letters  that  they  had  been  released  from 
cruel  torture  and  the  apprehension  of  a  violent  death. 

Q.  This  letter  of  Bliss  to  his  father  is  dated  December  19;  was  he  placed  under  aiTest 
or  surveillance,  or  deprived  of  his  liberty,  at  any  time  within  a  day  or  two  after  writ- 
ing that  letter  ? — A.  No,  sir.  His  condition  was  not  changed  in  any  manner  to  my 
knowledge  or  by  my  order. 


Testimony  of  Commander  W,  A.  KirTcland. 

New  York,  October  28, 1869. 
William  A.  Kirkland  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  is  your  occupation  ? — Answer.  I  am  a  commander  in  the  United 
States  Navy. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  connected  with  the  navy  ? — A.  Since  July,  1850. 

Q.  What  was  your  command  during  the  years  1867,  1868,  and  1869  ? — A.  I  com- 
manded the  United  States  steamer  Wasp,  attached  to  the  South  Atlantic  squadron. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  visit  the  Paraguay  River  while  in  command  of  the  Wasp  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  What  time  did  you  first  visit  the  Paraguay  River  ? — A.  March  19,  1867. 

Q.  By  whose  command  did  you  make  that  visit  ? — A.  By  direction  of  Admiral  Godon. 

Q.  How  far  up  the  river  did  you  go  ?— A.  I  went  up  as  far  as  Fort  Tuyuti. 

Q.  What  instructions  had  you  to  go  on  that  voyage  ? — A.  ^Those  instructions  are 
published  in  Executive  Document  No.  79,  page  34,  and  are  dated  March  1,  1867. 

Q.  State  to  the  committee  how  far  you  executed  those  instructions. — A.  I  will  read 
my  report  to  the  admiral  reporting  the  result : 

"United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

"  Buenos  Ayres,  March  31,  1868. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  my  arrival  at  this  place  at  about  1.20  p.  m.,  hav- 
ing been  absent  about  twenty-one  days  and  four-  hours.    As  I  reported  in  a  former  let- 


204  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

ter,  I  arrived  off  Fort  Tuyuti  at  1  p.  m.  on  the  ICth  instant ;  I  immediately  sent  a  copy 
of  the  accompanying  letter  to  Marshal  Caxias,  commanding  the  allied  armies  in  opera- 
tion against  Paraguay ;  I  also  send  you  herewith  a  copy  of  his  reply.  In  accordance 
with  the  terms  of  it,  I  immediately  proceeded  to  the  headquarters  of  the  allied  army, 
where  I  was  courteously  received,  and  immediately  furnished  with  a  pass  through  its 
lines  and  to  those  of  the  Paraguayan  army.  I  reached  the  headquarters  of  President 
Lopez  about  dusk,  and  immediately  sent  a  telegraph  dispatch  to  Mr.  Washburn  to 
inform  him  of  my  movements.  He  answered  it,  and  as  President  Lopez  had  agreed  to 
furnish  him  with  a  steamer  to  bring  him  down,  I  concluded  to  await  his  arrival  there, 
as  I  should  thus  gain  two  days,  which  a  journey  to  Asuncion  requires. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  a  telegraph  to  the  above  effect  was  sent  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burn and  he  left  the  same  evening,  but  his  steamer  ran  aground  and  he  was  detained 
twenty-four  hours.  On  the  23d  instant,  at  daylight,  he  arrived,  amd  I  delivered  to  him 
the  dispatches,  and  at  his  request  remained  awaiting  his  answers  until  the  morning  of 
the  26th,  when,  at  11  a.  m.  I  left  and  returned  through  the  allied  camp  to  the  ship, 
reaching  there  after  sundown,  too  late  to  get  under  way  that  night. 

"Very  respectfully, 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 

"  Lieutenant  Commander. 
"  Rear- Admiral  S.  W.  Godon, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

Q.  When  did  you  make  your  second  visit?— A.  It  was  made  in  April,  1868. 

Q.  By  whose  command  ?— A.  I  went  under  orders  from  Rear- Admiral  C.  H.  Davis. 

Q.  Please  read  the  instructions  you  received  from  Admiral  Davis. — A.  The  letter  was 
written  to  Captain  Woolsoy,  and  by  him  forwarded  to  me  with  directions  to  execute 
them  at  once.  Captain  Woolsey's  letter  is  dated  April  6,  1868.  Admiral  Davis's  letter 
to  Captain  Woolsey  is  dated  March  16,  and  is  published  on  page  44  of  Executive  Docu- 
ment 79,  as  is  also  the  letter  of  Admiral  Davis  to  me  of  March  14  on  the  same  subject. 
I  then  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Captain  Woolsey : 

"  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

^' South  Atlantic  Squadron,  Montevideo,  Ajml  6,  1868. 
"  Sir  :  As  my  orders  contain  no  instructions  in  relation  to  the  length  of  time  that  I 
am  to  remain  at  the  seat  of  war  awaiting  communication  from  Mr.  Washburn,  I  request 
that  you  will  inform  me  what  action  to  take  should  either  of  the  undermentioned  cir- 
cumstances occur : 

"  1.  In  case  the  commander  of  the  allied  army  refuses  to  send  the  dispatches  or  my 
communication  to  Mr.  Washburn,  what  length  of  time  shall  I  remain  at  the  seat  of 
war? 

"  2.  Should  the  commander  of  the  allied  army  accede  to  my  request  to  forward 
communications  to  Mr.  Washburn,  what  length  of  time  shall  I  await  the  answers  to 
said  communication  ? 

*'  As  the  vessels  of  the  allied  squadron  which  have  passed  Humaita  are  short  of  coals, 
I  think  it  hardly  i)ossible  that  the  commander  of  the  forces  will  send  a  vessel  to  Asun- 
cion for  the  purpose  of  communicating  with  Mr.  Washburn,  and  any  offer  of  his  to 
forward  said  communications  by  first  opportunity  may  extend  over  an  indefinite  long 
time. 

"I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

«W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Lieutenant  Commander  United  States  Navy. 
"Captain  M.  B.  Woolsey,  U.  S.  N., 

^^  Senior  Officer  Present." 

In  answer  to  this  I  received  the  following  letter  from  Captain  Woolsey : 

"United  States  Steamer  Pawnee,  (2d  rate,) 

"  Harbor  of  Montevideo,  April  6,  1868. 

"Sir:  In  reply  to  your  communication  of  this  date  I  have  to  state  that  I  have 
neither  the  views  of  the  commander-in-chief  nor  the  authority  to  instruct  you  in  the 
contingencies  enumerated. 

"It  strikes  me  that,  as  nothing  is  said  as  to  length  of  time,  the  admiral  did  not 
intend  to  limit  you,  the  object  being  to  get  his  excellency  Mr.  Washburn  doAvn  from 
the  Paraguay  to  one  of  the  points  specified  upon  the  La  Plata,  and  that,  of  course, 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

"  It  is  also  my  belief  that  the  commander-in-chief  expected  you  to  be  guided  by 
your  intimate  acquaintance  with  those  waters,  your  knowledge  of  the  character  and 
position  of  the  persons  with  whom  you  have  to  deal,  and  your  own  experience  and 
judgment. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  205 

"  As  soon  after  yonr  arrival  at  the  seat  of  war  as  practicable,  you  will  please  report, 
by  the  first  reliable  mail,  the  result  of  your  efforts  to  carry  out  your  instructions,  con- 
veying all  necessary  information  (of  course  in  guarded  terms)  respecting  any  obstacle 
that  may  bo  in  your  way, 

"  In  tbe  absence  of  the  commander-in-chief  I  shall  know  how  to  act  when  I  shall 
have  heard  from  Mr.  Washburn.  But  at  present,  were  I  to  instruct  you  further  I 
should  exceed  my  instructions. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  B.  WOOLSEY, 
"  Captain,  Senior  Officer  Present 
"  Lieutenant  Commander  Wm.  A.  Kirkland,  U.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (Ath  rate,)  Montevideo." 

Q.  What  time  did  you  start  from  Montevideo? — A.  I  started  from  Montevideo 
April  7. 

Q.  Give  a  history  of  that  voyage. — A.  An  account  of  all  my  movements  is  contained 
in  the  reports  which  I  made  from  time  to  time  to  Rear-Admiral  Davis. 

Q.  Furnish  the  committee  with  a  copy  of  those  reports. — A.  I  will  read  them  from 
my  letter-book. 

"United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 
"  South  Atlantic  Squadrox, 
"At  anchor  off  Curupaiti,  Paraguay  River,  April  30,  1868. 

"  Sir  :  In  obedience  to  orders  from  Captain  M.  B.  Woolsey,  United  States  Navy,  senior 
oflBcer  present,  I  left  Montevideo  on  the  6th  instant  and  proceeded  to  Buenos  Ayres. 
Arrived  there  on  the  7th,  communicated  with  the  United  States  consul,  and  received 
your  letter  of  January  23,  and  another  from  the  State  Department  at  Washington  for  Mr. 
Washburn,  minister"  resident  at  Asuncion,  Paraguay.  Left  Buenos  Ayres  on  the 
evening  of  the  7th  instant,  and  proceeded  up  the  river.  On  the  8th,  at  about  10  a.  m., 
ran  aground  on  the  shoal  to  the  westward  of  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia,  through  the 
ignorance  of  the  pilot.  Was  unable  to  get  the  vessel  off.  On  the  9th  chartered  a  small 
schooner  for  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars,  to  receive  our  ammunition,  provisions,  spare 
chains,  &c.  On  1^ie  12th  the  United  States  steamer  Shamokin  came  to  oiu'  assist- 
ance, and  received  from  the  schooner  the  stores,  &c.  On  the  13th,  at  1  a.  m,,  were  off 
the  bank  and  in  the  channel  again,  with  no  damage  whatever,  and  a  very  clean  bot- 
tom ;  vessel  rather  improved  than  otherwise.  Received  our  provisions  from  the 
Shamokin  and  proceeded  up  the  river.  On  the  16th  arrived  at  Rosario,  but  wore 
unable  to  commence  coaling  until  the  17th,  at  midday.  On  the  18th  finished  coaling, 
having  taken  in  seventy-eight  tons,  and  steamed  up  the  river.  On  the  23d  ran 
aground  twice,  once  below,  and  once  in,  the  upper  mouth  of  the  San  Gennime  River. 
No  damage  done. 

"  On  the  25th  ran  aground  on  the  shoal  between  Points  Sombrero  and  Sombrera. 
No  damage  done. 

**  On  the  26th  arrived  at  Corrientes.  Was  boarded  by  a  Brazilian  gunboat  and  in- 
formed that  I  could  go  up  the  Paraguay  River  as  far  as  the  fleet.  Continued  up,  and 
at  Cerrillo,  the  mouth  of  the  Paraguay  River,  met  another  gimboat,  which  repeated 
the  information.  At  Curupaiti  were  again  boarded  and  allowed  to  anchor  near  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  gunboat  Linnet.  On  the  27th  visited  the  vice-admiral  commanding, 
Baron  de  Imanha,  and  he  at  once  forwarded  my  communications  to  the  Marquis  de 
Caxias,  through  General  Arzollo,  commanding  the  division  encamped  at  Curupaiti. 

''  On  the  28th  I  called  on  his  excellency  the  Marquis  de  Caxias  and  some  oi  the 
corps  commanders  of  his  army,  and  was  shown  a  plan  of  the  present  defenses  and  at- 
tacking positions  about  Humaita.  A  copy,  from  memory,  I  herewith  furnish  you. 
The  marquis  promised  me  to  forward  the  letters  to  Mr.  Washburn,  either  on  the  28th 
or  29th,  but  stated  that  Lopez  had  returned  a  former  communication  addressed  to  Mr. 
Washburn  somewhere  about  the  middle  of  the  present  month,  with  the  intimation 
that  he  would  not  receive  it. 

"  On  the  29th  I  received  an  answer  from  my  communication  to  the  Marquis  de 
Caxias,  together  with  the  receipt  of  the  Paraguayan  officer  who  met  the  flag  of  truce 
bearing  the  letters  for  Mr.  Washburn.    I  send  the  originals  herewith. 

"  The  Brazilians  are  evidently  anxious  to  have  the  vessel  away  from  here,  and  are 
coolly  civil — nothing  more.  The  place  is  disgustingly  dirty — intermittent  fever  pre- 
vailing— and  the  mosquitoes  at  times  terrible.  We  are  anchored  off  the  Chaco  side, 
about  forty  yards  oft"  the  bank,  in  an  unhealthy  locality.  I  shall  await  the  reply  to 
my  communication,  allowing  time  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  receive  and  answer  the  dis- 
patches, after  which  I  shall  drop  down  the  river  as  far  as  Corrientes,  about  twenty-five 
miles,  where  there  will  be  daily  communication  with  this  place,  and  much  surer  means 
of  corresponding  with  yourself,  besides  being  in  every  respect  more  healthy. 

<'  In  closing,  1  beg  to  observe  that,  in  the  exhausted  condition  of  Lopez,  he  will  be 


206  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

nn willing  to  allow  any  one  to  quit  the  country,  as  correct  information  of  his  re- 
sources, &;c.,  might  be  thereby  obtained  by  the  allies. 

"  I  opiue,  therefore,  that  although  he  has  received  the  dispatches,  he  will  delay  de- 
livering them  to  Mr.  Washburn  as  long  as  possible,  and  will  throw  every  obstacle  in 
his  way  should  he  desire  to  leave  Asuncion  and  pass  through  the  allied  lines. 

"  The  country  is  almost  impassable,  and  Mr.  Washburn  will  hardly  be  able  to  bring 
bis  family  and  baggage  by  laud,  even  with  the  best  conveyances.  Lopez  has  no  con- 
trol over  the  river,  and,  of  course,  will  not  bring  him  by  water,  and  it  would  be  too 
much  to  ask  the  Brazilians  to  send  a  vessel  (an  iron-clad,  of  course)  so  far,  when  coal 
costs  them  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  ton.  The  Brazilians  keep  up  a  slow  fire  by 
night  upon  Humaita,  but  the  enemy  does  not  reply,  except  by  picket-liring.  He  still 
has  communication  open  by  way  of  the  Chaco.  I  should  like  orders  about  my  further 
stay  here,  as  my  own  judgment  would  induce  me  to  return,  after  waiting,  as  above 
proposed. 

"  Kespectfully, 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"Lieutenant  Commander,  United  States  Steamer  Wasp. 
"Rear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  United  States  Navy, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

"  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

^' South  Atlantic  Squadron, 
"  Of  Corrientes,  Paraguay  Biver,  May  15,  1868. 
"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  left  Cumpaiti  on  the  evening  of  the 
14th  and  anchored  here  this  morning,  where  I  shall  await  instructions  from  yourself 
in  case  that  I  receive  no  answer  from  the  Hon.  C.  A.  Washburn. 

"  The  allies  have  at  length  surrounded  Humaita,  but  unless  they  storm  the  place 
they  cannot  expect  to  become  masters  of  it  under  several  months,  as  the  garrison  ap- 
pears to  be  amply  supplied  with  provisions. 

"  It  may  become  possible  (in  the  event  of  the  capture  of  the  Humaita)  to  go  to 
Asuncion  ;  in  that  case  I  shall  take  in  sufficient  coal  here  to  enable  the  vessel  to  reach 
that  place  and  to  return  here  or  to  Rosario. 

"  I  can  thus  receive  Mr.  Washburn  at  Asuncion,  which  I  imagine  to  be  the  only  feasi- 
ble plan,  for  the  reasons  given  in  my  conmiunication  of  the  30th  of  April,  viz,  want  of 
transportation  to  the  allied  camj)  and  the  unwillingness  of  Lopez  to  allow  any  one  to 
leave  his  country. 

''  Before  leaving  Cumpaiti,  intermittent  fever  had  shown  itself  on  board,  and  the 
men  were  suffering  from  mosquitoes  and  malarious  influences.  Besides  there  was  no 
communication  with  the  ports  of  La  Plata,  and  the  Brazilians  evinced  a  dislike  to  hav- 
ing foreign  men-of-war  in  their  lines. 

*•  I  called  on  the  admiral  on  the  14th  and  informed  him  of  my  intention  to  lay  at  this 
place  and  await  the  answers  from  Mr.  Washburn.    He  volunteered  to  notify  me  at 
once  in  case  Mr.  Washburn  should  reach  the  allied  camp  or  should  send  dispatches,  but 
had  no  idea  that  the  first-named  event  would  take  place. 
"  I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Lieutenant  Commander  Commanding. 
"  Rear-Admiral  C.  H.  Davis, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

"  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  (4th  rate,) 

"  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 
"  Off  Cumpaiti,  Paraguay  Biver,  May  24,  1868. 

"  Sir  :  On  the  evening  of  the  21st  instant  I  received  at  Corrientes  communications 
from  Hon.  C.  A.  Washburn,  minister  resident  of  the  United  States  at  Paraguay,  which 
I  herewith  forward,  marked  A^.  At  daylight  on  the  22d  I  got  up  steam  and  ran  up 
to  this  place ;  the  same  day  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces, 
his  excellency  Marquis  de  Caxias,  sending  him  an  extract  from  Mr.  Washburn's 
letter  to  me,  and  basing  upon  that  extract  a  request  from  myself  to  be  allowed  to  pass 
with  the  Wasp  through  the  allied  fleet  to  a  place  called  Sacuara,  below  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Silicuary.  I  send  a  copy  marked  A^.  On  the  evening  of  the  23d  I  received 
an  answer  from  the  Marqiiis  de  Caxias  which  I  herewith  inclose,  marked  B,  in  which 
he  refuses  permission  for  the  Wasp  to  j^ass  through  his  fleet,  but  offers  to  trausjjort  Mr. 
Washburn's  family  and  eft'ccts  by  land  from  Pilan  or  Tagy  to  Cumpaiti,  provided  Mr. 
Washburn  comes  down  to  either  of  those  points  in  a  Paraguayan  steamer  with  a  flag 
of  truce. 

"  On  the  24th  I  dispatched  another  communication  to  his  excellency  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  allied  army,  a  copy  of  which  I  herewith  inclose,  marked  C,  and  for- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  207 

warded  through  him  at  the  same  time  an  answer  to  Mr.  Washburn,  a  copy  of  which  I 
send  marked  D. 

"  The  only  point  which  I  think  requires  to  be  remarked  upon  is  the  fact  of  my  hav- 
ing requested  permission,  basing  the  request  upon  Mr.  Washburn's  statements. 

"  At  tlie  time  of  making  the  request,  I  felt  that  it  would  be  refused,  but  as  I  am  aware 
of  the  difficulty  which  Mr.  Washburn  created  with  Admiral  Godon,  and  the  great  amount 
of  letter-writing  which  took  place  between  themselves,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
the  Secretary  ot  State,  on  tlie  subject,  I  concluded  it  would  save  a  great  deal  of  after 
trouble  and  explanation  could  I  throw  the  entire  onus  of  the  difficulty  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  Brazilian  marcpiis,  which  you  will  perceive  ho  has  offertd,  and  I  hope  thus  to 
save  to  the  comnj  a  ruler-in-chief  and  to  myself  a  deal  of  troublesome  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Washburn  and  party. 

"  I  received  from  Mr.  Washburn  a  letter  from  Presi  (bin  [j;]h-7.  dincted  to  Colonels 
Allen  and  Martinez  and  Captain  Cabral  at  Humaita,  and  another  to  Colonel  Caballero 
at  the  fortification  of  Tiinbo,  directing  those  officers  to  i)onnit  the  Wasp  to  passu'.r.rio- 
lested,  at  least  so  says  Mr.  Washburn's  letter.  I  have  retained  these  in  case  they  should 
become  useful. 

"  In  the  event  of  my  having  received  permission  to  pass  up  the  river  with  the  Wasp, 
I  had  not  entirely  resolved  iipon  so  doiu]^,  as  the  river  is  very  low,  the  torpedoes  are  of 
course  constantly  changing  al)Out,  and  there  are  several  ranges  of  obstructions  to  bo 
passed.  I  would  have  hardly  considered  myself  autliorized  to  have  endangered  tlie 
vessel  and  the  lives  of  those  on  board  unless  under  orders  from  yourself  to  do  so  or  un- 
less the  case  should  have  been  a  much  more  important  one  than  that  at  present  exist- 
ing. I  hope  that  as  a  diplomatic  dodge  it  may  meet  your  approbation.  The  Brazil- 
ians have  not  attacked  Humaita  as  yet,  but  the  rumor  is  that  they  will  do  so  shortly. 
The  British  gunboat  Linnet  is  here  also,  awaiting  the  downfall  of  Humaita  in  order,  I 
believe,  to  precede  the  Brazilian  fleet  to  Asuncion,  and  there  embark  some  eighty 
women  and  children,  wives  and  families  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  subjects  detained  in 
Paraguay  by  Lopez. 

"  It  was  told  me  the  other  day  by  the  chief-of-stafF,  (naval,)  Commodore  Alvin,  that 
Lopez  had  shot  twenty-four  or  twenty-six  pri.soners,  Brazilians,  and  among  them  a  cap- 
tain.   His  idea  was  that  thev  were  brutally  murdered  by  Lopez. 

"  Very  respectf ally, 

"W.  A.  KIRKLAND, 

"  Lieutenant  Commander. 
"  Rear- Admiral  C.  H.  Davis, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

"United  States  Steaivier  Wasp, 

"  Montevideo,  June  19, 1869. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  herewith  my  correspondence  since  May  20, 1868, 
with  his  excellency  C.  A.  Washburn,  United  States  minister  to  Paraguay,  and  his 
excellency  the  Marquis  de  Caxias,  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces  in  operations 
against  Paraguay: 

''  On  June  7,  I  received  from  Mr.  Washburn  the  letter  marked  F. 

"  On  June  8,  I  wrote  to  M.  de  Caxias  the  letter  marked  G. 

"  On  June  9, 1  received  from  M.  de  Caxias  the  letter  marked  H. 

"  On  June  9,  I  wrote  to  Marquis  de  Caxias  the  letter  marked  I. 

*'  On  June  10,  I  wrote  to  Marquis  de  Caxias  the  letter  marked  J. 

"  On  June  10,  I  wrote  to  Marquis  de  Caxias  the  letter  marked  K. 

"  On  June  10,  at  1  p.  m.,  called  on  the  Brazilian  admiral  and  took  leave.  He  attempted 
to  introduce  the  subject  of  my  not  being  allowed  to  pass  the  fleet,  and  pointed  out 
some  passages  in  a  French  work,  which  I  read,  but  declined  to  discuss  the  question 
with  him,  and  we  parted  on  excellent  terms.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  neither  ths 
admiral  nor  Commodore  Alvin  approved  of  the  course  i)ursucd  by  Caxias,  but  they 
may  have  only  been  deceiving  me.  They  both,  however,  deprecated  any  row  with  the 
American  government.  At  3.15  p.  m.  left  Curupaiti,  and  came  down  the  river  under 
one  boiler,  as  I  feared  our  coal  would  not  hold  out  to  Rosario  in  case  we  were  delayed 
by  grounding  or  otherwise.  We  reached  Rosario  on  the  14tli,  and  took  in  twenty-five 
tons  of  coal ;  left  Rosario  on  the  15th,  and  reached  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  17th ;  left  for 
Montevideo  on  the  16tli,  arriving  here  on  the  19th.  Many  of  the  crew  have  been  sick 
with  fever  and  ague  and  billious  fever,  but  none  dangerously.  We  are  all  now  in  good 
condition. 

"  My  reasons  for  taking  the  course  above  mentioned  were  the  following : 

"I  had  no  orders  from  yourself  in  relation  to  the  subject,  and  did  not  even  know 
what  your  opinion  on  it  might  be.  I  concluded  that  if  it  was  the  wish  of  our  govern- 
ment to  insist  upon  the  passage  of  the  vessel  as  a  right,  no  harm  beyond  letting  :Mr. 
Washburn  remain  for  a  short  time  longer  where  he  is  could  be  done  ;  and  if  such  is 
not  its  wish,  the  action  advised  by  Mr.  Washburn  would  have  placed  it  in  a  false 


208  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

position,  and  to  get  out  of  I,  myself,  would  have  been  sacrificed,  the  benefits  resulting 
from  which  I  did  not  exactly  see. 

"  M.  do  Caxias  had  resolved  not  to  let  the  vessel  pass,  but  wanted  to  gain  tirao 
by  repeating  his  former  proposition,  as  even  had  he  embarked  Mr.  Washburn  in  a 
Brazilian  vessel,  the  laud  journey  which  that  gentleman  refused  to  make  would 
still  have  remained,  unless  they  should  have  passed  the  land  batteries  at  Timba,  in  the 
Chaco,  and  at  Humaita.  The  idea  that  Lopez  would  permit  such  unmolested  passage 
of  a  Brazilian  vessel  was  not  entertained  by  the  Brazilian  commander-in-chief,  for  his 

naval  aid.  Captain  De  Cunha,  (I  think  is  his  name,)  called  on  me  on  the instant, 

and  told  me  that  Lopez  was  very  anxio;ii8  to  have  this  vessel  pass  up,  and  the  admiral 
also  told  me  that  in  a  dispatch  captured  by  them,  from  Captain  Allen,  commanding  at 
Humaita,  to  Lopez,  the  former  congratulating  the  latter  on  the  moral  force  which  the 
passage  of  an  American  man-of-war  would  give  to  their  cause,  and  he,  the  admiral, 
also  remarked  that  Lopez  wished  us  to  come  up.  The  concurring  evidence  of  these 
two  officers  only  proved  what  was  very  apparent  to  me  before,  that  Lopez  would  not 
let  a  Brazilian  vessel  pass  the  batteries  unmolested  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  an 
object  in  which  he  was  so  much  interested.  I  know  that  Caxias  was  only  temporizing 
with  me ;  in  fact,  humbugging  me.  IMr.  Washburn  did  not  protest  to  Caxias  against 
his  action,  nor  did  he,  that  I  know  of,  demand  that  the  vessel  should  pass  up.  His 
talk  about  firmness  on  my  part,  and  the  government  sustaining  me,  and  his  assuming 
so  far  as  he  could  the  responsibility,  was,  in  my  opinion,  simply  atmospherical.  Why, 
his  quasi  "  not  to  go  below  Corrientes  until  so  ordered"  was  decidedly  presumptuous. 
My  only  reply  to  it  was  that  "of  course  his  suggestions  as  to  what  I  was  to  do  could 
not  be  attended  to."  Another  reason  was  the  condition  of  the  ship's  galley,  condemned 
by  survey  while  in  Rio  de  Janerio,  which  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  replace,  and 
which  is  now  in  a  condition  dangerous  to  the  safety  of  the  vessel.  I  send  a  report  of 
three  officers  who  examined  it  on  the  9th  of  June.  We  have  also  thirty  men  whose 
times  are  out,  and  whose  detention  might  seriously  embarrass  the  commander-in-chief 
were  any  vessel  of  the  squadron  to  return  to  the  United  States  during  the  absence  of 
this  vessel  in  a  point  so  distant.  I  have  endeavored  to  act  so  as  to  avoid  complication, 
and  hope  I  have  succeeded. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  seivant, 

"  WILLIAM  A.  KIRKLAND, 
"  Lieutenant  Commander,  Commanding. 

"Rear- Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

Q.  By  whose  order  and  under  what  instructions  did  you  undertake  your  third 
voyage  ? — A.  My  report  to  Admiral  Davis,  dated  September  22, 1868,  published  on  page 
65  of  Executive  Document  No.  79,  gives  a  detailed  history  of  that  voyage. 

Q.  Did  you  take  Admiral  Davis  on  the  Wasp  to  Angostura,  to  procure  the  release  of 
Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — ^A.  I  did. 

Q.  Were  you  ordered  by  Admiral  Davis  to  proceed  to  the  camp  of  Lopez  for  the  pur- 
pose of  verifying  a  supposed  confession  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  I  was  ordered  by 
Admiral  Davis  to  go  to  the  camp  of  Lopez  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  these  declarations 
read. 

Q.  Did  you  go  there  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Who  accompanied  you?— A.  Fleet-Captain  Ramsay. 

Q.  What  time  of  the  day  did  you  arrive  ? — A.  Some  time  about  the  middle  of  the 
day. 

Q.  To  whom  were  you  presented  on  your  arrival  ? — A.  We  were  not  presented  to 
anybody.    I  asked  to  see  Lopez. 

Q.  Did  you  see  him  ? — A.  I  did ;  t  saw  Lopez  and  also  Mrs.  Lynch. 

Q.  What  transpired  during  that  interview  ? — A.  We  told  him  we  had  come  to  hear 
the  declarations  of  those  men.  We  found  Lopez  sitting  in  a  hut.  They  had  just  been 
celebrating  what  they  called  a  victory,  and  I  think  I  congratulated  him  upon  it. 

Q.  Did  he  say  anything  in  regard  to  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  Not  a  word,  that  I 
remember.  If  he  did  say  anything  it  was  merely  that  the  judges  would  be  ready  in  a 
short  time.  I  do  not  remember  that  he  said  anything  about  it.  I  saw  them  as  soon  as 
we  got  over  to  the  ranche  occupied  by  the  fiscales. 

Q.  State  particularly  what  occurred  on  that  occasion  from  beginning  to  end. — A.  I 
will  j)remise  by  stating  that  I  thought  the  whole  thing  was  ridiculous,  and  I  did  not 
pay  any  particular  attention  to  it,  except  to  some  parts  of  it. 

Q.  Why  did  you  regard  it  as  ridiculous  ? — A.  I  knew  that  their  declaration  would 
not  amount  to  anything  in  the  United  States.  I  thought  it  was  a  piece  of  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the^  Paraguayan  authorities. 

Q.  You  had  heard  of  the  declarations  before  you  started  for  Paraguay? — A.  I  do  not 
remember  about  that. 

Q.  What  was  your  impression  before  you  went  into  this  court  of  justice  ? — A.  My 
imxjression  was  that  it  was  a  humbug. 


I 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  209 

Q.  Wliat  was  your  impression  as  to  the  trutli  or  falsity  of  the  confessions  ?— A.  I 
thought  some  of  it  might  be  true. 

Q.  Was  the  impression  on  your  mind  that  it  was  a  true  confession,  or  that  it  was  a 
false  one  ? — A.  I  cannot  say  that  there  was  any  impression  on  my  mind  at  all.  I 
thought  it  was  a  humbug. 

Q.  What  impression  was  there  upon  your  mind  as  to  whether  it  was  a  voluntary 
confession  or  an  extorted  one  ? — A.  My  impression  was  that  it  was  not  worth  a  cent. 

Q.  Because  it  was  extorted  ? — A.  Because  it  was  something  that  would  not  amount 
to  anything  in  the  United  States,  and  the  men  would  say  anything  they  liked. 

Q.  Did  you  believe  before  you  heard  those  confessions,  before  you  saw  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  that  the  confessions  were  the  result  of  torture  ? — A.  I  was  always  under 
the  impression  that  a  confession  made  by  a  person  in  confinement  was  a  false  one. 

Q.  Now  relate  what  occurred  at  this  tribunal ;  who  were  i)resent  on  the  part  of  the 
Paraguayan  government  ? — A,  There  were  two  judges,  or,  at  least,  I  supposed  they 
were  judges.  One  or  both  of  them  were  priests.  There  were  two  men  whom  I  think 
were  Paraguayan  officers,  and  one  man  was  reading  these  declarations.  Oue  or  two  of 
these  men  came  in  fiom  time  to  time.  I  think  there  were  four  or  five  Paraguayan  offi- 
cers there. 

Q.  Who  was  first  brought  in  ? — A.  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  Bliss  when  he  first  came  in  ? — A.  I  do  not 
think  I  did. 

Q.  Did  either  you  or  Captain  Ramsay  make  known  your  character  ? — A.  I  thiuk  one 
of  the  iiarties  present  said :  "  These  officers  are  hero  to  witness  your  declaration." 

Q.  Did  he  state  who  you  were — that  you  were  United  States  naval  officers  ? — A.  I  do 
not  remember. 

Q.  Were  you  in  uniform  ? — A.  I  was  in  uniform  and  so  was  Captain  Ramsay,  without 
swords  on. 

Q.  Did  either  you  or  Captain  Ramsay  inform  Bliss  and  Masterman  that  your  object 
was  to  eifect  their  release  f — A.  I  do  not  think  I  did,  but  they  knew  it. 

Q.  How  did  they  know  it  ? — A.  Because  Masterman  asked  us  if  they  were  to  go  with 
us  then. 

Q.  When  was  that  ? — A.  It  was  after  they  got  through  making  their  declarations. 

Q.  You  held  no  communication  whatever  with  Mr.  Bliss  ? — A.  I  might  have  asked 
him  his  name. 

Q.  Did  you  know  that  he  was  an  American  citizen,  attached  to  the  American  lega- 
tion?— A.  I  recognized  him  as  soon  as  he  came  in  the  room  as  having  seen  him  on 
l)oard  the  United  States  steamer  Pulaski,  when  he  was  in  the  employof  General  Webb. 

i^.  You  knew,  as  a  matter  of  cuiTcut  history,  that  ho  was  attached  to  Washburn's 
legation  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  you  did  not  make  known  to  him  the  object  of  your  visit  ? — A.  I  do  not  think 
I  did. 

Q.  Describe  what  was  done  after  Bliss  was  brought  in ;  what  was  his  personal  ap- 
pearance ? — A.  He  looked  like  a  man  who  had  been  shut  up  a  long  time.  He  was 
pale. 

Q.  Could  he  walk  ? — A.  I  did  not  see  anything  out  of  the  way  in  that  respect.  He 
is  not  naturally  a  very^  graceful  man. 

Q.  Did  you  see  anything  about  him  that  led  you  to  believe  that  he  had  been  placed 
in  irons  ? — A.  The  legs  of  his  breeches  were  considerably  worn.  I  should  think  from 
that  he  had  been  in  irons. 

Q.  What  occurred  after  Bliss  entered  ? — A.  Ho  came  in  and  these  declarations  were 
read  over  to  him  by  these  men.  I  did  not  pay  particular  attention  to  them,  as  I  thought 
the  whole  proceedings  a  humbug. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  at  that  time  as  under  the  control  of 
the  Paraguayan  authorities  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  You  did  not  exercise  any  control  over  them? — A.  No,  sir;  I  was  not  sent  there 
for  that  purpose. 

Q.  You  were  sent  tliere  to  hear  what  you  style  a  humbug  proceeding  being  gone 
through  with  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  About  what  time  did  they  close  this  examination  ? — A.  It  was  nearly  dark. 

Q.  Did  you  seek  any  interview  with  Mr.  Bliss  after  that  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  communication  to  him  of  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  and  the 
object  of  the  admiral's  visit  ? — A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  do  so  ? — A.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  to  do  it.  I  knew  that  the 
men  were  going  to  be  delivered  up. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  promise  that  these  men  would  be  delivered  up  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 
I  carried  the  admiral's  letter  to  Loj)ez,  and  he  told  me  then  that  these  men  would  be 
delivered  up. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  these  men  reach  the  boat  ?— A.  It  was  after  I  had  gone  to  bed, 
I  remember.    I  was  called  up  and  told  that  these  men  had  arrived. 

Q.  What  orders  did  you  then  give  ?— A.  I  went  out  and  saw  a  Paraguayan  officer 

14  PI 


210  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

standing  at  the  gangway.  I  told  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  let  these  men  come  on  hoard. 
They  did  so,  and  I  said  :  "  Well,  here  you  are,"  or  something  of  that  kind. 

Q.  Did  you  inform  them  of  your  position  on  your  boat  ? — A.  I  do  not  know.  I  was 
addressed  as  captain  by  everybody. 

Q.  What  orders  did  you  give  in  regard  to  their  reception  ? — A.  I  told  the  officer  of 
the  deck  to  send  for  the  master-at-arms  and  have  these  men  taken  to  the  yeoman's 
storeroom  and  made  comfortable.  I  asked  them  if  they  wanted  anything  to  eat,  and 
I  think  Bliss  said  he  wanted  coffee. 

Q.  What  orders  did  you  give  in  regard  to  their  being  placed  in  charge  of  the  master- 
at-arms  ? — A.  I  told  him  to  put  a  sentry  over  them,  and  not  allow  the  men  to  interfere 
with  them.  They  were  put  under  my  supervison,  and  as  I  could  not  watch  them,  I 
put  another  man  to  do  it. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  them  as  temporary  visitors  to  the  Wasp  *? — A.  I  did  not  call  them 
anything  at  all.    I  did  hear  that  they  were  guests  ;  but  they  were  not  my  guests. 

Q.  How  long  was  that  sentinel  placed  over  them  ? — A.  I  think  that  sentinel  re- 
mained there  as  long  as  they  remained  on  board  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Did  they  deshe  to  have  an  interview  that  night  or  the  next  morning  with  Admi- 
ral Davis  or  General  McMahon  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  any  application  was  made  to  me 
either  for  an  interview  with  General  McMahon  or  Admiral  Davis.  I  think  it  was, 
however,  the  subject  of  conversation  in  the  cabin. 

Q.  Was  there  any  interview  granted  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  there  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  General  McMahon  having  any  interview  with  them  ? — A.  I  do 
not  think  he  had. 

Q.  You  were  on  the  vessel  all  the  time  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Could  the  general  have  obtained  an  interview  without  your  consent  after  you 
had  placed  a  sentinel  over  them  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  your  object  of  putting  the  sentinel  over  them  ? — A.  Not  to  allow  the 
men  to  interfere  with  them. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  not  allowing  the  men  to  interfere  with  them  ? — A.  I  did 
not  want  the  men  to  worry  them.  I  remarked  to  some  of  the  officers  that  these  men 
were  going  to  get  us  in  some  squabble  when  they  got  to  the  United  States,  and  the 
less  we  had  to  say  to  them  the  better. 

Q.  What  reason  had  you  to  suppose  they  would  get  you  into  a  squabble  ? — A.  I 
thought  that  was  the  diplomatic  character  to  get  people  into  squabbles. 

Q.  Then  your  object  in  ]3lacing  these  sentinels  over  these  men  was  to  protect  them  1 — 
A.  I  thought  that  the  whole  proceeding  was  a  piece  of  humbug. 

Q.  Suppose  the  sentinel  had  allowed  them  to  go  ashore,  would  you  not  have  pun- 
ished him  f — A.  I  would,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Then  the  sentinel  would  not  have  regarded  it  as  a  piece  of  humbug  ? — A.  Perhaps 
not.  The  vessel,  however,  was  under  way.  When  these  men  came  on  board  the  ad- 
miral had  turned  in.  I  went  to  his  state-room  door  and  reported  that  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman  had  come  on  board.  He  said  :  "  All  right,  captain,  take  care  of  them ;"  which 
I  did. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
^  Q.  Suppose  any  other  man  than  an  officer  had  endeavored  to  have  had  a  conversa- 
tion with  them,  would  the  sentinel  have  allowed  it  ? — A.  I  think  he  would.     He  was 
merely  to  watch  them.    I  gave  him  no  orders.    It  was  merely  a  piece  of  naval  red-tape. 
It  was  to  keep  my  skirts  clear  in  case  they  got  away. 

By  Mr.  Oiitit  : 

Q.  How  long  did  they  continue  in  your  charge  ? — A.  Until  we  reached  Montevideo. 
They  were  then  transferred  to  th;;  Guerriere.  While  on  board  my  ship  they  messed 
with  the  petty  officers. 

Q.  Was  there  any  objection  made  to  them  by  the  officers  of  the  mess  ? — A.  Not  on 
hoard  the  Wasp.  I  told  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  have  the  master-at-arms  to  take  the 
men  and  make  them  comfortable.  I  had  no  object  in  treating  them  with  incivility. 
There  was  no  other  place  on  board  the  ship  to  put  them  but  the  storeroom.  It  was 
cool  and  pleasant.  Masterman  said  when  he  came  on  board  that  he  had  held  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  in  her  Majesty's  service,  and  that  Bliss  was  the  son  of  a  minister.  I  said : 
"  What  has  that  to  do  with  it  ?"  He  replied :  "  You  caU  us  men."  "  Well,"  said  I, 
"  what  are  you — are  you  girls  f 

Q.  When  you  say  you  wanted  to  protect  them  from  the  men,  do  you  mean  to  say 
that  there  was  a  hostile  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  men  ? — A.  No,  sir;  I  merely  said  : 
"  Take  these  men  and  put  a  sentinel  over  them,  and  allow  nobody  to  interfere  with 
them."  I  cannot  state  what  my  object  was  in  saying  that.  They  occupied  a  some- 
what anomalous  position. 

Q.  Did  not  Mr.  Bliss  occupy  the  position  of  a  rescued  American  citizen,  who  had 
been  falsely  imprisoned  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it,  except  that  he  was  pnt 
aboard  the  ship. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  211 

ft 

Q.  Did  you  not  know  that  he  was  an  American  citizen,  and  that  the  object  of  yonr 
voyage  was  to  secure  his  release. — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  was  to  secure  him  for  the  govern- 
ment, which  I  did.  I  knew  that  the  admiral  had  said  that  he  would  hold  these  two 
men  subject  to  the  order  of  the  government  of  the  Uniied  States. 

Q.  Did  he  say  that  to  Lopez  ?— A.  I  do  not  know  that  he  said  that  to  Lopez.  That 
was  my  impression  in  receiving  these  two  men.  • 

Q.  I  thought  you  said  the  admiral  said  that  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  had  heard  it  said  that 
that  was  the  admiral's  intention.  I  regarded  these  men  as  subject  to  the  order  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  I  was  merely  an  agent  of  the  admiral,  and  they 
were  placed  in  my  hands  for  the  time  being, 

Q.  Had  you  received  any  information  in  regard  to  these  men  that  impressed  you  un- 
favorably ? — A.  I  thought  that  Bliss  was  an  outrageous  liar. 

Q.  What  reason  had  you  to  think  that  ? — A.  I  thought  from  hearing  these  declara- 
tions. He  made  some  statements  under  oath  in  them,  with  reference  to  letters  which 
he  said  Mr.  Washburn  had  written  to  me,  and  which  I  had  written  to  Mr.  Washburn. 
These  statements  were  utterly  untrue,  and  I  told  one  of  the  Paraguayan  ofiflcers  that 
that  fellow  was  a  liar. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  this  letter,  which  Mr.  Bliss  said  had  been  sent  you,  and  which  statement  you 
pronounced  a  lie,  implicate  you  in  the  conspiracy  in  any  way  ?— A.  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  did  or  not.  He  merely  stated  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  written  me  a  letter 
of  a  certain  date,  which  was  utterly  false.  I  think  he  said  that  the  letter  ordered  me 
to  go  to  Buenos  Ayres.  Mr.  Washburn  had  written  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  had  also 
seen  this  book  of  Bliss's  against  Mr.  Washburn,  which  I  threw  away  as  disgusting. 

Q.  Was  there  anything  iu  Bliss's  declaration,  which  was  read  in  your  presence,  that 
in  any  way  connected  you  with  the  consi>iracy  ? — A.  I  think  there  was  something  in 
this  declaration  saying  that  I  was  the  medium  of  communication  between  the  Para- 
guayan minister  and  Marshal  Caxias. 

Q.  Did  they  not,  at  that  time,  make  admissions  of  the  criminal  conspiracy  of  Mr. 
Washburn  ? — A.  I  think  they  did.  When  Bliss  came  in  to  make  these  declarations,  I 
recognized  him  as  the  former  private  tutor  of  General  Webb,  He  brought  Bliss  down 
from  Kio  Janeiro  to  Montevideo,  in  the  sloop-of-war  Jamestown,  and  took  him  up  to 
Buenos  Ayres.  General  Webb  told  me,  in  the  presence  of  the  first  lieutenant,  that 
this  man  Bliss  was  very  smart,  very  intelligent,  and  very  learned ;  but  that  he  was 
most  unprincii)led,  and  that  ho  Avas  afraid  his  company  would  contaminate  his 
children,  Mr.  Washburn  also  remarked,  more  than  once,  that  Bliss  was  a  walking 
eucyclopjedia  of  knowledge,  but  a  most  unprincipled  man.  I  was  not  very  much 
struck  with  Bliss's  ax)pearance,  and  from  these  things  I  had  heard  about  him,  I  did 
not  think  very  favorably  about  him. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Did  you  listen  attentively  to  these  declarations  while  they  were  being  read  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  understood  what  they  contained  ? — A.  I  understood  very  nearly  every  word 
that  was  read. 

Q.  Did  you  say  that  you  carried  the  original  communication  from  Admiral  Davis  to 
Lopez  ? — A.  Yes,  Lopez  told  me,  at  that  time,  that  these  men  would  be  delivered  up ; 
that  there  was  no  doubt  about  their  being  delivered  up. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  that  Lopez  would  deliver  these  men  up  unconditionally  ? — 
A.  Yes  ;  I  did. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Davis  understand,  after  he  received  the  reply  from  Lopez's  minis- 
ters, making  conditions,  that  these  conditions  could  not  be  granted  by  himself? — A.  I 
think  that  he  and  General  McMahon  both  read  the  letter  over,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  could  not  accept  any  condition  ;  that  the  men  must  be  delivered  up 
unconditionally.  I  was  present  during  most  of  these  consultations,  and  heard  a  great 
deal  of  talk  about  it. 

Q.  So  that  Admiral  Davis  did  not  treat  these  conditions  as  amounting  to  anything  ? — 
A.  No,  sir.    He  wrote  back  that  he  would  not  accejit  those  conditions. 

Q.  Did  he  write  any  other  letters  than  those  that  are  published  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  not 
that  I  kaow  of. 

Q  How  did  these  gentlemen  conduct  themselves  while  on  board  of  your  ship  ?— A. 
Very  quietly.  I  never  heard  anything  about  them,  one  way  or  the  other,  except  the 
day  after  they  came  on  board.  I  ordered  Surgeon  Gale  to  examine  them.  I  think  he 
said  that  Bliss  had  a  slight  diarrhcea,  probably  caused  by  loug  confinement  or  change 
of  food,  I  ordered  him  then  to  examine  the  persons  of  these  men,  to  see  whether  they 
had  been  subject  to  torture,  witli  a  view  of  entering  it  iu  the  log-book  of  tie  ship. 
The  doctor  reported  that  there  wore  no  signs  of  torture  about  them. 

Q.  Did  the  doctor  make  the  examination  ? — ^A.  He  so  reported  to  wa. 

Q.  Was  that  a  verbal  report  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 


212  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  state  that  there  was  no  communication  between  the  admiral  and  these 
gentlemen,  while  they  were  on  board.  Did  they  have  any  interview  witli  the  admiral? 
— A.  I  do  not  recollect  whether  they  did  or  not.  Probably  if  they  had  asked  an  inter- 
view with  the  admiral,  it  would  have  been  through  me. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  You  stated,  as  I  understood,  that  they  asked  an  interview  with  General  Mc- 
Mahon.— A.  I  believe  they  did.  I  have  it  so  in  my  mind.  Whether  I  got  it  from 
reading  the  memorial  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  or  whether  it  was  discussed  on  board 
the  ship,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  I  think  such  a  request  was  made,  and  that  the  general 
did  not  see  them  ;  but  what  his  answer  was,  or  anything  about  it,  I  cannot  state. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  All  the  information,  I  understood  you  to  say,  you  had  in  regard  to  Bliss,  you  ob- 
tained from  General  Webb  and  Mr.  Washburn,  and  from  the  book  which  was  circu- 
lated ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  this  declaration  he  made  before  me.  I  thought  that  that  was 
rather  cheeky,  to  make  such  a  statement  in  my  presence. 

Q.  You  had  no  evidence  outside  of  that  ? — A.  I  have  been  a  long  time  in  the  waters 
of  the  La  Plata,  and  I  heard  it  frequently  expressed  that  he  was  a  spy  of  Lopez,  in 
Washburn's  house,  and  that  he  would  betray  Lopez  as  soon  as  he  had  an  opportunity. 

Q.  Was  that  general  rumor  there  ? — A.  I  heard  it  on  several  occasions,  from  differ- 
ent parties.  The  general  impression  I  had  was,  that  he  would  not  tell  the  truth  to 
save  his  life ;  and  when  I  saw  that  book  which  he  published,  it  was  so  scandalous  that 
I  would  not  read  it. 

Q.  Who  published  that  book  ?— A.  I  cannot  tell  you.  General  McMalion  borrowed 
it  from  the  Italian  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  When  was  it  published  ? — A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Was  it  not  published  during  his  captivity  by  Lopez  ? — A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  see  the  book  ? — A.  General  McMahon  had  it.  He  brought  it 
up  from  Buenos  Ayres,  and  I  saw  it  lying  in  his  room.  I  picked  it  up  and  glanced 
over  it.    When  I  saw  the  nature  of  it  I  threw  it  aside. 

Q.  How  could  he  publish  it  when  he  was  in  imprisonment  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  any- 
thing about  that.  I  merely  say  that  he  published  it,  from  the  fact  that  his  name  was 
signed  to  it. 

By  Mr.  Swajsist  : 

Q.  You  state  that  you  consider  this  whole  proceeding  of  sending  you  and  Captain 
Ramsey  to  hear  these  declarations  read,  and  to  certify  to  the  fact,  as  a  piece  of  hum- 
bug ?— ^A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  by  that  to  reflect  on  Admiral  Davis  that  he  had  sent  you  when  there 
was  no  occasion  for  such  proceeding  ? — A.  O,  no  ;  I  would  have  done  exactly  the  same 
had  I  been  in  Admiral  Davis's  place.  It  was  done  to  humor  Lopez.  The  Paraguayans 
are  excessively  sharj)  about  some  things,  and  not  so  about  others.  They  think  they  know 
a  great  deal,  and  they  thought  by  having  the  signatures  of  two  officers  of  the  United 
States  to  these  declarations  they  would  be  worth  more  in  this  country.  I  knew  that 
it  would  not  be  worth  anything,  but  they  thought  so.  It  was  well  enough  to  humor 
them  ;  I  looked  upon  it  as  a  perfect  mummery. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  Admiral  Davis  was  bound  in  good  faith  to  receive  these  men 
on  board  and  take  them  to  the  United  States  according  to  the  terms  that  Lopez  asked  ? — 
A.  I  do  hot  think  that  he  was.  I  think  that  the  admiral  was  perfectly  right  in  taking 
these  men. 

Q.  The  point  I  want  to  get  at  is  this  :  Captain  Ramsay  stated  in  his  testimony  the 
day  before  yesterday  in  regard  to  allowing  these  prisoners  to  have  any  communication 
with  the  shore  that  it  was  bad  faith  with  Lopez  if  the  admiral  had  allowed  any  such 
intercourse ;  now  I  want  to  know  if  you  think  the  admiral  was  bound  in  good  faith  to 
carry  out  such  conditions  ? — A.  By  all  means. 

Q.  Why  ? — A.  He  had  brought  these  men  right  from  the  Paraguayan  camp,  and  to 
take  them  out  and  turn  them  loose  right  in  the  enemy's  camp,  I  should  think  a  breach 
of  good  faith  and  an  act  which  I  as  a  military  commander  would  not  like  to  have  prac- 
ticed on  me. 

Q.  Was  it  a  breach  of  good  faith  or  a  breach  of  the  condition  of  Lopez's  stipula- 
tions ? — A.  It  was  merely  a  matter  of  good  faith. 

Q.  Suppose  one  of  the  members  of  this  committee  were  in  Paraguay  and  sent  a  writ- 
ten order  to  the  admiral,  stating  that  he  was  confined  there,  unable  to  get  away,  and 
wanted  the  admiral  to  take  him  away,  and  he  was  taken  away  and  was  taken  on  board 
the  ship,  how  would  he  be  treated  ? — A.  I  cannot  answer  the  question  unless  I  know 
how  you  came  on  board. 

Q.  Suppose  we  had  appeared  on  the  bank  of  the  river  and  had  written  a  letter  to  the 
admiral  that  we  had  been  detained  by  Lopez  in  that  country  and  had  been  unable  to 
get  away ;  that  we  had  escaped  from  his  imprisonment,  and  that  we  were  American 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  2l3 

citizens  and  claimed  the  protection  of  the  American  flag,  and  the  admiral  had  received 
us  on  board,  would  'you  have  felt  it  your  duty  to  keep  us  under  guard  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  if 
you  had  escaped  from  the  Paraguayan  power,  and  came  to  the  beach,  so  that  I  could 
have  got  you  on  board  my  vessel  without  the  consent  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities, 
I  would  have  allowed  you  to  go  on  shore  anywhere  you  pleased ;  but  ifyou  came  on  board 
by  the  consent  of  Lopez,  it  was  then  another  thing ;  I  would  then  have  felt  it  in  good 
faith  not  to  have  allowed  you  to  communicate  with  his  enemies. 

Q.  So,  then,  you  treated  Bliss  and  Masterman  difterent  from  what  you  would  have 
treated  men  who  had  come  on  board  under  other  circumstances  than  they  did  ? — ^A. 
Yes,  sir ;  in  regard  to  landing  them.  I  regarded  the  fact  of  their  having  been  put  on 
board  by  the  Paraguayan  authorities  as  demanding  in  courtesy  from  us  that  they  should 
not  be  allowed  to  communicate  with  their  enemies. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Suppose  that  Lopez  had  surrendered  these  prisoners  into  the  hands  of  the  admi- 
ral unconditionally,  would  your  treatment  have  been  different  from  what  it  was  ? — ^A. 
Just  the  same,  with  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  orderly. 

Q.  That  is  to  say,  that  you  would  have  placed  them  in  the  same  mess  ? — A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Would  you  have  placed  them  in  charge  of  an  orderly  or  sentinel  ? — Q.  If  I  con- 
sidered them  as  being  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  United  States,  I  most  undoubtedly 
would  have  done  so. 

Q.  You  have  already  stated  that  you  knfew  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  been  members 
of  the  legation  in  Paraguay  prior  to  their  arrest  ? — A.  I  had  heard  so. 

Q.  Did  that  have  any  influence  in  regard  to  your  treatment  of  them? — A.  If  they 
had  been  secretaries  of  Mr.  Washburn's  legation,  or  prominent  members  of  it,  they 
would  have  been  allowed  to  mess  in  the  wardroom,  but  they  would  have  had  the  same 
place  to  sleep,  as  there  was  no  other  place  in  the  ship.  These  men,  howevei",  occupied 
subordinate  positions  in  the  legation,  and  I  put  them  in  the  petty  ofiicers'  mess,  among 
very  respectable  men,  one  of  them  an  apothecary,  too. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Suppose  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  arrested  at  the  same  time  that  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman were,  and  he  had  been  delivered  up  with  them  under  the  same  circumstances, 
would  you  have  prevented  his  having  intercourse  with  the  people  of  Buenos  Ayres"? — 
A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  would,  most  undoubtedly. 

By  Mr.  Wiixaud  : 
Q.  Mr.  Bliss,  in  his  testimony,  says  that  at  this  tribunal  one  of  the  Paraguayan  offi- 
cers sat  before  him  with  a  sword  in  his  hand  held  over  him  ? — A.  None  of  the  officers 
present  had  drawn  swords  ;  that  statement  is  utterly  false. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  said  that  this  treatment  you  extended  to  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  an  act  of 
courtesy  to  Lopez  ? — A.  What  treatment  ? 

Q.  The  preventing  them  from  commuuicating  with  the  shore. — A.  I  do  not  say  that 
it  was  a  courtesy  to  Lopez,  but  simply  common  courtesy  which  I  woul4  extend  to  any 
nation. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  any  nation  that  takes  citizens  from  under  the  American  flag, 
as  Lopez  did,  fe  entitled  to  any  courtesy  from  the  navy  ? — A.  As  far  as  my  judgment  of 
the  matter  goes,  I  think  that  these  men  should  have  staid  in  the  legation  of  the  United 
States  at  Asuncion. 

Q.  I  ask  you  if  you  think  there  is  any  courtesy  due  from  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  to  a  government  that  shall  violate  the  American  flag  by  seizing  an  American 
citizen  who  is  legally  under  the  protection  of  that  country,  as  Lopez  did  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman ?— A.  They  were  not  under  the  protection  of  that  flag,  so  far  as  my  judgment 
goes  ;  I  am  not,  however,  a  diplomat. 

Q.  Do  you  think  an  American  citizen,  under  the  protection  of  the  American  govern- 
ment in  any  foreign  mission,  the  moment  he  leaves  his  house  can  be  arrested  ?— A.  If 
he  commits  any  crime,  the  flag  does  not  protect  him  outside  of  the  legation. 

Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  read  to  you  a  paragraph  from  one  of  his  letters : 

"  Before  finally  leaving  Paraguay,  it  is  my  duty  to  make  my  solemn  protest  against 
the  arrest  of  those  two  members  of  my  legation,  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  and  George  F. 
Masterman.  Their  arrest  in  the  street,  as  they  were  going  with  me  from  the  legation 
to  pass  on  board  the  steamer,  was  as  gross  a  Violation  of  the  law  of  nations  as  would 
have  been  their  seizure  by  force  in  my  house.  It  was  an  act,  not  only  against  my  gov- 
ernment, but  against  all  civilized  powers,  and  places  Paraguay  outside  of  the  pale  of 
the  family  of  nations,  and  for  this  act  you  will  be  regarded  as  a  common  enemy,  one 
denying  allegltince  to  the  law  of  nations." 

Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  whether  you  agree  to  the  doctrine  laid  down  in  that 
paragraph  ? — A.  I  do  not  think  that  these  two  men  were  exempt  from  capture ;  as 
soon  as  they  went  out  in  the  streets  of  Asuncion  they  were  outside  of  the  legation. 


214  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  If  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  legal,  as  you  hold  that  it  was,  what 
right  had  the  American  government  to  demand  their,  release  ? — A.  The  strong  arm  of 
the  government ;  I  do  not  know,  in  fact,  that  it  had  any  right. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Then  your  opinion  is  that  if  the  Paraguayans  had  gone  into  the  house  and  ar- 
rested them  it  would  have  been  a  great  outrage  ? — A.  I  think  it  would  have  been  a 
casus  belli  at  once. 

Q.  By  going  out  of  the  house  with  Mr.  Washburn  they  were  liable  to  be  arrested  at 
once  ? — A.  I  think  so.  If  they  had  an  American  flag  in  their  hand,  it  might  make 
some  difference. 

Q.  Suppose  Lopez  had  arrested  Mrs.  Washburn  after  they  had  gone  out  of  the  door 
and  were  proceeding  toward  the  vessel  on  any  charge  he  might  make,  would  you  have 
considered  her  under  the  protection  of  the  flag  ? — ^A.  I  suppose  she  was  entitled  to  the 
same  protection  as  the  minister  himself. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  copy  of  the  Buenos  Ayres  Standard,  published  in  December 
last,  and  referred  to  in  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Duvall.  I  would  like  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  paragraph  in  noticing  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp. — A.  I  do  not  know  anything 
about  it. 

Q.  Younever  furnished  that  information  ? — A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not.  I  nevgr  furnished 
any  information  to  any  newspaper  or  reporter  in  my  life. 

Q.  Did  you  bring  with  you  from  Paraguay  copies  of  the  Paraguayan  newspapers 
containing  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you  give  them  to  persons  in  Buenos  Ayres? — A.  I  did;  I  gave  them  to  John 
F.  Gouland,  my  brother-in-law.  • 

Q.  Were  they  made  public  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  ;  I  would  not  be  8ui"prised  if  they 
were. 

Q.  Did  you  not  bring  any  private  letters  with  you? — A.  No,  sir;  I  brought  public 
letters  from  the  Italian  consul. 

Q.  Do  you  not  recollect  of  a  letter  to  George  D.  Stewart  ? — A.  I  think  now  that  I 
did  bring  a  letter  to  him. 

Q.  From  whom  did  you  receive  that  letter  ? — A.  I  think  it  was  fi-om  his  brother.  Dr. 
Stewart. 

Q.  Who  was  Dr.  Stewart  ? — A.  He  was  surgeon  in  the  Paraguayan  army. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  contents  of  the  letter? — A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Might  you  not,  by  doing  so,  have  assisted  the  Paraguayan  forces,  and  thus  inter- 
fered with  the  neutrality  which  you  said  you  desired  to  preserve  ?— A.  Well,  perhaps  I 
might. 

Q.  You  were  not  made  aware  of  the  contents  of  the  letter  ? — ^A.  I  do  not  think  I  was. 
I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  reading  letters.  If  it  was  open,  I  may  have  considered  that 
as  suflicient  guarantee  that  it  was  all  right.  This  Mr.  Stewart  was  engaged  in  a  large 
lawsuit  with  the  Argentine  Confederation  about  some  yerba.  I  had  known  him  up 
there,  and  had  been  to  his  house. 

Q.  Was  this  at  the  same  time  that  you  refused  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  land  at  Buenos 
Ayres? — ^A.  I  never  refused  Bliss  and  Masterman ;  they  never  asked  pernfission  to  land, 
or  to  communicate  with  anybody. 

Q.  Would  you  have  granted  permission? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  would  have  referred  it  to  the 
admiral. 

Q.  Was  this  Dr.  Stewart  a  member  of  Lopez's  staff? — A.  I  understood  that  he  was. 

Q.  Will  you  state  whether  you  had  any  prejudice  against  Mr.  Washburn,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  troubles  between  him  and  Admiral  Godon  f — A.  No,  sir  ;  I  thought  it  was 
a  free  fight  between  a  diplomat  and  an  American  admiral,  and  it  was  no  business  of 
mine  to  interfere. 

Q.  You  had  no  prejudice  either  for  or  against  Mr.  Washburn  ? — ^A.  No,  sir ;  I  had  not. 

Q.  Had  you  read  the  correspondence  which  Mr.  Washburn  had  with  Admiral  Go- 
don ? — A.  I  read  some  parts  of  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  relations  that  existed  between  Marshal  Caxias  and 
Mr.  Washburn? — A.  I  thmk  I  heard  Mr.  Washburn  ex^iress  himself  not  very  favorable 
to  Mr.  Caxias.  I  do  not  recollect  the  exact  words  he  used,  but  it  was  not  at  all  com- 
plimentary. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  Caxias's  feelings  toward  Mr.  Washburn  ? — ^A.  I  do  not 
know  anything  about  that. 

Q.  Did  you  and  Marshal  Lopez  have  any  conversation  about  this  conspiracy? — A.  I 
told  President  Lopez  that  I  did  not  believe  Mr.  Washburn  was  connected  with  any 
conspiracy ;  I  have  not  only  said  that  once,  but  repeated  it. 

Q.  Did  you  give  Lopez  any  reasons  for  that  belief? — A.  I  cannot  recollect,  but  I 
think  I  did.    I  think  I  said  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  Brazilians. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  215 

Q.  Did  you  say  anything  about  who  was  to  be  President,  or  who  was  to  be  Secretary 
of  State  here  ? — A. 'I  think  I  did  say  that  General  Grant  was  likely  to  be  President,  and 
Mr,  Washburn  would  stand  high  in  the  radical  party.  I  said  he  would  command  a 
great  deal  of  influence,  and  would  be  a  troublesome  man  to  deal  with. 

Q.  Did  you  say  that  General  Grant  would  probably  be  President,  and  that  Mr.  E.  B. 
Washburn  would  have  the  place  of  Mr.  Seward  ? — A.  I  may  have  said  that. 

Q.  Did  you  say  anything  about  monitors  or  irou-clads  that  were  on  the  coast  ? — A.  I 
think  I  did. 

Q.  Why  ? — A.  It  was  just  to  let  him  know  that  in  case  he  did  not  deal  fairly  with  us 
he  would  have  something  to  fear,  and  it  was  merely  to  scare  him, 

I  Q.  Did  you  regard  Mr.  Washburn  as  in  any  danger  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  never  did.  Mr. 
W^ashburn,  I  understood,  used  to  go  out  riding  on  horseback  from  Asuncion  everyday, 
and  it  would  have  been  a  very  easy  thing  for  Lopez  to  have  killed  him  any  time  he 
wanted ;  nobody  would  have'known  anything  about  it.  Lopez  needed  not  to  go  into 
his  house  and  take  him  and  put  him  in  prison. 

Q.  Had  you  any  evidence,  derived  from  any  person  outside  the  power  of  Lopez,  that 
there  was  at  any  time  a  conspiracy  against  his  government  ? — A.  It  was  a  subject  of 
general  report  down  there.  I  presume  there  was,  or  he  would  not  have  executed  sev- 
eral of  his  best  men. 

Q.  In  your  letter  (marked  "private")  to  Admiral  Davis  you  say  this:  "  Mr.  Wash- 
burn told  me  that  he  had  never  heard  anything  of  a  revolution  or  consjiiracy  against 
the  government;  but  on  one  occasion  Mrs.  Washburn,  when  her  husband  was  not  pres- 
ent, stated  there  was  a  plan  to  turn  Lopez  out  of  power,  and  to  put  in  his  place  his  two 
brothers,  Venancio  and  Benigno."  Please  state  the  circumstances  under  which  you  re- 
ceived this  information. — A.  It  was  on  the  passage  down  the  river,  two  or  three  days 
after  we  left  the  batteries.  Mrs.  Washburn  said  distinctly  that  there  was  no  con- 
spiracy, but  that  there  was  a  plan.  It  was  at  the  dinner-table.  Mr.  Washburn  had 
finished  his  dinner,  and  had  gone  out  for  something,  and  shortly  after  came  back.  This 
remark  struck  me  as  rather  singular,  and  I  Avrote  of  it  to  the  admiral.  I  know  that 
she  made  a  distinction  between  the  words  "  conspiracy"  and  "  plan." 

Q.  Was  any  person  present  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  a  Mr.  Davie  was  present. 

Q.  Who  was  he  ? — ^A.  He  went  up  with  me  as  an  interpreter  and  translator,  and  as- 
sisted me  in  writing. 

Q.  Did  Mrs.  Washburn,  at  the  time  and  in  connection  with  the  remarks  that  you 
have  just  stated,  say  that  there  was  no  conspiracy  ? — A.  Wo  were  speaking  of  Lopez 
and  the  country  and  the  people,  and  she  said  there  was  no  conspiracy,  but  that  there 
was  a  plan  to  turn  Lopez  out. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  so  state  in  your  letter  to  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  I  believe  it  is  so 
stated. 

Q.  Did  you  inform  Mr.  Washburn  of  what  Mrs.  Washburn  had  said  ? — A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  you  confer  with  him  about  it  ? — A.  No,  sir.  I  have  with  me  here  the  affida- 
vit of  Mr.  Davie,  in  reference  to  the  circumstances,  which  I  would  like  to  offer. 

Q.  What  is  Mr.  Davie's  business  ? — A.  He  is  a  sheep  farmer. 

Q.  Wliat  was  your  object  in  bringing  this  affidavit  with  you  ? — A.  So  as  to  be  pre- 
pared in  case  my  statement  should  be  denied. 

Q.  You  seemed  to  apprehend,  before  you  left  Montevideo,  that  it  would  be  denied. — 
A.  I  did  not  know  whether  it  would  or  not.  I  wished  to  be  provided  with  evidence  of 
the  correctness  of  my  report  in  case  it  should  be  doubted  by  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Did  you  bring  affidavits  in  regard  to  other  statements  in  the  report  ? — A.  No,  sir ; 
I  did  not-  I  have  brought  affidavits  of  other  parties  to  other  statements,  not  made, 
however,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Washburn,  but  which  are  connected  with  the  Para- 
guayan business.  It  is  in  regard  to  a  statement  made  by  General  Webb  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Washburn,  which  was  published  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Tribune  on  May  the 
5th,  in  which  I  am  accused  of  being  the  son-in-law  of  Lopez's  political  and  financial 
a^ent.  I  have  the  affidavit  of  my  father-in-law  that  he  was  in  nowise  connected  with 
hinn. 

"  Consulate  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
\  "  Montevideo,  July  9,  1869. 

"  On  the  day  of  the  date  hereof,  before  me,  the  undersigned,  consul  of  the  United 
States  of  America  for  Montevideo  and  its  dependencies,  personally  appeared  Charles  J. 
F.  Davie,  who  being  by  me  duly  sworn,  doj^oses  and  says :  That  being  on  board  the 
United  States  ship  Wasp  on  her  voyage  to  Paraguay,  with  approbation  of  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  United  States  squadron  on  the  station,  was  present  in  the  cap- 
tain's cabin  when  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn,  ex-United  States  minister  to  Para- 
guay, then  on  his  return  from  Asuncion,  stated  his  strong  wish  and  determination  to 
communicate  to  Marshal  Caxias,  the  Brazilian  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces 
in  operation  against  Paraguay,  all  the  information  he  was  possessed  of,  and  which  he 
might  have  obtained  in  his  official  capacity,  regarding  the  number  of  Marshal  Lopez's 
forces,  their  position  and  strength,  and  plan  of  operations,  requesting  Cai)tain  Kirk- 


216  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

land  to  stop  on  his  voyage  at  Humaita  to  allow  the  said  Mr.  Washburn  to  impart  this 
intelligence  to  Marshal  Caxias,  by  going  on  shore  to  his  military  camp  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  upon  which  Captain  Kirkland  refused  to  stop  the  vessel  for  any  such  pur- 
pose, and  stated  that,  in  event  of  his  being  required  to  do  so,  he  should  be  under  the 
necessity  of  communicating  the  case  and  reporting  Mr.  Washburn  to  his  government. 
Was  also  present  at  table,  on  another  and  subsequent  occasion,  when,  Mr.  Washburn 
having  left  the  table,  Mrs.  Washburn  alluded  ^o  the  revolutionary  plan  against  Presi- 
dent Lopez,  which  she  and  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  cognizant  of,  to  upset  Lopez's  gov- 
ernment, and  to  put  one  of  his  brothers,  Benigno  and  Veuancio  Lopez,  in  his  place. 

"  CHAELES  J.  F.  DAVIE. 

"  Sworn  and  subscribed  to,  this  ninth  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1869,  before  me. 
[SEAL.  ]  "J.  DONALDSON  LONG, 

"  United  States  CmsulP 


Testimony  of  Mrs.  "Wasliburn, 

New  York,  October  2%  1869. 
Mrs.  CiiAELES  A.  Washburn  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Captain  Kirkland,  of  the  navy  ? — Answer.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Where  did  you  make  his  acquaintance  ? — A.  First  at  Rio  Janeiro. 

Q.  Where  did  you  meet  him  afterward  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  whether  I  saw  him 
at  Buenos  Ay  res  before  we  went  to  Paraguay. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  him  in  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  met  him  on  my  return. 

Q.  What  time  was  that  ? — A.  In  September,  1868,  I  think. 

Q.  You  and  your  husband  were  guests  on  board  the  Wasp  ? — A.  Yes. 

Q.  Captain  Kirkland  was  a  witness  before  this  committee,  and  this  passage  occurs 
in  his  testimony  :  "  Question.  In  your  letter  (marked  '  private')  to  Admiral  Davis  you 
say  this  :  *  Mr.  Washburn  told  me  that  he  had  never  heard  anything  of  a  revolution  or 
conspiracy  against  the  government ;  but  on  one  occasion  Mrs.  Washburn,  when  her 
husband  was  not  present,  said  that  there  was  a  plan  to  turn  Lopez  out  of  power,  and 
to  put  in  his  place  his  two  brothers,  Venancio  and  Benigno.'  Please  state  the  circum- 
stances under  which  you  received  this  information  ? — Answer.  It  was  on  the  passage 
down  the  river,  two  or  three  days  after  we  left  the  batteries.  Mrs.  Washburn  said 
distinctly  that  there  was  no  conspiracy,  but  that  there  was  a  plan.  I  said  nothing  to 
her  about  it  after  this  remark.  We  were  at  dinner,  and  Mr.  Washburn  had  finished 
his  dinner  and  had  gone  out  for  something,  but  shortlj'"  afterward  eame  back.  The 
remark  of  Mrs.  Washburn  struck  me  as  rather  singular,  and  I  wrote  of  it  to  the  ad- 
miral." Please  state  your  recollection  of  that  conversation. — A.  I  do  not  remember 
ever  to  have  had  any  conversation  with  him  about  it,  more  than  that  we  were  all 
conversing  about  the  conspiracy.  I  could  not  have  said  that  there  was  a  plan  or  con- 
spiracy, because  I  did  not  then  believe  it ;  but  I  may  have  said  that  at  one  time  we 
may  have  supposed  there  was,  because  of  the  arrest  of  people,  &c.  I  did  not  then  be- 
lieve that  there  was  a  conspiracy,  and,  of  course,  could  not  have  said  there  was  one.  I 
do  not  remember  definitely  what  occujred  on  the  voyage,  as  I  was  very  nervous  and 
Buffered  a  great  deal. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  conversing  about  this  matter  at  any  other  time  ? — A.  We  con- 
versed on  this  subject  all  the  way  down.    It  was  the  thing  ujipermost  in  our  minds. 

Q.  You  do  not  remember  having  said  at  any  time  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  or 
plan  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Had  you  then  reason  to  believe  that  you  w^ould  not  have  been  permitted  to  leave 
Paraguay  had  you  remained  much  longer  ? — A.  I  did  so  believe.  I  think  if  we  had 
remained  one  week  longer  Mr.  Washburn  would  have  been  in  Lopez's  hands,  and  I 
would  have  been  sent  barefoot  over  the  mountains. 

Q.  Were  you  acquainted  with  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Were  they  in  your  house  at  the  time  you  left  and  for  some  time  previously  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir.  Mr.  Masterman  was  our  private  physician,  and  Mr.  Bliss  was  interpreter  to 
the  legation. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  approving  the  course  pursued  by  Mr. 
Washburn  in  leaving  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  think  they  approved  of  his  course  entirely,  be- 
cause we  all  supposed  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  be  taken  any  way,  as  they  had 
no  passports. 

Q.  Were  passports  refused  them  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  The  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Wash- 
burn was  fully  understood  by  them. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Admiral  Davis  ?— A.  I  met  him  twice. 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  217 

Q.  Wliere  did  you  first  meet  him  ? — A.  In  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  On  your  return  from  Asuncion  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Wliat  was  Admiral  Davis  doinj;  there  at  that  time  ? — A.  He  came  up  with  Gen- 
eral McMahon.  I  do  not  know  what  for,  but  I  presume  to  see  the  minister  resident 
there. 

Q.  What  was  the  name  of  his  vessel  f — A.  The  flag-ship  Guerriere. 

Q.  Were  you  and  Mr.  Washburn  invited  by  Admiral  Davis  at  any  time  to  go  on 
board  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  never. 

Q.  Did  the  adiuiral  know  of  your  being  there  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  because  he  met  Mr. 
Washburn  on  shore. 

Q.  Was  it  a  matter  of  surprise  to  you  that,  under  the  circumstances.  Admiral  Davie 
did  not  invite  you  and  your  husband  on  board  his  vessel  ? — A.  It  was.  I  thought  he 
treated  us  with  great  discourtesy.  We  spoke  of  it  when  we  reached  Rio  Janeiro  to 
General  Webb  and  Mrs.  Webb.  We  thought  that  under  the  circumstances  we  were 
entitled  to  that  consideration. 


Testimony  of  Ron.  Martin  T.  McMahon. 

Washingtox,  D.  C.,  Noveviher  4, 1869. 
Hon.  Martin  T.  McMahon  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  position  under  the  government  have  you  recently  filled  ? — Answer. 
The  position  of  minister  resident  of  the  United  States  near  the  goverrunent  of  Para- 
guay. 

Q.  When  did  you  receive  your  appointment,  and  when  did  you  leave  for  your  post? — 
A.  I  received  my  appointment,  I  think,  about  the  end  of  June  or  the  first  i)art  of  July, 
1868.    I  started  for  Paraguay  on  the  24th  of  September  of  the  same  year. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  reach  Rio  ? — A.  I  cannot  give  the  exact  date  without  re- 
ferring to  memoranda — in  about  twenty-six  or  twenty-eight  days'  time  after  leaving 
here. 

Q.  What  mode  of  conveyance  had  you  from  Rio  to  Paraguay  T — A.  I  went  from  Rio  to 
Montevideo  on  the  flag-ship  Guerriere  ;  from  Montevideo  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  a  private 
packet  ship  ;  and  from  Buenos  Ayres  I  Avcnt  to  Paraguay  on  the  United  States  steamer 
Wasp,  which  was  then  the  flag-ship  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  having  Admiral 
Davis  on  board. 

Q.  Who  w;is  in  command  of  the  Guerriere  ? — A.  Captain  Woolsey  was  in  command 
of  the  Guerriere,  and  Admiral  Davis  in  command  of  the  squadron. 

Q.  Were  you  invited  by  Admiral  Davis  to  take  passage  on  his  vessel  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  had  made  no  request  of  him  prior  to  being  invited  by  him  ? — A.  No  ;  because 
I  was  accompanied  by  my  family,  and  I  was  under  the  impression  that  I  would  have  to 
go  on  a  packet  and  meet  the  Admiral  at  Montevideo.  I  accepted  his  invitation  con- 
ditionally— that  if  I  could,  I  would  make  arrangements  to  send  my  family  to  Monte- 
video by  private  i^acket. 

Q.  Did  your  family  accompany  you  to  Montevideo  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  Afterward  the 
admiral  made  arrangements  for  them  on  the  flag- ship  Guerriere;  but  as  the  accommo- 
dations on  the  Wasp  were  insufficient  for  so  large  a  party,  I  took  my  sisters  from 
Montevideo  to  Buenos  Ayres  on  a  jiacket-ship,  and  rejoined  the  admiral  at  the  latter 
place  on  the  Wasp,  my  sisters  remaining  in  Buenos  Ayres.  My  family  consisted  of  my 
three  sisters.    I  have  no  wife. 

Q.  At  what  point  in  Paraguay  did  you  land  ? — A.  At  Angostura. 

Q.  Had  you  any  difficulty  in  passing  through  the  lines  of  the  allies  ? — A.  None  what- 
ever. Permission  had  been  obtained  for  me  to  pass,  by  Mr.  Worthington,  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  prior  to  my  arrival  there. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  reach  Angostura? — A.  It  was  in  the  beginning  of  Decem- 
ber, 1868. 

Q.  Did  you  and  Admiral  Davis  have  any  consultations  during  your  passage  from  Rio 
to  xVngostura,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  you  should  proceed,  upon  your  arrival  there  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir ;  frequent  consultations. 

Q.  State  what  they  were,  and  what  conclusions  you  arrived  at  ?— A.  Upon  my  first 
interview  with  Admiral  Davis,  I  found  we  both,  after  profound  reflection,  had 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  as  to  the  necessity  of  my  going  to  Paraguay  accompanied 
by  a  naval  force.  The  admiral  informed  me  that'^only  four  vessels  of  the  squadron 
could  ascend  the  river,  but  that  if  I  thought  it  advisable,  he  would  transfer  his  flag  to 
one  of  the  smaller  vessels,  and  proceed  with  me.  I  told  him  I  thought  it  advisable  to 
make  as  imposing  a  display  as  possible,  and  that  I  would  regard  his  presence  as  im- 
portant.   I  cannot  give  our  subsequent  conversations  in  detail ;  but  I  was  li  ving  with 


218  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

him,  at  his  tahle,  and  wo  talked  these  matters  over  frequently.  I  explained  to  the  ad- 
miral that  I  thought  if  this  Bliss  and  Masterman  matter  could  be  arranged  satisfac- 
torily in  such  a  way  that,  while  maintaining  the  honor  of  the  government,  the  necessity 
of  sending  an  expedition  to  Paraguay  could  he  obviated,  and  a  war,  in  which  there 
was  certainly  no  credit  to  be  gained,  averted,  it  would  be  a  very  desirable  thing  to  do, 
and  that,  for  my  part,  1  was  most  anxious,  on  that  account,  to  proceed  in  the  matter 
without  waiting  instructions  from  the  government ;  so  that  if  we  could  possibly  ar- 
range it  as  we  hoped,  even  though  I  might  act  contrary  to  the  subsequent  advices  of 
the  government,  I  was  willing  their  censure  should  fall  on  me,  because,  at  the  same 
time,  the  qiiestion  would  be  settled.  The  admiral  agreed  with  me  in  this  view,  and 
thought  it  desirable  to  take  this  action.  At  that  time  there  was  great  excitement  in 
every  part  of  South  America  on  this  subject,  and  a  very  natural  feeling  and  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  allies  that  complications  should  arise  between  the  United  States  and 
Paraguay,  and  produce  a  rupture.  I  felt  pretty  certain  there  would  be  some  feeling  of 
excitement  in  the  United  States  upon  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  seizure  of  these 
two  men  ;  but  I  felt  confident  that  they  would  be  delivered  to  us  upon  our  demand, 
and  I  was  afraid  that  perhaps  the  instructions  of  the  government,  being  based  upon 
insufficient  information,  might  order  some  more  violent  proceeding,  in  such  a  way  that 
a  peaceable  settlement  would  be  out  of  the  question.  I  was  anxious,  therefore,  to  pro- 
ceed without  waiting  for  further  instructions.  In  this  the  admiral  thought  I  was 
acting  wisely  ;  and  we  then  discussed  the  mode  in  which  we  should  proceed  npon  our 
arrival  at  Angostura.  We  both  were  of  conviction,  derived  from  reading  the  cor- 
respondence interchanged  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  Paraguayan  government,  as 
well  as  from  other  very  evident  reasons,  that  Lopez  could  have  no  desire  for  a  ruptiu'e 
with  the  United  States,  and  therefore  he  would  deliver  these  men  when  demanded. 
We  also  discussed  the  propriety  of  my  making  the  demand  for  their  release,  as  I  had 
already  informed  the  admiral  that  it  was  not  my  intention  to  resume  diplomatic  rela- 
tions on  the  part  of  my  government  with  Paraguay,  until  Bliss  and  Masterman  had 
been  delivered  on  board  the  flag-ship.  Then  the  question  arose  how  the  demand  waste 
be  made,  and  we  agreed  it  was  more  proper  for  the  admiral  to  make  it.  It  was  accord- 
ingly made  by  the  admiral  in  his  own  name.  In  adopting  this  view  of  the  case,  that  the 
admiral  should  make  the  demand,  I  acted  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  Mr.  Webb, 
our  minister  at  Brazil,  who  also  strenuously  advised  me,  first,  not  to  go  beyond  Eio  or 
Buenos  Ayres ;  that  the  country  would  be  disgraced  if  I  did ;  also,  that  we  were  in  a 
state  of  war  with  Paraguay,  and  that,  as  I  had  no  authority  to  make  peace,  I  had  no 
right  to  go  to  Paraguay ;  that  my  instructions  from  my  government  were  abrogated  by 
the  then  existing  state  of  war — in  which  ojoinions,  however,  I  did  not  concur.  He  told 
me,  however,  (and  in  this  I  adopted  his  advice,  as  I  have  stated,)  that  I  could  hold  no 
communication  direct  with  Lopez  until  I  had  delivered  my  credentials.  I  found  out 
afterwards,  however,  when  my  instructions  arrived,  that  this  was  the  only  point  con- 
nected with  my  proceedings  wherein  the  steps  actually  taken  diflJered  from  those  I  was 
instructed  to  take,  as  the  department  instructed  me  to  conduct  the  correspondence 
myself. 

Q.  What  instructions  did  you  receive  from  the  State  Department  when  you  left 
here  ? — A.  My  instructions  were  to  proceed  to  Paraguay,  stopping  long  enough  at  Eio 
to  communicate  with  Mr.  Webb,  our  minister  there,  and  at  Buenos  Ayres  to  communi- 
cate with  our  minister  at  that  place,  and  at  Montevideo,  Avith  the  United  States  consul, 
to  ascertain  from  these  gentlemen  if  the  apprehended  military  obstacles  to  my  passage 
up  the  river  were  removed,  upon  the  part  of  those  allied  governments,  and  then  to  pro- 
ceed to  Paraguay.  I  received,  also,  another  letter  of  instructions,  with  regard  to  the 
political  conduct  of  my  mission,  stating  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  Paraguay ;  that  while  the 
government,  in  the  exercise  of  its  recognized  policy  of  non-intervention,  was  not  dis- 
posed to  question  the  right  of  any  nation,  with  whom  it  had  treaty  connections,  to 
carry  on  war  as  it  thought  best,  it,  nevertheless,  deplored  the  war  on  the  La  Plata,  and 
that  it  took  a  special  interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  South  American  states,  and 
would  be  gratified  to  see  the  termination  of  the  war,  &c. — general  instructions  to  that 
effect. 

Q.  When  and  where  were  you  first  advised  of  the  arrest  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  ? — A.  It  is  hard  to  say.  When  I  arrived  at  Para,  I  heard  that  there  had  been  very 
strange  doings  in  Paraguay  ;  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  shot ;  that  the  French  con- 
sul and  a  great  number  of  others  had  also  been  shot.  At  Pernainbuco,  I  think,  the  news 
was  contradicted,  with  regard  to  Mr.  Washburn,  but  there  were  reports  of  a  similar 
character  in  regard  to  other  foreigners.  But  I  think  it  was  at  Eio  that  I  received  the 
first  reliable  intelligence. 

Q.  Had  you  any  instructions  from  the  State  Department  to  call  upon  Mr.  Webb  at 
Eio  ? — A.  Only  for  the  purpose  to  which  I  have  alluded  ;  to  ascertain  from  him  if  the 
apprehended  military  obstacles  to  my  passage  up  the  river,  on  the  part  of  the  Biazilian 
government,  were  removed;  upon  no  other  subject  whatever.  Mr.  Webb  has  stated  in 
his  published  correspondence,  that  I  was  directed  to  consult  with  him  for  the  pur- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  219 

pose  of  receiving  instructions.  That  statement  is  not  consistent  with  the  facts.  I  was 
directed  to  communicate  witli  him  on  the  i)oint  I  have  mentioned  only.  My  instruc- 
tions were  simply  a  review  of  what  had  previously  occurred  respecting  the  difficulties 
in  regard  to  the  passage  of  the  Wasp  up  the  river  to  bring  Mr.  Washburn  away,  and 
tlien  a  direction  to  proceed,  and  as  to  the  mode  in  which  I  should  proceed — if  possible, 
by  private  conveyance.  (These  instructions  are  contained  in  the  letters  published  in 
Senate  Executive  Document  5,  fortieth  Congress,  third  session,  pages  101  and  102.) 

Q.  Your  letter  of  instructions  says:  "  You  will,  however,  stop  at  Rio  long  enough  to 
communicate  with  Mr.  Webb,  and  also  at  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres,  to  communi- 
cate with  the  consulate  and  legation  at  those  places,  and  to  ascertain  whether  the  mil- 
itary obstacles  to  your  voyage  up  the  river,  which  were  heretofore  apprehended,  have 
been  removed."  You  construed  that  part  of  your  instructions  to  ajiply  simply  to  the 
military  instructions — nothing  else? — A  Yes,  sir;  to  nothing  else.  I  am  directed, 
afterward,  to  show  this  letter  to  Mr.  Webb  and  to  Mr.  Worthington  and  to  Admiral 
Davis,  and  to  say  that  the  diplomatic  question  is  not  discussed  therein. 

Q.  You  did  not,  then,  understand  that  you  were  to  consult  with  Mr.  Webb  about  any 
matters  that  had  come  to  his  knowledge,  with  regard  to  Paraguay,  that  had  not  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  State  Department  here? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Whatever  Mr.  Webb  suggested  to  you,  thou,  you  regarded  simply  as  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  private  individual? — A.  Yes,  sir*  as  coming  from  a  gentleman  of  high  diplo- 
matic position,  but  not  such  as  to  govern  my  conduct  necessarily.  An;l  in  making  that 
statement,  I  am  fully  sustained  by  tlie  department,  for  I  was  also  instnictod  to  com- 
municate with  the  consulate  and  legation  at  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres,  in  the 
same  sentence  in  which  I  am  instructed  to  comnmuicate  with  Mr.  Webb;  and  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  their  suggestions  should  be  regarded  by  mo  as  my  rule  of  conduct. 

Q.  I  understand  that,  prior  to  your  arrival  at  Angostura-,  you  and  Admiral  Davis  had 
fully  agreed  as  to  the  course  which  both,  or  either  of  you,  should  take. — A.  Yes,  sir : 
fully. 

Q.  And  that  was,  that  you  should  not  present  your  credentials  until  after  the  release 
of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman. — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  that  you  should  have  nothing  to  do  in  the  matter  of  their  release  ?— A.  Yes, 
sir  ;  except  that  I  was  present  with  the  admiral  co-operating  in  that  demand. 

Q.  Your  presence  was  made  known  to  Lopez? — A.  Yes,  sir;  and  I  remember, in  talk- 
ing this  matter  over,  and  believing  in  Lopez's  desire  to  maintain  friendly  relations 
wdth  the  government  of  the  United  States,  we  thought  the  fact  that  a  new  minister 
had  been  appointed  to  represent  that  government  would  have  weight  with  him  in  hia 
decision.  But  Lopez  expressly  states  in  his  letter  that  at  no  time  did  he  mean  not  to 
deliver  these  men  up  unreservedly. 

Q.  You  have  already  stated  that  you  felt  confident  that  these  men  would  bo  delivered 
up  on  demand.  Give  to  the  committee  the  grounds  of  your  confidence. — A.  It  was 
simply  this :  that  Lopez  could  not  afford,  at  that  present  moment,  to  involve  himself 
in  a  quarrel  with  the  United  States ;  that  he  must  necessarily  know  that  these  men 
would  be  demanded  by  the  United  States,  and  he  must  have  made  np  his  mind  to 
deliver  them  when  demanded.  That  was  the  chief  ground  on  which  I  based  my  belief. 
Moreover,  from  the  fact  that  in  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Washburn  he  had  on  so 
many  repeated  occasions  expressed  great  anxiety  to  preserve  friendly  relations  with 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  that  in  all  his  intercourse  with  Mr.  Wash- 
burn he  had  treated  hmi  in  his  capacity  as  minister  with  the  utmost  respect,  even  to 
sending  him  away  in  a  Paraguayan  man-of-war  down  the  river,  sending  his  baggage 
and  equipage  on  board  by  Paraguayan  servants,  furnishing  him  with  carts  to  carry  it 
in,  and  preserving  throughout  all  the  correspondence  the  utmost  respect  for  him 
officially,  except  in  one  unimportant  instance,  the  only  case  where  discourtesy  was 
exhibited  toward  Mr.  Washburn — where  the  minister  of  foreign  afiairs  implied  a  direct 
contradiction  of  Mr.  Washburn's  words.  These  things,  of  course,  confirmed  me  in  my 
belief  of  his  desire  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  my  government. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  K  you  reasoned  from  these  things,  how  did  you  account  for  Lopez  arresting 
Bliss  ?— -A.  That  involves  the  gist  of  the  whole  correspondence.  Mr.  Washburn  claimed 
that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  members  of  his  legation ;  Lopez  denied  tl:at  they  were. 
The  correspondence  proceeded  on  that  basis  all  the  way  through.  There  was  much 
argument  on  both  sides  whether  they  were  or  not.  The  Paraguayan  government 
claimed  that  the  alleged  connection  of  these  men  with  the  legation  was  not  one  of  good 
faith,  but  intended  merely  to  shield  them  from  arrest ;  nevertheless,  while  Bliss  and 
Masterman  remained  in  the  legation  under  the  protection  of  the  flag,  there  was  never 
any  disposition  to  touch  them,  as  is  shown,  I  think,  fully  in  the  correspondence. 

Q.  Were  they  not  under  the  flag  when  they  started  out  in  the  streets  with  Mr.  Wash- 
burn?—A.  I  think  not.  Mr.  Washburn  had  accepted  the  condition  that  Bliss  should 
confine  himself  to  the  legation  to  avoid  arrest,  thereby  placing  him  on  a  footing  wholly 
incoDsiatent  with  the  character  of  an  attach^.    He  had  been  notified  that  Bliss  was  not 


220  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

recognized  as  one  of  the  servants  of  tlie  legation,  and,  therefore,  if  found  outside  of  tho 
legation  he  would  be  arrested.  My  impression  of  the  fact  is,  that  Bliss  and  Masterman 
■were  left  by  Mr.  Washburn  to  follow  him,  and  that  they  were  arrested  in  the  street 
while  following  him.  It  is  very  certain,  as  you  will  see  by  his  letter,  that  when  Mr. 
Washburn  received  his  passports  from  the  Paraguayan  government  for  himself  and  the 
members  of  his  family  and  his  private  secretary  and  servants,  with  the  statement  that 
passports  would  not  be  furnished  for  Bliss  and  Masterman,  Mr.  Washburn  accepted 
passports  for  himself  and  the  others,  replied,  thanking  the  government  for  them,  and 
informed  them  that  he  would  be  ready  to  start  to-morrow.  I  consider  that  as  being 
a  consent  that  Bliss  or  Masterman  should  remain,  or  as  waiving  the  question  of  their 
accompanying  him  away.  When  they  were  seized,  moreover,  in  tho  street,  Mr.  Wash- 
burn made  neither  protest  nor  objection,  but  continued  on  his  way  to  the  steamer. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Do  you  know  how  long  an  interval  intervened  before  Bliss  and  Masterman  fol- 
lowed Washburn? — A.  I  do  not;  but  I  derived  the  impression  from  reading  in  some 
newspaper  a  statement  of  Bliss  or  Masterman,  sajang  that  they  waited  until  the 
minister  was  ont  of  sight.  I  am  not  positive  about  that,  as  I  paid  but  little  attention 
to  it  at  the  time.  1  nave  also  an  impression,  from  reading  Mr.  Washburn's  testimony, 
that  they  followed  him  "  a  little  distance  behind,"  I  believe.  I  have  also  an  impression 
that  the  Italian  and  French  consuls  walked  on  each  side  of  Mr.  Washburn  going  down 
the  street. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  But  how  did  you  account  for  Lopez  arresting  Bliss  and  Masterman,  if,  as  you 
thought,  he  was  desirous  of  preserving  friendly  relations  with  the  government  of  the 
United  States  ? — A.  I  thought  that  his  action  rested  ou  what  he  believed  the  rights  of 
his  government  demanded  ;  and  therefore  he  detained  these  men. 

Q.  What  change  had  taken  place  then,  that  induced  him  to  give  them  up? — A.  That 
is  not  for  me  to  explain  ;  but  I  presume  ho  would  attach  more  weight  to  a  request 
made  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  directly,  than  to  the  point  upon  Avhich 
he  and  Mr.  Washburn  disagreed  about  the  law.  If  he  found  the  government  of  the 
United  States  sustained  Mr.  Washburn's  position,  he  would  undoubtedly  give  up  the 
men.  He  disputed  with  Mr.  Washburn  about  their  position,  and,  of  course,  naturally 
enough  desired  to  maintain  his  point  as  against  Mr,  Washburn.  He  maintains  in  his 
correspondence  that  Mr.  Washburn  has  acted  contrary  to  the  principles  of  international 
law,  and  that  Mr.  Washburn's  government  will  not  support  him.  When,  therefore, 
this  demand  is  made  by  a  new  minister,  and  made  in  that  form  wherein  discussion  is 
waived  as  to  the  character  and  capacity  of  the  men — a  simple  demand  made  for  their 
release — he  feels  that  he  must  deliver  them  up  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  he  delivered 
them  up,  is  simply  confiding  the  whole  question  to  the  ultimate  decision  of  the  Ameri- 
can government. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  you  felt  they  would  be  delivered  on  demand,  and  have 
giyen  your  reasons  for  thus  thinking.  Did  you  know  at  that  time  for  what  reasoii 
they  had  been  arrested? — A.  Only  from  reading  the  correspondence  between  Mr. 
Washburn  and  the  Paraguayan  government. 

Q.  You  were  in  possession  of  that  correspondence  prior  to  your  arrival  at  Asuncion  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir :  at  Rio. 

Q.  You  ifere  then  aware  that  they  were  arrested  as  criminals,  by  Loi)ez  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Why,  then,  did  you  suppose  that  Lopez,  regarding  them  as  criminals,  would  de- 
liver them  up  ? — A.  I  took  this  ground :  Mr.  Washburn  claimed  that  these  men  were 
seited  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  his  legation.  It  was  not  proper  for  me  to  go  behind 
his  declaration,  and  I  felt  that  it  was  my  duty  to  demand  their  delivery,  on  the  strength 
of  Mr.  Washburn's  declaration.  I  believed,  also,  that  Lopez  would  not  be  willing  to 
involve  himself  in  the  serious  consequences  which  might  follow  from  a  refusal  to  yield 
to  a  demand  made  as  this  one  was,  although  he  might  at  first  have  believed  that  the 
government  of  the  United  States  would  disapprove  of  Mr.  Washburn's  course. 

Q.  You  supposed,  then,  that  Lopez,  holding  these  persons  as  criminals,  violators  of 
his  law,  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  for  his  overthrow,  and  believing  that  they  were 
guilty,  would,  nevertheless,  deliver  them  on  the  demand  of  the  American  minister,  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  members  of  the  legation  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  because  they  were 
only  subject  to  trial  in  the  United  States,  as  members  of  the  legation. 

Q.  Upon  your  arrival  at  Angostura,  the  correspondence  relating  to  their  release  was 
conducted  entirely  by  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  When  did  you  fir«t  see  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  I  never  saw  them,  ex- 
cept I  saw  Masterman  once,  from  the  bridge  of  the  steamer. 

Q.  You  were  on  board  the  Wasp  when  they  arrived  as  prisoners  ?— A.  Yes,  sir. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  221 

Q.  And  were  aware  of  their  presence  on  board,  prior  to  your  presenting  your  creden- 
tials ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  express  any  desire  to  see  them  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  they  express  any  desire  to  see  you  ?— A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of ;  because  1 
remember  saying,  that  in  case  they  wanted  to  see  me,  to  send  them  up.  I  had  no  de 
sire  to  see  them,  partly  because  I  had  very  little  respect  for  Mr.  Bliss's  character.  1 
had  received,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  a  copy  of  a  most  scurrilous  book,  written  by  Mr.  Bliss, 
against  Mr.  Washburn,  abusing  and  slandering  him  in  the  most  shameless  terms.  I 
had  learned  in  Buenos  Ayres,  moreover,  from  very  many  people  there,  (American  citi- 
zens, chiefly,)  that  Bliss  was  not  a  reliable  person  ;  and,  in  fact,  that  no  reliance  could 
be  placed  in  any  statement  of  his.  I  had  also  questioned  Mr.  Washburn  as  to  Bliss's 
character,  and  ho  confined  his  information  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Bliss  was  an  extraordi- 
nary encyclopcedia  of  knowledge,  but  would  not,  in  any  manner,  vouch  for  his  relia- 
bility. I  therefore  felt  that  whatever  statements  Mr.  Bliss  might  make  I  could  not 
rely  upon,  and  that  the  question  was  then  placed  in  such  an  attitude  that  the  whole 
matter  was  referred  to  the  United  States  government  for  its  decision  at  home.  I  waS 
not  then  acting  as  minister  to  Paraguay,  not  having  presented  my  credentials  ;  and 
these  men  were  delivered  on  board  the  AVasp  with  the  understanding  that  they  were 
to  be  sent  to  the  United  States,  together  with  all  the  papers  connected  with  their 
case,  which  were  forwarded  through  Admiral  Davis,  addressed  to  the  Secretary  oi 
State.  Consequently,  I  felt  that  nothing  I  could  do  or  say  in  the  matter  would  be  of 
any  service  to  them  or  the  government ;  that  the  whole  question  in  its  entirety  was 
to  be  presented  to  the  authorities  in  Washington,  and  whatever  course  the  government 
might  take  I  was  ready  to  pursue,  when  I  received  instructions  on  that  point.  I  liavo 
seen  a  statement  published  by  one  of  these  gentlemen,  that  I  said  that  when  I  wanted 
to  see  them  I  would  send  for  them.  I  never  sent  such  a  message  to  them,  and  I  do  not 
believe  any  such  answer  was  returned  to  them.  I  am  certain  I  never  made  it.  I  only 
remember  the  impression  which  I  then  had,  which  was,  that  if  these  gentlemen  wanted 
to  see  me  I  would  be  glad  to  see  them.  But  1  felt  I  did  not  care  to  give  them  any 
more  importance  than  they  had  already  attained,  by  sending  for  them,  inasmuch  as 
they  could  not  communicate  to  me  anything  upon  which  I  could  take  action  without 
further  instructions  from  my  government.  I  prefeiTed  that  the  question  should  go  to 
Washington  in  its  entirety,  with  the  parties  themselves. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  But  would  you  not  think,  ordinarily,  that  the  American  minister  ought  to  have 
communication  with  American  citizens  who  had  been  wronged  ? — A.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  I  should  think  so.  If  his  having  communication  with  them  could  be 
the  basis  of  any  official  action  on  his  part,  he  should  communicate  with  them.  But, 
after  thinking  the  matter  over  with  much  care,  I  could  not  see  how  any  communica- 
tion Bliss  might  make  to  me,  taken  in  the  face  of  his  declarations,  and  the  other 
papers  Avhich  were  to  be  sent  to  Washington,  could  bo  in  any  manner  the  basis  of  my 
official  action. 

By  Jklr.  Sw.vNN : 

Q.  Had  you  any  knowledge  of  Mr.  Masterman  ? — A.  I  did  not  know  him  at  all  at 
that  time.  I  knew  that  he  was  not  an  American  citizen.  The  only  unfavorable  thing 
against  Masterman  that  I  ever  heard,  was  a  statement  made  by  Air.  Washburn  to  me, 
iu  which  he  used  the  expression — referring  to  Masterman — "  the  notorious  liar,"  or 
some  expression  of  similar  import.  I  think  that, was  in  reference  to  Masterman's  re- 
cently i^ublished  book,  which  I  have  not  read. 

Q.  Your  unfavorable  impression  of  Bliss,  then,  was  derived  from  reading  his  book 
against  Washburn  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  from  the  testimony  of  alniost  every  American 
resident  in  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  Did  you  si)eak  to  many  Americans  there  about  him  ? — A.  I  spoke  to  nearly  all 
the  American  merchants  there — I  suppose  to  live  or  six  in  number — and  their  oi)iuion 
was  universal  against  him. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  the  officers  of  the  navy  speak  to  you  unfavorably  about  Bliss  ? — A.  They 
may  have  done  so ;  but  I  do  not  remember  specially    any  conversation  about  him. 
They  had  no  greater  means  of  information  concerning  him  than  I  had.    There  is  no 
impression  on  my  mind  that  they  spoke  against  him  specially. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  You  have  alluded  to  the  book  written  by  Mr.  Bliss  against  Mr.  Washburn.  Did 
you  not  know,  at  the  time  you  saw  that  book,  or  prior  to  that  time,  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  written  ?— A.  I  knew  it  was  written  while  Mr.  Bliss  was  in  Para- 
guay ;  but  I  do  not  think  the  circumstances  under  which  it  has  since  been  stated  it 
was  written,  will  justify  the  humor  and  malignity  of  slander  that  it  displays  against 
Mr.  Washburn. 


222  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  Did  you  not  know  tbat  Mr.  Washburn  had  given  Mr.  Bliss  full  permission  to  use 
any  and  every  meaits  he  coulu  to  preserve  his  life  ? — A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Washburn  say  anything  to  you  upon  that  subject  ? — A.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber that  he  did. 

Q.  Did  you  see  a  communication,  published  in  the  newspapers  of  Buenos  Ayres  or 
Montevideo,  by  Mr.  Washburn,  to  that  effect  ? — A.  I  may  have  j  I  do  not  recollect  it 
now. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
■  Q.  You  knew  Mr.  Bliss  was  under  duress  when  he  wrote  it  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  I  made 
ample  allowance  for  that  while  reading  the  book ;  but  it  was  so  voluminous  in  the  first 
place,  stated  so  many  unn^essary  things  against  Mr.  Washburn,  as  to  his  i^rovious 
history,  many  of  which  I  knew  to  be  false,  and  all  done  with  so  much  humor — indeed, 
a  very  funny  book — that  it  precluded,  in  my  mind,  the  idea  that  it  was  written  under 
duress,  and  it  coincided,  particularly  with  the  information  that  I  had  of  Bliss,  that  he 
was  perfectly  reckless  as  to  what  he  said  or  did,  or  whom  he  slandered.  That  was  my 
impression  about  Mr.  Bliss  from  information  gained  in  Buenos  Ayres. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  How  long  did  you  remain  on  board  the  Wasp,  after  the  arrival  of  Bliss  and  Maa- 
terman  ?— A.  I  think  I  left  the  following  day. 

Q.  Were  they  held  as  prisoners  on  the  Wasp  when  you  left  ? — A.  I  think  they  were 
hold  under  surveillance,  but  not  under  guard  as  prisoners.  I  remember  seeing  Master- 
ivMii  walking  around  on  the  main  deck  of  the  Wasp  on  the  morning  that  I  left.  I  saw 
him  from  the  bridge  of  the  vessel.  I  Avill  state  further,  that  while  leaving  the  Wasp, 
the  only  impression  I  had  about  them  was  one  of  surprise  that  neither  of  them  had 
called  upon  me  or  asked  to  see  me. 

Q.  Upon  leaving  the  Wasp  at  Angostura,  you  went  to  the  headquarters  of  Lopez  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  that  his  capital  ? — A.  No  ;  it  was  simply  his  headquarters.  The  capital  was 
then  being  transferred  from  Luque  to  Piribebuy,  in  the  rear  of  what  they  call  the  low 
Cordilleras. 

Q.  Where  did  you  present  your  credentials  ? — A.  At  the  headquarters,  in  consequence 
of  the  state  of  the  country  and  the  transfer  of  the  capital 

Q.  Where  did  you  reside  during  your  stay  in  Paraguay  ? — ^A.  Chiefly  in  Piribebuy. 

Q.  How  long  were  you  there  ? — A.  From 'the  middle  of  December,  1868,  until  the  end 
of  Jane,  1869. 

Q.  How  )iiuch  of  that  time  did  you  spend  at  Lopez's  headquarters  ? — A.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  say  accurately.  When  I  first  went  there,  I  remained  ffom  the  date  of  my 
arrival,  about  the  12th,  until  the  23d  of  December.  I  then  went  to  Piribebuy,  and 
from  the  time  I  reached  there  until  I  received  my  recall,  I  think,  I  visited  President 
Lopez  four  or  five  times.  I  visited  him  with  regard  to  sending  my  dispatches  by  flag 
of  truce,  and  I  visited  him  once  after  his  defeat  at  Pikysyry,  to  urge  upon  him  the 
necessity  of  making  peace  by  sacrificing  himself  to  his  country. 

Q.  During  that  time,  how  often  and  for  what  length  of  time  was  Lopez  at  his  cap- 
ital ? — A.  He  was  always  with  his  army.  Referring  to  the  preceding  question,  I  desire 
to  say  I  received  my  recall  in  May,  and  I  left  Piribebuy  a  few  days  after,  abandoning 
my  house  and  having  packed  up  to  leave  the  country.  Upon  arriving  at  headquarters, 
I  found  Lopez  breaking  camp,  with  all  his  army  in  the  expectation  of  a  battle  the  fol- 
lowing day.  The  allied  army  was  then  advancing  on  his  position  at  Ascurra,  and  he 
was  then  retiring  to  his  defenses  in  the  mountains.  Everything  was  in  confusion,  and 
I  thought  it  was  not  proper  for  me  to  attempt  to  go  through  their  lines  at  that  time, 
when  a  battle  was  imminent,  and  that  if  this  battle  was  to  be  decisive,  the  presence 
of  the  United  States  minister  might  be  of  vast  importance  whatever  the  result  was. 
For  that  reason  I  stated  to  Lopez  that  I  would  withhold  delivering  my  letter  of  recall 
— which  he  was  aware  I  had  received — for  a  few  days,  until  these  movements  were  de- 
termined. I  then  remained,  I  think,  about  four  weeks  longer,  and  that  time  I  neces- 
sarily spent  at  his  headquarters,  because  that  was  the  nearest  point  of  departure  from 
their  lines,  and  I  had  given  up  my  house  at  Piribebuy.  That  was  the  longest  time 
that  I  remained  for  any  one  period  at  his  headquarters. 

Q.  Then  you  vrere  at  Piribebuy  from  December  to  May  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  officials  of  the  Lopez  government  were  residing  there  during  that  time  ? — 
A.  There  was  the  vice-president,  the  minister  of  the  government,  and  the  minister  of 
the  hacienda,  and  other  lesser  officials. 

Q.  How  many  ministers  has  he  in  his  government  ? — A.  I  think  he  has  five  or  six  ;  he 
has  the  minister  of  government,  who  answers  to  our  secretary  of  state,  the  minister  ol 
foreign  aliairs,  the  minister  of  war  and  marine,  the  minister  hacienda,  and,  I  think,  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury. 

Q.  Where  were  the  other  ministers  who  were  not  residing  at  Piribebuy  ? — A.  The 
minister  of  war  and  marine  was  the  acting  minister  of  foreign  affairs  while  I  <vas  there, 


'  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  223 

and  lie  was  at  tlio  camp  with  Lopez,  generally  ;  and  I  think  the  minister  of  the  haci- 
enda or  the  minister  of  tlie  government  was  also  the  acting  secretary  of  the  treasury. 

Q.  Where  was  their  official  residence  at  that  time  ?— A.  At  Piribebuy ;  but  the  min- 
ister of  war  and  marine  was  at  the  camp,  and  he  was  the  acting  minister  of  forei'^-n 
affairs.  ^ 

Q.  This  was  a  temporary  capital  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  foreign  officials  were  at  that  capital  during  your  residence  there  ? — A.  When 
I  first  arrived  there  the  French  consul,  Mr.  Cuberville,  was  there.  He  left  a  few  days 
after  and  went  to  Asuncion,  the  former  capital.  He  left  three  or  four  days  after  my 
seeing  him  at  Piribebuy.  The  other  ministers  accredited  to  Paragua,y — the  French, 
English,  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Prussian  ministers,  as  well  as  the  South  American  min- 
isters, are  all  accrcidited  to  the  Argentine  Republic,  as  well  as  to  Paraguay,  or  some  of 
them  to  Eio  and  Paraguay,  others  to  Uruguay  and  Paraguay ;  and  they  all  fixed  their 
official  residence  at  Buenos  Ayres  or  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

Q.  Were  there  any  diplomatic  representatives  from  any  government  at  Lopez's  capi- 
tol  during  the  time  you  were  there,  but  yourself?— A.  No,  sir;  none  living  there. 
These  gentlemen  were  living  below,  and  I  learned  from  some  of  them  afterward  they 
had  tried  to  hold  intercourse  with  him  on  various  occasions,  but  were  generally  pre- 
vented by  the  allied  governments. 

Q.  What  opportunity  did  you  have  of  going  about  and  seeing  the  country  ? — A.  I 
had  a  horse  and  used  to  ride  out  frequently  in  dilferent  directions ;  sometimes  used  to 
ride  live  or  six  houre  at  a  time. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  from  this  new  capital  to  Asuncion  ? — A.  I  should  say  it  was 
very  near  seventy  or  eighty  miles. 

Q.  Were  you  eVer  at  Asuncion  ?— A.  Not  until  I  returned  from  Piribebuy. 

Q.  What  was  the  general  appearance  of  the  country,  so  far  as  its  agriculture  was 
concerned? — A.  When  I  left,  the  country  was  in  a  very  promising  state  as  regards 
agriculture,  for  during  the  previous  six  months  they  ha<l  planted  very  extensively.  On 
my  first  arrival  the  population  had  all  been  transferred  from  that  portion  of  the  coun- 
try which  was  given  up  to  the  allies,  to  the  interior,  and  then  there  was  great  distress 
among  the  people — great  scarcity  of  food.  But  an  order  was  issued  for  planting  in 
all  directions,  and  in  a  very  little  while  the  whole  country  seemed  to  be  producing,  and 
at  the  time  I  left  there  was  a  very  promising  harvest  of  maize,  raandioca,  and  vegeta- 
bles of  various  kinds  such  as  they  could  get. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  It  was,  then,  an  old  country,  that  had  been  cultivated  before  ?— A.  Yea,  sir ;  a  very 
old  country. 

By  Mr.  Okth  : 

Q.  Was  there  any  scarcity  of  labor  ? — A.  The  women  did  all  the  labor  in  the  fields 
and  there  was  no  scarcity  of  them.  In  that  country  there  is  a  great  surplus  of  female 
population. 

Q.  How  much  of  an  army  has  Lopez  ?— A.  No  one  knows  hut  himself;  I  do  not  think 
there  is  a  man  in  Paraguay  who  knows  but  himself. 

Q.  You  saw  his  army  while  you  were  in  his  camp  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  hut  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  form  an  estimate  from  seeing  an  army  in  camp,  because  they  are  posted  in 
various  and  often  concealed  positions ;  besides,  I  never  thought  it  proper  for  me  to 
make  excursions  through  the  lines. 

Q.  What  impression  did  you  receive  as  to  the  general  feeling  of  the  people  tov/ard 
Lopez? — A.  It  varies.  There  certainly  exists  among  the  i)cople — and  I  think  among 
quite  a  majority  of  them — a  most  devoted  attachment  to  Lopez.  It  is  a  devotion  tluit 
surpasses  anything  I  have  ever  w  itnesscd  before.  My  impression  is,  this  feeling  exists 
among  the  great  majority  of  the  people.  There  are  many  others  who  perhaps  do  not 
feel  that,  but  who  fall  into  the  current  and  feign  that  feeling.  There  are  others,  and 
there  are  many  I  suppose,  who  have  very  opposite  feelings. 

Q.  In  going  through  the  county  did  you  see  any  evidence  of  manufactures,  or  do  you 
know  of  any  manufacturing  interests  in  the  country  ? — A.  I  know  of  none  except  the 
arsenal,  and  the  mines  where  they  produce  sulphur,  and  such  manufactures  as  are  in- 
cident to  war.  Eveiy thing  in  the  country  was  centered  in  the  war  at  that  time,  even 
the  agricultural  interests. 

Q.  Did  they  have  any  commerce  or  trade  with  the  outside  world  during  that  time  ? — 
A.  No,  sir ;  they  were  closely  blockaded. 

Q.  Did  Lopez  have  a  congress  or  a  legislative  assembly  in  session  or  in  existence  during 
the  time  you  were  there  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  I  believe  under  the  form  of  law  there  the  con- 
gress is  only  to  meet  once  in  ten  years  and  is  generally  but  an  advisory  body  of  the 
president,  whose  advice  he  can  accept  or  reject  as  he  pleases.  This  did  not  occur  while 
1  was  there.  Lopez  was  elected  president  for  ten  years.  The  form  of  government 
there  is  an  elective  president  who  has  absolute  power. 

Q.  How  did  he  exercise  that  power  over  his  own  people — I  do  not  mean  those  in  the 
army  ? — A.  I  can  only  give  my  impression,  that  I  thought  he  exercised  it  in  a  very  just. 


224  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

and  somotimes  a  very  benevolent  way.  With  regard  to  those  who  were  accused  of  tho 
conspiracy  which  is  alleged  to  have  existed,  he  used  great  severity  in  crushing  them. 

Q.  What  evidence  have  you  as  to  the  sufferings  of  those  who  were  the  victims  of 
that  conspiracy ;  what  was  their  punishment  ? — A.  I  have  none  at  all,  except  hearsay. 
I  do  not  know. 

Q.  What  was  that  hearsay — from  reliable  sources  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  think  it  was ;  much 
of  it  comes  from  English  residents  in  Paraguay ;  little  from  the  Paraguayans,  for  they 
never  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  government  and  seem  to  think  that  the  government 
will,  in  all  emergencies,  take  care  of  them,  toll  them  what  to  do,  and  it  is  no.t  their  affair 
to  discuss  it.  But  in  talking  with  those  who  were  my  chief  companions,  those  whom 
I  used  to  consult  most  frequently  about  affairs  in  Paraguay,  I  derived  the  impression 
that  these  accused  men,  or  many  of  them,  had  been  shot. 

Q.  Were  any  of  Lopez's  relatives  implicated  ?— A.  There  were  several. 

Q.  What  ones  ? — A.  There  Avere  his  two  brothers,  his  brother-in-law,  and  I  think 
their  wives,  his  sisters. 

Q.  Were  any  of  them  punished  ? — A.  One  of  his  brothers  I  understood  was  shot. 

Q.  Was  any  punishment  inflicted  on  his  sisters  ? — ^A.  I  never  heard  of  it  until  I 
left  Paraguay,  and  I  do  not  believe  it. 

Q.  Or  his  mother  ? — A.  I  never  heard  of  it  in  Paraguay  or  until  I  came  into  the  camp 
of  his  enemies ;  on  the  contrary,  I  know  that  while  I  was  in  Paraguay  his  mother  and 
sisters  were  treated  as  the  first  ladies  in  the  land  by  himself  and  everybody.  Their 
residence  was  at  that  time  a  few  miles  from  Piribebuy,  and  when  I  left,  my  house  being 
one  of  the  best  in  Piribebuy,  was  given  over  to  the  mother  of  the  president,  where  she 
lived  with  her  daughters,  and  on  many  occasions  it  occurred  to  me  that  his  devotion  to 
her  was  exceedingly  filial.  He  always  treated  her  with  the  utmost  respect,  frequently 
communicating  with  her  by  telegraph,  and  was  constantly  sending  messages  to  her. 
On  the  anniversary  of  her  birth-day  I  was  invited  to  dine  at  her  house  with  a  number 
of  other  people.  I  could  not  go  that  day,  but  I  remember  his  sending  all  his  children 
and  Mrs.  Lynch  there  to  dine  with  her ;  he  also  sent  presents  to  her. 

Q.  Who  is  Mrs.  Lynch  ? — A.  She  is  a  lady  of  Irish  parentage,  of  English  birth,  and 
of  French  education.  She  has  lived  with  the  President  for  some  fifteen  years,  and  is 
recognized  and  regarded  by  Lopez  as  the  mistress  of  his  household  and  the  mother  of 
his  children,  and  is  very  much  respected  and  loved  in  Paraguay,  as  far  as  my  obser- 
vation went.  Lopez  has  no  other  family,  that  I  am  aware  of;  he  has  one  son  older, 
who  was  born  before  he  knew  Mrs.  Lyncli  ;  but  I  heard  of  no  other.  Mrs.  Lynch  always 
presided  at  his  table,  and  took  care  of  all  the  internal  affairs  of  his  house,  educating 
the  children,  and  everything  of  that  kind.  She  is  a  woman  who  has  been  most  grossly 
maligned,  I  think,  by  the  press  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  charged  her  with  all  sorts  of 
immoralities,  such  as  being  cruel,  instigating  the  President  to  unheard-of  deeds  of 
atrocity,  and  with  everything  that  could  be  written  against  a  woman. 

Q.  Does  the  public  sentiment  of  the  country  sustain  Lopez  in  bearing  this  relation 
to  her  ? — A.  It  is  the  common  practice  in  Paraguay  ;  there  is  but  little  marriage  there. 
There  have  been  so  many  obstacles  put  in  the  way  of  marriage  that,  as  an  institution, 
it  has  almost  passed  out  of  the  country.  But,  at  the  same  time,  men  and  women  live 
there  together  as  husband  and  wife ;  and  the  women  are  singularly  faithful  when  they 
accept  that  relation.  Great  numbers  of  families  live  there  in  that  way— in  fact,  it  is 
quite  customary  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  the  treatment  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  after  they 
had  been  received  by  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  Nothing,  except  what  I  have  read  in  the 
papers  since,  and  from  which  I  derived  the  impression  that  they  were  kept  under  sur- 
veillance, and  forbidden  communication  with  the  belligerents ;  and  also  an  impression 
produced  by  reading  a  letter  of  Bliss  to  his  parents,  which  has  been  put  in  evidence,  as 
to  their  being  treated  with  kindness  and  attention,  and  kept  under  no  restraint.  I  had 
no  doubt  that  they  should  be  kept  as  prisoners ;  and,  indeed,  Mr.  Washburn  had  no 
doubt  on  that  subject,  because  on  the  22d  of  July,  in  writing  to  tho  government  of 
Paraguay,  he  uses  this  language  :  "  I  will,  therefore,  undertake  to  hold  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Mr.  Masterman  close  prisoners  in  this  legation  till  I  can  send  them  out  of  the  country, 
or  till  such  time  as  the  government  may  not  object  to  their  being  set  at  liberty."  Mr. 
Benitez  replies,  under  date  of  July  23d :  "  I  have  not  permitted  myself  to  request  of  your 
excellency  to  keep  as  close  prisoners  in  your  legation  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  and  George 
F.  Masterman ;  and  it  belongs  exclusively  to  your  excellency  to  do  what  is  most 
befitting  the  internal  service  of  your  house.  I  have  fulfilled  a  duty  which  I  judged  to  be 
one  of  courtesy,"  &c.  (See  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  5,  Part  2, 40th  Congress,  3d  session,  pp.  67, 68.) 
There  are  a  number  of  other  extracts  which,  I  think,  all  tend  to  show  the  same  point ; 
Mr.  Washburn  insisting  that  tho  proi)er  course  to  be  taken  was  to  send  these  two 
men  as  close  prisoners  to  the  Uuited  States  for  trial,  and  that  was  the  course  which  I 
considered  we  were  bound  in  honor  to  adopt  wiion  they  were  delivered  to  us,  and  the 
whole  question  referred  to  the  government  at  Washington  for  decision.  This  corres- 
pondence of  Mr.  Washburn's  also  convinced  me  that  he  had  been  treated  with  no  dis- 
courtesy by  the  government  of  Paraguay ;  at  no  time  threatened,  and  at  no  time  under 
personal  peril.    That  impression  I  have  been  under  all  the  time,  from  first  to  last. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  225 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  In  your  interviews  with  Lopez,  did  be  ever  refer  to  the  relations  which  had  ex- 
isted between  Mr.  Washburn  and  himself  ? — A.  He  never  did,  that  I  remember,  ex- 
cept on  one  occasion.  He  always  avoided  referring  to  the  subject  of  the  difficulty  with 
Mr.  Washburn  ;  but  he  said  once,  in  an  apologetic  sort  of  way,  as  if  recognizing  the 
delicacy  of  touching  upon  such  a  subject  with  me:  *'I  ought  to  say  that,  ever  since 
Mr.  Washburn's  arrival  in  the  country,"  I  think  he  said,  *'  he  has  disliked  me.  There 
was  a  want  of  congeniality  between  us.  Since  his  arrival  in  this  country,  I  have  never, 
personally,  liked  him,  and  for  that  reason  I  endeavored  always  to  treat  him,  officially, 
with  the  more  respect,  because  I  recognized  the  lack  of  congeniality ;"  some  such  ex- 
pression as  that.  That  is  the  only  time,  however,  that  I  recollect  his  referring  to  the 
subject,  which  I  understood  as  showing  his  appreciation  of  the  impropriety  of  his  dis- 
cussing with  me  the  conduct  of  my  predecessor. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Were  you  ever  apprised  of  the  fact  that  Lopez  intercepted  some  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's dispatches  to  this  government  ? — A.  I  was  never  apprised  of  it.  I  think  the  fact 
was  stated  in  some  publication  of  Mr.  Washburn's.  I  do  not  remember  whether  I  read 
it  before  goin^  up  to  Paraguay  or  after  coming  down,  but  it  is  a  cu'cumstauce  that  I 
have  never  believed. 

Q.  Why  should  you  disbelieve  it  T — A.  I  do  not  think  there  was  any  reason  or  motive 
for  President  Lopez  doing  so — to  be  guilty  of  so  groat  a  violation  of  international  right 
and  the  decencies  of  civilization.  I  can  see  no  motive  for  it,  and  I  believe  Mr.  Wash- 
burn only  states  it  as  a  surmise. 

Q.  It  is  in  evidence  that  some  of  Mr.  Washburn's  communications  never  reached 
here  or  got  through. — A.  There  is  just  as  much  reason  for  suspecting  the  other  side,  who 
always  believed  Washburn  was  an  enemy  of  theirs,  and  who  subjected  him  to  great 
embarrassment  and  annoyance  while  there.  I  think  there  would  be  more  reason  to 
suspect  the  allies  of  the  two.  But  of  course  I  have  no  knowledge  on  that  subject. 
Their  motive  for  preventing  commimicatiou  with  the  United  States  minister,  in  Para- 
guay, is  more  evident,  however,  than  that  of  Lopez. 

Q.  But  why  should  they  wish  to  intercept  a  communication  going  from  a  minister  to 
his  government? — A.  They  certainly  prevented  all  my  communications  during  the 
whole  time  I  was  in  Paraguay.  They  refused  to  receive  the  flag  of  truce,  which  was 
the  surest  way  of  intercepting  them.  Besides,  they  conducted  a  war  against  Lopez, 
one  branch  of  which  W£V8  to  alienate  the  sympathies  of  the  world  from  Paraguay  and 
the  Paraguayan  cause,  by  these  accounts  of  the  unparalleled  atrocities  of  Lopez. 
Moreover,  many  of  their  "  victories  "  are  achieved  on  paper  only,  and  they  feared  that 
dispatches  from  the  United  States  minister  might  discredit  their  accounts. 

Q.  You  are  aware  that  Lopez  charges  Mr.  Washburn  with  being  engaged  in  the  al- 
leged conspiracy  ?— A.  Yes,  sir ;  that  also  appears  in  this  same  correspondence. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  that  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  a  letter  to  his  brother  in  Maine, 
which  was  sent  with  the  dispatches  to  the  government,  and  which  dispatches  never  ♦ 
reached  here — a  letter,  giving  his  personal  opinion  of  Lopez,  which  was  very  disparag- 
ing ? — A.  I  never  heard  of  it. 

Q.  How  large,  in  population,  is  Piribebuy  ? — A.  It  has  about  three  or  four  thousand 
inhabitants. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  What  was  the  date  of  your  letter  of  recall  ?— A.  It  was  dated  the  15th  of  March, 
1869,  and  was  signed  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburn. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  this  Paraguayan  war  originated  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  have  formed 
convictions  from  pretty  careful  study  of  all  the  documents  I  could  reach  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

Q.  Please  state  which  party  commenced  active  military  operations. — A.  About  that, 
necessarily,  there  has  always  been  great  dispute.  I  will  give  the  facts  as  I  look  upon 
them.  The  real  causes  of  the  war  go  back  many  years.  There  is  the  traditional 
antipathy  between  the  Portuguese- American  and  the  Spanish- American.  Next  there  is 
the  permanent  hostility  between  the  empire  of  Brazil  and  the  republics.  The  empire 
of  Brazil  naturally  and  persistently  seeks  extension  to  the  south  and  the  control  of  the  La 
Plata.  The  liee  navigation  of  the  La  Plata  is  essential  to  Paraguay,  the  mouth  of  that 
river  being  in  possession  of  other  states.  It  is  also  a  necessity  to  Brazil,  as  it  is  the  great 
channel  to  her  interior  possessions.  Brazil  has  for  a  long  time  sought  the  absolute 
control  of  the  La  Plata.  All  her  policy  looked  in  that  direction  partly  for  the  sake  of 
aggrandizement,  and  also  to  secure  a  free  channel  for  her  interior  possessions  to  the  sea. 
This  was  the  state  of  things  existing  at  the  time  of  the  elder  Lopez,  in  addition  to  other 
questions  existing  as  to  boundaries.  The  boundaries  in  South  America  were  not  fixed, 
especially  as  regards  Paraguay.  There  was  an  outstanding  question  of  boundary  with 

15  PI 


226  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

Brazil  which  the  elder  Lopez  was  willing  to  settle  upon  auy  terms  rather  than  go  to 
war.  Brazil  refused  to  settle  at  that  time,  and  had  the  matter  postponed  for  several 
years,  and  the  commission  which  had  been  applied  for  or  formed  to  settle  it,  adjourned. 
This  was  the  question  of  the  boundary  between  Paraguay  and  the  interior  of  Brazil. 
Brazil  claims,  or  pretends  to  claim,  down  to  one  of  the  interior  rivers  of  Paraguay,  and 
Paraguay  claims  territory  which  she  now  occupies  further  north  and  east.  This  ques- 
tion the  elder  Lopez  was  willing  to  settle  with  Brazil  upon  almost  any  terms.  In  the 
mean  time,  during  these  few  years  that  the  question  was  pending,  or  pending  the 
adjournment,  Brazil  established  in  one  of  her  border  provinces  a  very  large  depot  of 
aims  and  ammunition.  She  also  instigated  or  set  on  foot  in  connection  with  the 
Argentine  Eepublic — where  there  had  always  existed  some  jealousy  of  the  neighboring 
republics— a  revolution  in  Uruguay,  which  was  headed  by  a  man  named  Flores,  who  had 
less  than  q,  hundred  men  when  he  landed  from  Argentine  territory.  He  kept  up  this  revo- 
lution for  a  long  time,  sustained  by  Brazil  and  Buenos  Ayres.  At  the  time  the  Uru- 
guayan government  was  in  its  greatest  peril,  Brazil  j)reseutod  a  long  list  of  reclama- 
tions to  the  government  of  Uruguay — in  1863  or  18G4.  The  government  of  Uruguay 
applied  to  Lopez  for  assistance,  but,  of  course,  could  not  meet  these  reclamations,  as 
only  eight  days  were  allowed  for  payment.  The  same  minister  that  brought  with  him 
this  list  of  reclamations,  also  brought  a  declaration  of  war  against  Uruguay.  Lopez 
had  offered  his  mediation  upon  this  question  of  reclamations,  and  it  was  rejected.  Then 
Lopez  recognized  the  cause  of  Uruguay  as  his  own,  knowing  that  the  destruction  of 
Uruguay  was  merely  preliminary  to  the  destruction  of  Paraguay.  Buenos  Ayres  was 
acting  under  Mitre  in  full  accord  with  Brazil,  and  seeing  this,  Lopez  notified  Brazil 
that  the  crossing  of  troops  into  Uruguay  would  be  regarded  as  a  cause  of  war  with 
Paraguay.  This  protest  was  made  two  or  three  months,  I  think,  before  the  first  acts  of 
hostility.  When  Brazil,  in  the  face  of  this  protest,  crossed  her  troops  into  Uruguay, 
there  is  no  doubt  to  my  mind  that  she  did  it  accepting  a  war  with  Paraguay,  and  that 
no  formal  declaration  of  war  was  necessary ;  still,  I  believe  a  declaration  of  war  fol- 
lowed. At  any  event,  Lopez  at  once  marched  into  Brazil  and  captured  this  depot  of 
arms  that  they  had  established  on  his  northern  frontier.  Lopez  then  believing  that 
the  Argentine  Confederation  was  actually  working  in  the  interest  of  Brazil,  and  that  the 
question  of  war  with  the  Argentine  Confederation  was  only  a  question  of  time — for  it  is  a 
question  of  fact  that  Corrientes  had  been  made  a  depot  of  arms  and  ammunition  for  Brazil, 
asked  of  the  Argentine  government  permission  to  pass  his  troops  through  a  portion  of  its 
territory  for  the  purpose  of  invading  Brazil — permission  which  they  refused.  Lopez  then 
considering  that  their  permitting  Brazil  to  occupy  their  territory  for  warlike  purposes  and 
refusing  the  same  privilege  to  him,  was  a  sufficient  evidence  that  they  were  hostile  to 
him,  answered  their  refusal  by  a  declaration  of  war.  He  followed  that  declaration  of 
war  in  a  few  days  by  a  fleet  and  a  force  which  occupied  Corrientes  and  captured  arms 
and  ammunition  which  he  has  since  been  using.  That,  I  think,  is  a  correct  statement  of 
the  origin  of  the  war.  Lopez  is  a  very  able  man,  and  when  he  saw  that  war  was  a 
necessity,  he  preferred  to  strike  the  first  blow.  With  regard  to  Uruguay,  that  he  was 
right  there,  there  is  no  question  ;  because,  with  the  destruction  of  Uruguay,  Paraguay 
was  shut  in  and  under  the  control  of  her  natural  enemy,  Brazil. 

Q.  Why  should  Brazil  be  the  enemy  of  Paraguay  ? — A.  Because  in  reality  Paraguay 
was  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  republics.  It  had  never  had  a  civil  war ;  had  a 
braver  and  more  enduring  people ;  a  better  people  than  any  others  in  South  America, 
and  was  consolidated  under  one  head.  Brazil  knew  that  there  was  her  greatest 
eHeray. 

Q.  But  why  should  she  be  opposed  to  a  republic,  such  as  you  describe  ?— A.  First, 
her  desire  to  control  the  La  Plata ;  and  then  Paraguay  is  a  republic  in  name,  and  with  an 
elective  President,  and  Brazil  would  have  a  hostility  against  any  republic  situated  on 
the  borders  of  her  slave-holding  empire.    I  think  there  is  a  necessary  antagonism. 

Q.  If  I  understand  your  description  of  this  government  of  Lopez,  it  is  an  absolute 
despotism  ? — A.  Lopez  has  absolute  power,  but,  by  consent  of  the  people,  he  is  an  elect- 
ive President.  But  with  regard  to  the  La  Plata,  Paraguay's  position  there  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  Brazil.  Moreover,  Brazil  understands  perfectly  the  vast  re- 
sources of  Paraguay.  It  is  the  most  fertile  and  productive  country  in  South  America. 
It  has  resources  far  beyond  those  of  any  of  its  neighbors,  in  woods,  minerals,  coffee, 
rice,  sugar,  tobacco,  &c.  Brazil,  naturally  enough,  considering  her  preponderance 
in  power  and  numbers,  has  always  looked  to  her  extension  over  the  waters  of  the 
La  Plata.  The  question  of  boundary  was  certainly  kept  in  abeyance  by  Brazil  to  fur- 
nish, when  she  was  ready,  a  cause  of  war. 

Q.  What  kind  of  government  have  the  allies  set  up  in  that  portion  of  Paraguay 
which  they  now  occupy  ? — A.  That  has  been  done  since  I  left  there.  I  have  been  at  a 
loss  to  find  out  what  they  have  done.  They  i)roposed  to  put  in  power  three  Paraguayan 
traitors — native  Paraguayans  who  had  deserted  Lopez— as  a  sort  of  consulate.  But 
Brazil  insisted  upon  her  own  candidate,  and  I  do  not  know  who  has  been  selected  Presi- 
dent. It  was  not  looked  upon  with  favor  in  the  Argentine  confederation,  or  by  the 
foreign  ministers. 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  227 

Q.  Did  they  have  money  in  cixculation  in  Paraguay  wliile  you  were  there  ? — A.  Yes, 
Bir ;  a  good  deal  of  silver  money. 

Q.  What  have  you  to  say  in  regard  to  the  system  of  torture  adopted  by  Lopez  ? — A. 
In  many  cases  those  who  have  been  reported  as  put  to  death  by  Lopez,  in  fact,  died  of 
cholera  in  the  hospitals ;  not  only  among  his  army,  but  prisoners  also.  Many— th  e 
greatest  number — were  shot  for  desertion ;  and  I  think  it  scarcely  fair  to  charge  all 
these  as  among  the  brutalities  of  Lopez.  I  have  read  the  statement  of  Messrs.  Bliss 
and  Masterman  in  this  respect,  and  I  certainly  am  disposed  to  doubt  very  much  of  it. 
What  Bliss  calls  the  cepo  uruguana,  which  is  here  linown  as  "  bucking,"  I'havo  no  doubt 
has  been  practiced,  but  I  never  saw  it,  nor  have  I  seen  anybody  who  has.  Still,  hear- 
ing it  so  constantly  repeated,  I  derived  the  impression  that  it  was  practiced.  It  was 
practiced  in  the  allied  army,  according  to  the  evidence  of  naval  officers  who  saw  men 
''  bucked."  Whipping  is  also  a  mode  of  punishment  in  the  Paraguayan  army.  Their  sys- 
tem of  jurisprudence  is  far  behind  ours.  In  all  the  South  American  States  the  accused 
is  permitted  to  give  evidence  agaiust  himself. 

Q.  Did  you  see  the  letter  that  Admiral  Davis  wrote  to  Lopez  before  it  was  sent — the 
first  letter  that  he  wrote  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Davis  withdraw  that  letter? — A.  I  believe  he  substituted  another 
letter  for  it.  I  do  not  remember  whether  the  first  letter  was  delivered  or  not.  Ho  had 
an  interview  with  Lopez,  which  I  declined  to  attend,  though  invited,  thinking  it  would 
be  better  I  should  hold  no  intercourse  with  him  until  this  matter  was  settled. 

Q.  Why  did  Admiral  Davis  do  that  ? — A.  He  said  that  in  this  interview  the  President 
objected  to  the  terms  of  that  letter ;  that  ho  was  determined  to  deliver  the  men,  but 
seemed  desirous  that  it  might  be  done  with  as  little  humiliation  to  himself  before  his 
people  as  possible.  That  is  the  idea  I  derived ;  and  for  that  reason  he  would  prefer  a 
letter  worded  in  difterent  terms.  But  he  stated  he  was  going  to  deliver  the  men  any- 
how, and  as  the  objection  which  he  made  to  the  letter,  which  I  do  not  recall  now, 
occurred  to  me  to  be  a  very  trifling  and  unimportant  objection  on  his  part,  and  equally 
so  to  us,  I  thought  that  the  admiral  might  with  perfect  propriety  substitute  another 
letter. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  The  admiral  consulted  with  you  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  the  second  letter  suit  Lopez  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember.  I  think  ho  was  dis- 
satisfied still.  The  admiral  seemed  to  think  he  did  not  intend  to  deliver  up  the  men, 
and  Lopez  expressed  some  dissatisfaction  that  the  admiral  should  receive  such  an  im- 
pression, and  said  that  ho  did  intend  to  deliver  them  up ;  then  he  went  on  to  speak 
about  the  admiral's  receiving  them  as  accused  parties,  admitting  their  complicity,  &c.; 
but  the  admiral  took  the  ground  that  it  was  not  his  province  to  enter  into  the  circum- 
stances of  their  guilt  or  innocence. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  the  admiral  say  anything  about  Lopez  insisting  in  this  interview 
that  if  he  st,ood  by  this  first  letter  that  he  would  have  to  refer  it  to  his  minister,  who  ' 
was  in  the  interior  ? — A.  I  do  remember  that.    The  admiral  told  me  something  of  the 
kind. 

Q.  Or  that  it  would  have  to  be  a  subject  of  diplomatic  negotiation  ? — A.  I  remember 
the  fact  of  the  admiral's  mentioning  it,  but  my  recollection  on  the  subject  is  vague. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Suppose  that  Lopez  had  refused  to  deliver  up  these  men,  what  would  you  have 
done  ? — A.  That  was  a  question  which  we  reserved  for  future,  serious  deliberation. 
We  had  formed  no  conclusion,  but  left  it  for  future  action.  We  had  nothing  but  three 
little  guns  on  the  Wasp. 

Q.  Would  you  have  presented  your  credentials  ?— A.  No,  sir.  The  only  thing  in 
doubt  was,  whether  we  would  have  made  a  belligerent  display  then  or  withdrawn  and 
waited  advices  and  reinforcements.  But  I  certainly  should  not  have  presented  my  cre- 
dentials. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  In  other  words,  Lopez  did  not  deliver  them  up  because  they  were  American  cit- 
zens  ;  but  he  wanted  the  admiral  to  acknowledge  that  they  were  prisoners,  to  save  him 
from  humiliation  ? — A.  I  think  not  sir. 

Q.  Upon  what  theory  did  you  understand  that  the  government  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  these  men  ?— A.  On  the  theory  that  Mr.  Washburn,  the  minister  of  the 
United  States  had  stated  they  were  members  of  his  legation.  I  considered  that  ques- 
tion— whether  they,  were  members  of  his  legation  or  not — as  one  between  Mr.  Wash- 
burn and  his  government;  that  it  was  not  for  me  or  for  Lopez  to  consider  it  at  all.  It 
was  settled,  so  far  as  my  conduct  was  concerned,  by  Mr.  Washburn's  declaration.  How 
far  the  government  would  sustain  Mr.  Washburn,  I  could  not  tell. 

Q.  I  understand,  then,  that  when  you  reached  Angostura  the  demand  was  to  be 


228  PARIGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

made  because  two  members  of  the  United  States  legation  were  wrongfully  seized  and 
held  as  prisoners  ?— A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  the  question  of  their  guilt  or  innocence  did  not 
enter  into  that  fact.  That  was  the  point  upon  which  the  admiral  and  myself  agreed 
to  present  the  question. 

Q.  The  first  letter  of  Admiral  Davis  to  Lopez  is  dated  December  3, 1868 ;  you  say 
another  letter  was  afterward  substituted  for  that — the  letter  of  December  5  ? — A.  I 
presume  so. 

Q.  The  government,  through  Lopez,  insisted  upon  terms,  and  among  those  terms,  in 
the  last  letter,  one  is  that  they  are  to  be  received  by  Admiral  Davis  as  prisoners,  and 
criminals  virtually  ? — A.  In  saying  that  the  President  insisted  upon  terms,  you  must 
remember  that  what  occurred  between  the  Admiral  and  President  Lopez  I  was  not  a 
witness  of.  After  receiving  the  admiral's  first  letter,  Lopez  asked  for  an  interview, 
which  interview  took  place  that  evening.  I  was  invited  to  be  present,  but  declined. 
The  interview  lasted  some  time,  and  when  the  admiral  came  back  he  mentioned  gen- 
erally to  me  what  the  objections  were.  I  only  recollect  that  I  thought  the  objections 
utterly  unimportant,  and  was  surprised  at  Lopez  making  any  point  about  them ;  but 
as  for  his  insisting  upon  them,  I  am  not  aware  that  lie  did. 

Q.  You  state  that  Lopez  insisted,  all  the  time,  that  he  was  to  deliver  them  up.  How 
do  you  explain  this  portion  of  Lopez's  letter :  ''  I  thought  that  I  had  made  it  dis- 
tinctly apparent  that  his  excellency  regretted  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  accede 
to  the  conditions  of  the  first  demand  ?" — A.  You  must  take  into  consideration  the  fact 
that  the  translation  may  not  give  the  precise  sense. 

Q.  He  adds  further :  "  But  since  neither  a  reclamation  nor  a  demand  is  in  ques- 
tion." I  understood  you  went  up  to  demand  a  surrender. — A.  Whatever  those  terms 
may  mean  is  something  I  do  not  fully  understand.  However,  in  a  previous  letter  it  is 
stated  that  the  President  never  had  any  intention  but  to  deliver  up  the  men  unre- 
servedly. He,  of  course,  in  objecting  to  the  first  letter,  wished  to  raise  the  old  question 
between  Mr.  Washburn  and  himself,  (whether  they  were  members  of  the  legation,) 
but  the  admiral  and  myself  had  determined  that  question  should  not  be  discussed.  I 
presume  it  is  to  that  that  the  objection  of  the  President  was  raised,  because  he  hoped, 
naturally  enough,  to  justify  his  seizure  of  these  men  to  our  government,  upon  the 
ground  that  they  were  not,  in  good  faith,  members  of  the  legation.  Now,  he  feared 
some  expression  used,  in  giving  up  these  men  according  to  Admiral  Davis's  de- 
mand, might  be  taken  as  a  confession  on  his  part  that  they  were  members  of  legation. 
It  was  an  important  x>oint  to  him,  and,  as  I  understood  it,  this  was  his  main  objection. 
He  wished  to  save  his  side  of  the  question  from  any  prejudice  that  might  arise  from 
the  wording  of  the  admiral's  note. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  is  the  present  population  of  Paraguay  ? — ^A.  My  impression 
is  it  is  about  two  hundred  thousand — perhaps  more — chiefly  women  and  children. 

Q.  What  is  the  cause  of  that  ? — A.  The  war.  The  male  population  of  Paraguay  has 
almost  been  exterminated  by  the  war.  Paraguay,  I  might  say,  would  have  been  siib- 
dued  long  since,  except  for  the  fact  that  a  number  of  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  allies 
find  their  way  back  to  Lopez.  Great  numbers  of  them  find  their  way  back  again  to 
**  Lopez  from  the  allied  camps  and  from  Buenos  Ayres.  I  have  seen  instances  of  it 
myself.  After  the  surrender  of  Angostura,  quite  a  number  of  the  troops  came  back 
and  resumed  their  places  in  the  ranks. 

Q.  Do  the  prisoners  Lopez  takes  escape  from  him  in  the  same  way  ? — A.  Sometimes. 
But  the  character  of  the  Brazilian  troops  is  not  high.  Their  army  is  composed  largely 
of  negro  slaves,  sent  by  their  masters.  It  is  also  recrviited  from  the  galleys,  and  many 
of  them  have  no  interest  in  the  war,  and  I  do  not  think  they  would  be  anxious  to 
escape  if  they  could. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  What  is  your  estimate  of  the  strength  of  Lopez's  army  ? — A.  My  information  is  de- 
rived from  accounts  published  in  the  papers  recently.  I  think  he  has  about  five 
thousand  troops  now.  The  last  accounts  say  two  or  three  thousand  men,  and  making 
reasonable  allowance  for  the  source  from  which  this  comes,  I  should  put  it  at  five 
thousand.  He  certainly  had  more  than  that  at  Ascurra.  It  depends  ui>on  how 
much  allowance  you  must  give  to  the  allied  reports.  Their  reports  are  very  unrelia- 
ble. I  know,  in  one  instance,  Avhere  I  happened  to  be  present,  where  they  moved  for- 
ward and  made  a  demonstration  on  Ascurra,  or  rather  on  the  camp  which  Lopez  had 
abandoned  three  or  four  days  before.  They  cannonaded  it  several  hours,  and  finally 
took  possession  of  the  place.  In  consequence  of  that,  there  was  quite  a  celebration 
and  illumination  at  Buenos  Ayres.  But  I  am  aware  that  on  that  day  the  Paraguayans 
never  fired  a  shot.  So  that  their  accounts  are  unreliable.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  now 
that  there  is  no  foreign  representative  in  Paraguay,  and  no  means  of  communication 
with  the  outer  world,  that  they  will  be  even  more  careless  in  their  statements. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  people  are  pretty  well  exhausted  ? — A.  Yes,  sir,  as  a  peo- 
ple ;  but  whether  Lopez  will  be  able  to  prolong  the  war  until  the  crash,  which  every- 
body anticipates  in  Brazil,  comes,  nobody  can  tell.    His  position  is  so  far  m  the  inte- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  229 

rior,  that  the  present  force  which  the  allies  have  in  Paraguay  will  not  be  sufficient  to 
engage  him  at  the  point  at  which  he  is  now.  In  all  their  movements,  I  think  as  a  gen- 
eral thing  they  do  not  attempt  to  carry  Paraguyan  entrenchments,  but  flank  him  when 
they  can,  and  then  he  retreats.  That  is  the  history  of  the  war.  I  think,  in  his  present 
position,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  flank  him,  because  he  is  in  the  long  line  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras, and  has  behind  him  an  impenetrable  forest. 

Q.  How  can  he  maintain  himself  there  ? — A.  He  did  not  fall  back,  I  think,  from  As- 
curra  until  he  collected  all  the  growing  crops  in  the  region  of  Piribebuy  and  the  coun- 
try he  has  abandoned,  and  that  will  sustain  the  people  for  an  indefinite  period  until  he 
can  plant  and  raise  crops  again  in  his  rear. 

Q.  Have  the  women  and  children  gone  with  him  T — A.  I  thitkk  it  very  likely.  I  have 
seen  it  mentioned  that  quite  a  number  had  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  Do  you  think  he  has  taken  his  treasure  with  him  ? — A.  Yes,  sir,  I  think  he  has.  I 
saw  a  statement  that  they  had  captured  large  sums  of  money— a  chest  containing  a 
large  amount  of  Brazilian  money  at  Piribebuy — which  he  had  taken  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war.    That  is,  however,  only  a  newspaper  statement. 

Q.  From  all  the  information  you  have,  then,  you  think  Lopez  will  be  able  to  hold  out 
for  some  time  ? — A.  I  think  it  likely ;  but  whether  he  will  be  able  to  hold  out  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  cause  the  financial  revolution  which  everybody  seems  to  fear  for  Bra- 
zil, I  cannot  say.  That  is  his  policy.  I  heard  him  say  that.  In  fact,  when  I  left  Par- 
aguay, he  was  firmly  convinced  that  the  war  would  close  in  six  weeks  or  two  months, 
with  the  discomfiture  of  the  allies  and  their  withdrawal  from  Paraguay.  He  felt  confi- 
dent of  that,  and  frequently  spoke  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  Brazilians.  His 
losses  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  made  it  almost  impossible  for  him  to  make  the  war 
one  of  aggression  or  invasion  as  he  had  hoped,  and  ho  relies  chiefly  upon  the  financial 
distresses  of  the  allies  to  break  them. 


Testimony  of  Hon.  H.  G.  Worthington, 

Washington,  D.  C, 

Xovember  10,  1869. 
Hon.  H.  G.  WoRTinNGTON  sworn  and  examined. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  "What  official  position  under  the  government  have  you  recently  occupied  ? — 
Answer.  Minister  resident  of  the  United  States  to  the  Argentine  Republic  and  to  Uru- 
guay. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  occupy  that  position? — A.  As  minister  to  the  Argentine  Re- 
public, from  June,  1868,  to  the  latter  part  of  July,  1869;  and  as  minister  to  Uruguay, 
from  October,  1868,  imtil  the  same  date  in  July,  1869. 

Q.  When  did  you  leave  for  your  official  post,  and  by  what  means  of  conveyance  did 
you  proceed  ? — A.  I  left  New  York  on  the  23d  day  of  July,  1868,  by  the  American  line  of 
steamers  for  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  from  Rio  I  proceeded  in  the  French  packet.  I  went 
all  the  way  by  said  conveyance  from  this  country  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  yoii  reach  Buenos  Ayres? — A.  The  latter  part  of  August,  1868. 

Q.  Was  your  official  residence  at  Buenos  Ayres  during  the  whole  period  of  your  ser- 
vice ? — A.  Yes,  sir,  all  the  time.  I  never  resided  at  Montevideo.  Buenos  Ayres  was 
made  the  headquarters  of  the  legation  for  Uruguay  by  instructions  from  the  State  De- 
partment. 

Q.  What  opportunities  did  you  have  for  seeing  the  operations  of  the  allied  forces 
against  Paraguay  during  your  residence  there  ? — A.  I  have  had  no  opportunities  for 
personal  observation.  All  the  information  I  have  I  derived  from  the  representations 
of  others,  by  communicating  with  officers  of  the  army  and  navy. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  go  up  the  river  ? — ^A.  Never  further  than  Rosario,  which  was  within 
my  jurisdiction. 

Q.  The  allied  fleet  was  then  higher  up  the  river?— A.  Yes,  sir;  many  hundred  miles 
above  Rosario. 

Q.  Did  you  meet  Mr.  Washburn  while  you  were  there?— A.  Yes,  sir;  I  met  Mr. 
Washburn  in  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  very  day  of  his  return  from  Paraguay. 

Q.  Did  you  learn  from  him  the  circumstances  attending  his  withdrawal  from  Para- 
guay?— A.  Many  of  them  at  that  time  and  also  in  subsequent  interviews. 

Q.  Did  you  at  or  about  that  time  have  any  interview  with  Admiral  Davis,  or  with 
any  officers  of  the  American  squadron  ? — A.  Subsequent  to  that  time  I  did.  My  first  in- 
terview with  Admiral  Davis,  and  also  with  some  of  his  staff,  took  place  upon  the  arri- 
val of  General  McMahon  to  succeed  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Was  this  at  the  time  Admiral  Davis  was  about  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  to  obtain 


230  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  release  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Mastermau? — A.  He  was  about  proceeding  to  Paraguay 
to  carry  up  General  McMahon  to  bis  post. 

Q.  Did  tbe  admiral  state  tbat  as  tbe  main  object  of  bis  going  to  Paraguay  at  that 
time  ? — A.  I  understood  tbat  to  be  bis  purpose. 

Q.  Did  be  say  anytbing  witb  reference  to  Bliss  and  Mastermau? — A.  I  tbink  not  at 
tbat  time.  I  will  state  the  circumstances  attending  my  interview  witb  Admiral  Davis. 
It  occurred  one  Sunday.  I  bad  gone  witb  some  friends  out  of  town,  to  a  little  place 
about  six  or  seven  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  wben  a  boat  came  up  tbe  river  containing 
a  number  of  gentlemen  wbo  made  inquiries  for  me,  and  on  going  to  tbe  boat  I  ascer- 
tained tbey  were  Admiral  Davis,  Captain  Kirkland,  and  General  McMabon.  After  an 
excbango  of  salutations  General  McMabon  banded  me  a  communication  from  tbe  de- 
partment directing  me  to  obtain  certain  information  about  bis  free  passage  uj)  tbe  riv6i-. 
He  said  tbat  be  was  anxious  to  proceed  immediately  to  bis  post  of  duty,  and  desired 
me  to  obtain  tbat  information  as  speedily  as  possible.  On  tbe  following  Monday  I  ac- 
companied Admiral  Davis,  Captain  Kirldand,  and  General  McMabon,  on  tbe  Wasp, 
to  Montevideo,  for  tbe  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  views  of  tbat  government.  We  re- 
mained there,  I  tbink,  until  Tuesday  evening,  and  then  I  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  after 
having  obtained  the  information  as  instructed,  which  I  communicated  to  General  Mc- 
Mabon, and  be  proceeded  with  Admiral  Davis  up  the  river.  In  the  mean  time  I  know 
all  these  gentlemen  saw  Mr.  Washburn,  and  I  believe  there  was  a  general  conversation 
about  tbe  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Mastermau ;  but  what  would  be  the  definite  course  that 
Admiral  Davis  would  adopt,  I  learned  from  him,  depended  very  much  upon  circum- 
stances as  they  existed  upon  bis  arrival  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  Had  you  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  desired  permission  from  tbe  two  govern- 
ments to  which  you  were  accredited,  for  the  Wasp  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  ? — A.  Not  ex- 
actly difficulty.  There  was  some  delay,  because  the  Uruguayan  government  requested 
time  until  tbey  could  confer  with  tbe  Brazilian  plenipotentiary  and  with  their  allies. 
Tbe  Argentine  government  also  requested  two  or  three  days  for  same  purpose,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  tbey  furnished  me  a  very  satisfactory  response  to  my  dispatch,  and 
not  only  gave  me  the  consent  or  assurance  of  tbe  Argentine  and  Uruguayan  governments 
that  ail  obstacles  were  removed,  but  also  tbat  all  obstacles  would  be  removed  on  tbe 
part  of  tbe  Brazilian  troops. 

Q.  Did  General  McMabon  liave  any  other  interview  witb  you  than  witb  reference  to 
bis  passing  up  through  the  allied  forces  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  we  talked  generally. 

Q.  I  mean  witb  special  reference  to  bis  going  to  Paraguay  to  represent  our  govern- 
ment there ;  did  be  ask  your  opinion  in  reference  to  going  there  ? — A.  I  do  not  tbink 
be  asked  my  opinion.  He  told  me  be  was  going  to  his  post  of  duty,  as  bo  was  instructed, 
and  that  be  was  atixious  to  get  there  as  speedily  as  possible,  in  consequence  of  tbe  dif- 
ficulties. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  that  bis  instructions  in  reference  to  calling  upon  you  related 
simply  to  his  free  passage  up  the  river  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  understood  that ;  nothing  else. 

Q.  What  did  you  learn  from  Admiral  Davis  as  to  bis  feelings  toward  Mr.  Washburn  at 
tbat  or  any  subsequent  time  ?— A.  Well,  I  thought  just  about  that  time  the  admiral 
was  alternating  somewhat  in  bis  feelings  toward  Mr.  Washburn.  Just  at  that  par- 
ticular time  be  was  a  good  deal  annoyed,  and  manifested,  in  the  various  conversa- 
tions I  bad  witb  him,  bis  annoyance  at  the  hostility  of  General  Webb.  Subsequent  to 
tbat  time  I  tbink  that  the  admiral's  feelings  were  affected  rather  in  an  unfriendly  way 
toward  Mr.  Washburn — more  so  certainly  afterward  than  at  tbat  time,  because, 
wben  the  admiral  came  over,  be  called  on  Mr.  Washburn  at  bis  hotel  and  bad  an 
interview  witb  him.  I  tbink,  I  am  not  entirely  certain,  that  Mr.  Washburn  returned 
tbe  call  and  bad  an  interview  with  the  admiral  in  my  office  at  the  hotel ;  and  tbe  ad- 
miral at  tbat  time  expressed  to  me  satisfaction  at  bis  interview  witb  Mr.  Washburn. 
Well,  be  went  up  tbe  river,  and  when  he  came  back  be  brought  Bliss  and  Mastermau, 
and  wben  I  next  saw  him  lie  bad  transferred  bis  flag  again  from  the  Wasp  to  tbe  Guerriere. 
I  went  over  to  the  Guerriere  especially  to  sec  him.  The  admiral's  opinions  and  feel- 
ings very  manifestly,  to  my  mind,  bad  undergone  a  change. 

Q.  Unfavorably  to  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  be  criticise  Mr.  Washburn's  conduct  in  leaving  Paraguay,  finding  fault  witb 
it,  approving  or  disapproving  of  it  ? — A.  I  will  not  say  tbat  be  found  fault.  I  think 
be  disapproved  of  it.  I  will  not  say  tbat  bis  censure  went  beyond  disapprobation  at 
that  time. 

Q.  What  feelings  did  he  manifest,  if  any,  with  regard  to  Bliss  and  Mastermau  ? — A. 
A  disrespect  for  them.  He  bad  no  confidence  in  them,  and,  I  am  rather  inclined  to 
tbink,  from  tbe  manner  in  which  he  talked,  no  respect  for  them ;  indeed  I  know  it. 

Q.  How  did  be  speak  of  Lopez  ? — A.  He  spoke  of  Lopez  as  being  a  courteous  gentle- 
man, who  treated  him  witb  profound  respect ;  a  man  of  fine  bearing.  He  spoke  of  bis 
shrewdness,  and  in  a  way  to  satisfy  me  tbat  be  was  very  decidedly  impressed  witb  tbe 
general  bearing  of  Lopez. 

Q.  Did  be  speak  of  having  bad  a  personal  interview  witb  Lopez? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  quite 
a  protracted  one,  I  understood  from  htm. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  231 

Q.  Did  yon  see  Bliss  and  Masterman  after  their  arrival  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  On  what  vessel  ? — A.  On  the  Gnerriere,  in  harbor  of  Montevideo. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  them  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  interview  with  them?— A.  No  diffi- 
culty. I  first  asked  Captain  Ramsay  if  I  could  have  a  conversation  with  Bliss  and 
Masterman.  Captain  Ramsay  said  he  supposed  of  course  I  could,  but  that  he  would 
speak  to  the  admiral,  and  he  went  immediately  down  and  spoke  to  the  admiral,  and 
the  admiral  sent  word  back,  "  certainly." 

Q.  Were  they  under  surveillance  or  restraint  of  any  kind  upon  that  vessel  ?— A.  Very 
clearly  they  were  prisoners. 

Q.  Were  they  so  regarded  ?— A.  Yes,  sir ;  so  regarded  as  prisoners,  from  what  the 
admiral  said,  and  what  everybody  else  said.    They  Avere  not  in  chains. 

Q.  Were  they  deprived  of  their  freedom  ? — A.  Very  clearly.  They  were  on  board 
that  ship  as  prisoners,  aist,  as  I  understood  from  the  admiral,  had  been  received  as  pris- 
oners. * 

Q.  Were  they  held  by  him  at  that  time  as  prisoners  ?— A.  I  clearly  understood  that 
from  him. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Was  that  the  reason  you  asked  his  permission  to  see  them? — A.  It  was;  because  I 
was  aware  of  the  fact  that  they  were  not  free  agents  on  board  of  the  ship,  and  I  felt  it 
my  duty  to  obtain  the  authority  of  the  officers  of  the  ship  before  communicating  with 
them. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  What  information  had  you  that  induced  you  to  think  they  were  held  as  prisoners 
on  board  that  ship  ? — A.  The  general  report  of  the  community,  and  from  my  conversa- 
tion with  Captain  Ramsay  and  other  officers  of  the  ship  after  my  arrival  on  board,  be- 
sides letters  I  received  from  General  McMahon  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  them  by 
Lopez. 

Q.  They  told  you  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  prisoners  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  besides 
that,  I  had  received  letters  to  that  effect  from  General  McMahon  upon  the  return  of  the 
Wasp. 

Q.  Did  those  letters  recognize  the  fact  that  they  were  held  as  prisoners  ? — A.  Yes, 
sir ;  General  McMahon  Avrote  to  me — and  it  was  the  last  communication  I  received 
Irom  him  until  just  before  he  returned  from  Paraguay — stating  the  circumstances  of 
his  arrival,  the  examination  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  before  the  commission,  the  deter- 
mination of  Lopez  to  surrender  them  ;  and  in  a  subsequent  letter,  stated  to  mo  that  at 
such  a  time  they  were  surrendered  as  prisoners,  to  be  carried  to  the  United  States  to 
be  tried  on  the  charges  that  Lopez  had  preferred  against  them. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Have  you  that  letter  nnw  in  your  possession  ? — A.  I  think  I  have,  somewhere.    It 
was  a  mere  private,  personal  note. 

By  Mr.  SwANif : 

Q.  What  was  the  phraseology  that  he  used  in  his  letter,  stating  that  these  gentlemen 
were  prisoners ;  can  you  recollect  ?— A.  I  cannot  recollect  in  words  exactly,  but  I  recollect 
the  substance  of  the  communication  very  distinctly.  It  was  that,  when  they  arrived 
in  Paraguay  Admiral  Davis  immediately  opened  a  correspondence  with  Lopez  for  the 
surrender  of  Bliss  and  Masterman ;  that  Lopez,  in  the  very  beginning,  announced  his 
determination  to  surrender  these  men,  but  solicited  a  personal  interview  with  the  ad- 
miral ;  that  during  that  interview,  Lopez,  time  and  time  again,  announced  his  readi- 
ness to  surrender  these  men,  but  he  persisted  in  his  denial  that  they  were  entitled  to 
the  protection  of  the  legation,  and  in  his  assertion  that  they  sought  an  asylum  in  the 
legation  to  protect  themselves  against  the  consequences  of  their  connection  with  the 
conspiracy  for  his  destruction.  But,  repeating  it  again,  he  intended  to  surrender  them 
to  the  United  States  authorities  with  the  request  that  they  should  be  sent  to  the  United 
States,  to  be  tried  upon  the  evidence  that  he  (Lopez)  would  furnish  ;  and  that  accord- 
ingly they  were  surrendered  and  received  by  Admiral  Davis,  and  he  was  to  bring  them 
down  to  send  them  to  the  United  States  for  that  purpose. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  that  Lopez  made  that  a  condition  of  their  surrender — that 
they  should  be  held  as  prisoners  and  delivered  to  the  United  States  authorities  ? — A. 
No,  sir;  not  a  condition  for  their  surrender;  that  he  all  along  intended  to  surrender 
them. 

Q.  Without  condition,  and  that  he  simply  made  this  a  request? — A.  Yes,  sir;  Gen- 
eral McMahon  also  stated  about  the  examination  of  these  persons  before  the  commis- 
sion. I  will  state  here  that  I  went  on  board  the  Gnerriere  early  in  the  morning,  and 
wMle  I  was  aboard  some  other  gentlemen  came  there  and  desired  to  see  Bliss  and 
Masterman.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  were  allowed  to  see  them  or  not.  But  I  had 
quite  a  protracted  interview  with  them,  in  my  desire  to  find  out  something  about  the 
condition  of  things  in  the  country. 


232  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  had  never  seen  Bliss  or  Masterman  before  ? — ^A.  No,  sir ;  never  saw  tiiem  be- 
fore or  since. 

Q.  What  impression  did  they  make  npon  you — that  they  were  gentlemen  ?  Did  they 
conduct  themselves  as  such  ? — A.  Well,  they  made  the  very  reverse  of  a  favorable  im- 
pression upon  me. 

Q.  In  what  particular? — A.  In  the  first  place  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Bliss;  in  the 
second  place  what  I  had  heard  many  people  in  South  America  say  who  knew  him. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  The  people  there  had  formed  an  unfavorable  impression  of  his  character? — A. 
Yes,  sir.   In  the  third  place,  my  conversation  with  Mr.  Bliss  did  not  remove  that  im- 
pression. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  How  was  it  in  regard  to  Mr.  Masterman  ? — A.  Mr.  Masterman  did  not  make  a 
very  favorable  impression  ui)on  me.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  altogether  different  per- 
sonml  from  Mr.  Bliss  ;  but  I  had  not  heard  so  much  about  Mr.  Masterman  before  as  I 
had  about  Mr.  Bliss,  and  the  only  impression  I  formed  of  Mr.  Masterman  was  the  result 
of  my  personal  intercourse  with  him  on  that  occasion. 

Q.  What  had  you  heard  about  Mr.  Bliss  ? — A.  Well,  Mr.  Bliss  lived  in  Montevideo  and 
Buenos  Ayres  some  time  before  ho  went  to  Paraguay ;  and  after  it  was  ascertained  at 
Buenos  Ayres  that  Bliss  had  been  forcibly  arrested  by  Lopez  and  taken  away  from  the 
American  legation,  he  was  frequently  talked  about  by  the  people  there. 

Q.  State  what  you  heard  in  reference  to  his  character  from  responsible  sources. — A. 
I  can  state  generally  that  the  people  who  spoke  to  me  about  him  said  he  did  not  stand 
well  in  Buenos  Ayres. 

Q.  In  what  respect  did  he  not  stand  well? — A.  Neither  for  integrity  nor  veracity. 

Q.  Was  there  any  impression  that  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  conspiracy  against 
Lopez;  did  you  hear  that  objected  to  against  him? — ^A.  Persons  there  who  talked 
about  it  Said  they  did  not  believe  Bliss  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  because,  as  they 
expressed  it,  Bliss  was  too  big  a  coward,  and  therefore  they  did  not  believe  he  would 
have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Frequently  they  said  they  believed  that  he  would  have 
engaged  in  it  if  he  could  without  detection  and  there  was  any  money  to  be  made  out 
of  it. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anything  about  Bliss's  being  a  spy  on  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 
I  received  a  telegram  from  a  gentleman  at  Montevideo  informing  me  that  he  was 
satisfied  from  what  he  had  heard  from  very  high  officials  in  the  allied  army,  that  Mr. 
Bliss  while  living  in  Mr.  Washburn's  family  was  acting  as  a  spy  upon  Mr.  Washburn's 
conduct.  Other  information  of  a  similar  character  reached  me,  from  gentlemen  of  high 
official  position.  I  know  nothing  about  it  except  from  the  representations  of  these 
gentlemen. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Was  your  information,  that  Mr.  Bliss  was  in  the  employ  of  Lopez  as  a  spy  upon 
Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  After  you  heard  of  Mr.  Bliss  being  arrested  by  Lopez,  did  you  change  your  opinions 
with  regard  to  his  character  in  Mr.  Washburn's  family  ? — A.  Well,  I  always  hesitated 
about  believing  that  accusation  of  his  being  a  spy  for  Lopez,  although  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Washburn  about  it.  Doctor  Bourse  sent  me  the  private  telegram  and  Mr.  Kodriguez 
Cavallero  communicated  to  me  that  ho  also  had  heard  the  rumor,  under  circumstances 
carrying  with  it  considerable  credibility. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Did  he  state  what  those  circumstances  were  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  he  said  that  Bliss  was 
accused  by  some  persons  of  being  a  spy  on  Mr.  Washburn,  and  he  thought  there  was 
considerable  foundation  for  believing  it  to  be  so.    He  mentioned  that  to  mo  one  day. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  In  communicating  that  information  to  Mr.  Washburn,  did  you  state  at  the  time 
that  you  believed  or  disbelieved  it  ? — A.  When  I  first  heard  it,  in  connection  with 
Bliss's  character,  it  made  an  impression  upon  me ;  yet  I  could  hardly  understand  it.  I 
saw  the  perfect  inconsistency  of  Mr.  Bliss's  being  in  Mr.  Washburn's  family  as  a  spy, 
and  yet  being  arrested  by  Lopez  for  crimes  alleged  to  be  committed  against  him.  I  do 
not  remember  exactly  what  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Washburn  at  the  time,  but  I  remember 
distinctly  writing  to  him  in  terms  of  considerable  severity  against  Mr.  Bliss.  Prom 
Mr.  Bliss's  general  reputation,  as  I  had  heard  it,  I  may  have  said  to  Mr.  Washburn 
"  Look  out  for  Bliss,  for  I  am  satisfied  that  he  has  been  a  spy  on  your  conduct  during 
his  residence  in  your  legation."  I  may  have  said  that,  but  I  do  not  remember  dis- 
tinctly what  I  said.  I  remember  that  Mr.  Washburn  wrote  Ijack  to  me  hooting  at  the 
idea,  and  saying  it  was  absurd  that  Bliss  could  be  a  spy  when  he  had  been  arrested  by 
Lopez  on  the  accusation  that  he  was  engaged  in  this  conspiracy  against  him. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  233 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  there  were  no  tangible  facts  upon  •which  Mr.  Bliss 
could  have  been  accused  of  acting  as  a  spy  upon  Mr.  Washburn,  but  that  the  general 
estimate  of  his  character  induced  the  belief  that  he  might  be  a  spy  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I 
never  heard  of  any  tangible  facts  either  directly  or  indirectly.  I  have  given  the  com- 
mittee all  the  information  I  have  had  of  this  accusation  against  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  see  a  book  written  by  Mr.  Bliss  during  his  imprisonment  by  Lopez  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir ;  that  is,  I  saw  a  book  purporting  to  be  written  by  Mr.  Bliss.  Indeed,  lilr. 
Bliss  told  me  he  had  written  a  book  while  he  was  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  What  impression  did  the  perusal  of  that  book  make  upon  you? — A.  A  very  un- 
favorable impression  toward  Mr.  Bliss,  from  the  fact  that  he  had  violently  assailed 
Mr.  Washburn  in  it.  I  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Bliss  on  this  subject.  I  said,  "  Bliss, 
you  lived  with  Mr.  Washburn  ?"  "  Yes."  "  Mr.  Washburn  treated  you  kindly  ?" 
"  Yes."  "  And  Mrs.  Washburn  also  ?"  "Always,  sir."  "  They  gave  you  a  home  ?"  "  Yes." 
I  then  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Bliss,  how  did  you  have  it  in  your  heart  to  so  assail  and  de- 
nounce your  benefactor  as  you  have  ?"  Well,  he  said  ho  did  it  to  save  his  life ;  did  it 
under  torture  or  threats  of  torture.  "  But,"  said  I,  "  was  it  necessary  to  preserve  your- 
self from  torture  that  you  should  go  into  all  these  details ;  facts  that  you  could  only 
have  known  from  your  intimate  association  and  intercourse  with  Mr.  Washburn ;  his 
early  life  in  California,  and  everything  of  that  sort  ?"  Well,  Bliss  went  on  to  explain 
about  that,  saying  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  the  lie  as  big  as  possible,  and  that  ho 
thought  there  was  a  good  deal  of  philosophy  in  his  way  of  writing  that  book  ;  that  he 
intended  to  make  the  lie  as  large  as  possible,  so  that  it  would  carry  with  it  its  own 
refutation.  That  was  his  explanation  of  the  matter  ;  that  the  book,  upon  being  read, 
it  would  suggest  itself  to  everybody  that  it  was  done  under  some  undue  influence. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say,  or  rather  to  intimate,  that  from  the  impression  made  on 
you  by  Bliss  and  Masterman,  you  would  not  have  trusted  either  of  them  ? — A.  In 
answering  that,  I  must  a.ssociate  with  it  what  the  people  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Monte- 
video told  me  about  Mr.  Bliss. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Had  he  earned  for  himself  a  bad  reputation  in  those  places  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Were  you  prejudiced  against  him  before  you  saw  him  ?— A.  Yes,  sir,  necessarily, 
I  never  heard  a  single  man  in  Buenos  Ayres  si)eak  well  of  Mr.  Bliss. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Had  Mr.  Bliss  been  much  in  Buenos  Ayres — lon^  enough  to  make  himself  well  known 
to  the  community  ? — A.  Quite  considerably,  I  think.  The  gentlemen  with  whom  I 
most  generally  associated,  the  American  population,  seem  all  to  have  known  him.  I 
heard  many  English  people  talking  about  him,  indifferently,  also.  I  do  not  remember 
that  they  charged  any  specific  act ;  but  I  have  heard  persons  there  say  that  they  had 
no  doubt  that  Bliss  had  been  employed  and  paid  by  both  sides — by  both  belligerents. 
I  have  heard  such  accusations.  I  do  not  say  anything  on  this  point  of  my  own  per- 
sonal knowledge,  because  I  never  saw  Mr.  Bliss  except  during  that  hour's  conversation 
I  had  with  him  on  board  the  vessel.  But  I  have  heard  these  gentlemen  in  Buenos 
Ayres  speak  of  him  as  a  worthless,  bumming  scalawag,  who  was  not  to  be  respected, 
and  ought  not  to  be  believed.  Mr.  Bliss's  name  was  only  prominently  mentioned  after 
his  arrest;  not  so  much  before. 

Q.  In  speaking  of  the  relations  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  Admiral  Davis,  I  under- 
stand you  to  say  that  in  the  early  part  of  their  intercourse  on  public  affairs.  Admiral 
Davis  spoke  kindly  of  Mr.  Washburn  in  a  friendly  spirit  ?— A.  Yes,  sir,  and  Mr.  Wash- 
burn of  Admiral  Davis. 

Q.  And  you  state  that  subsequently,  after  he  returned  from  Paraguay,  Admiral 
Davis's  opinion  of  Mr.  Washburn  had  changed  in  regard  to  his  oonduct  of  public  affairs 
in  Paraguay  ?— A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Did  you  talk  with  Admiral  Davis  upon  that  subject  ?— A.  In  a  general  way ;  there 
was  no  secresy  in  his  criticism,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned. 

Q.  He  did  not  reflect  upon  Mr.  Washburn  personally,  or  make  any  taunting  remarks 
that  showed  prejudice  against  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  that  he  did.  I 
think  Admiral  Davis  disapproved  of  many  things  that  he  heard  asserted  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn in  Paraguay.  I  do  not  know  in  what  things.  I  think  in  leaving  the  legation, 
and  in  many  other  things.  I  do  not  think  it  to  be  those  things  that  reflected  on  the 
personal  integrity  of  Mr.  Washburn.  I  knew  the  relations  between  them  up  to  the 
time  they  went  up,  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Washburn  and  myself  were  in  almost  hourly 
communication,  and  were  both  watching  with  some  anxiety  the  result  of  the  interview 
between  Admiral  Davis,  Mr.  Washburn,  and  General  McMahon.  After  the  interview, 
Mr.  Washburn  told  me  that  he  had  met  Admiral  Davis,  and  that  he  was  perfectly  sat- 
isfied, and  everything  was  agreeable. 


234  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  At  what  time  was  this?— A.  It  was  immediately  after  the  admiral's  first  inter- 
view with  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  Was  that  after  Mr.  Washburn's  return  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  his  return  from  Paraguay, 
and  before  Admiral  Davis  went  up.  Then  Mr.  Washburn  wont  away ;  he  went  to 
Montevideo.  The  day  after  Mr.  Washburn  had  gone  to  Montevideo,  in  consequence 
of  something  that  I  heard,  as  well  as  ray  desire  to  see  him  personally,  I  jumped  in 
the  boat  and  went  to  Montevideo.  I  called  on  him ;  when  I  went  in  he  was  engaged  in 
writing.  He  handed  me  some  letters  with  the  request  that  I  deliver  them  to  General 
McMahon,  and  some  other  papers.  Then  I  discovered  a  change  in  Mr.  Washburn's 
feelings  toward  Admiral  Davis.  Mr.  Washburn  complained  to  me  of  a  neglect  of 
courtesy ;  spoke  of  discourtesy  on  the  part  of  the  admiral ;  and  in  general  talk  I 
thought  I  then  discovered  a  change  in  Mr.  Washburn's  mind  toward  Admiral  Davis, 
and  a  change  in  those  few  days.  However,  Mr.  Washburn  made  the  remark  to  me  at 
the  time,  that  since  he  had  been  over  in  Montevideo,  ho  had  heard  a  good  deal  that  he 
did  not  know  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  mentioned  that  Doctor  Duvall  had  called  to  see  him. 
I  left  Mr.  Washburn  and  went  away  that  day.  When  Mr.  Washburn  got  to  Rio,  he  wrote 
me  again  that  ho  had  heard  other  things  that  now  made  him  extremely  dissatisfied 
with  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis.  That  is  a  condensed  history  of  the  relations,  as 
I  understood  them  up  to  that  time,  between  JVIr.  Washburn  and  Admiral  Davis.  Mr, 
Washburn  even  used  the  expression  in  his  letter  to  me  from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  that  he 
was  utterly  bewildered  at  the  amount  of  lying  and  deception  that  had  been  resorted  to, 
and  referred  to  the  impression  that  had  been  made  in  his  mind  in  Buenos  Ayres  as 
having  been  removed  by  what  he  had  heard  at  Montevideo  and  Rio. 

Q.  Did  you  know  Doctor  Duvall,  the  surgeon  ? — ^A.  I  did. 

Q.  What  was  your  estimate  of  Doctor  Duvall  ? — A.  I  have  quite  a  personal  regard 
for  him ;  Doctor  Duvall  is  a  positive  man,  of  fine  impulses  and  strong  prejudices  ;  but 
I  am  not  prepared  to  believe  that  Doctor  Duvall  wants  to  do  anybody  injustice. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  relations  between  Admiral  Davis  and  General 
Webb? — A.  Nothing,  except  what  General  Webb  would  write  to  me,  and  what  the 
admiral  would  say. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Davis  ever  complain  of  the  interference  of  General  Webb  in  any 
way  ?— A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  what  particulars? — ^A.  The  admiral  thought  that  General  Webb  wanted  at 
times  not  only  to  control  his  diplomatic  service,  but  also  the  navy ;  General  Webb  al- 
ways denied  that,  and  thought  that  Admiral  Davis,  as  a  naval  officer,  did  not  act  with 
sufficient  energy  and  alacrity,  when  there  was  pressing  necessity  for  action;  in  this  case 
particularly,  because  this  was  the  case  in  everybody's  mind. 

Q.  Did  General  Webb  complain  to  Admiral  Davis  of  his  want  of  activity  in  carrying 
out  the  instructions  of  his  government,  or  say  what  he  ought  to  have  done,  situated  as 
he  was  ? — A.  I  only  know  from  General  Webb's  published  correspondence  and  what  I 
heard  the  admiral  say.  He  did  complain.  He  was  dissatisfied,  and,  therefore,  he  com- 
plained of  what  he  regarded  as  negligence  of  the  public  interests,  in  not  securing  the 
lives  of  American  citizens,  or  acting  with  sufficient  energy. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  that  any  correspondence  took  place  upon  that  particular  point  ? — 
A.  Yes,  sir ;  that  among  others. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  the  admiral  complain  of  the  interference  of  General  Webb  in  mat- 
ters that  he  did  not  think  he  had  a  right  to  ? — A.  I  have  heard  the  admiral  say  that 
General  Webb  was,  he  thought,  at  times,  disposed  to  control  the  movements  of  the 
squadron ;  but  I  nev#r  heard  the  admiral  refer  to  Mr.  Webb  in  disrespectful  terms. 

By  Mr.  Orth  ; 
Q.  Do  you  know  of  Captain  Ramsay  and  Lieutenant  Davis  being  sent  with  dispatches 
to  Minister  McMahon  ?  If  so,  state  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  that  affair. — 
A.  After  the  occupation  of  the  city  of  Asuncion  by  the  Brazilians,  an  American  gentle- 
man, who  had  visited  Asuncion,  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  communicated  to  me 
facts  and  circumstances  attending  the  sacking  of  the  American  legation.  I  regarded 
that  as  making  it  necessary  to  send  the  Wasp  up  the  river,  for  the  treble  purpose  of 
examining  into  the  facts,"  saving  American  property,  and  of  communicating  with 
General  McMahon.  For  the  purpose  of  facilitating  that  mission  I  communicated  with 
the  Uruguayan  and  Argentine  governments,  requesting  them  to  send  orders  to  their 
respective  commanders  to  aid  Captain  Kirkland,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Wasp,  in 
communicating  with  General  McMahon.  These  two  governments  furnished  the  orders 
iipon  which  Captain  Kirkland  proceeded  to  Asuncion.  When  he  got  there  he  presented 
these  orders,  and  these  people  refused  to  recognize  them ;  the  allies  refused  to  recog- 
nize them,  and  refused  to  furnish  any  facilities  at  all,  upon  the  ground  that  it  might 
interfere  with  military  operations  that  were  then  in  contemplation ;  but  adding  that 
as  soon  as  it  could  be  done  without  interference  with  these  military  operations  they 
would  be  pleased  to  do  so.  Captain  Kirkland  remained  there  many  days.  He  had  a 
very  elaborate  correspondence  with  them,  and  being  detained  there  he  directed  his 
attention  to  the  examination  of  the  outrage  on  the  legation.    At  that  time  the  Gue:  • 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  235 

riere  had  p;one  on  a  trip  to  Eio,  taking  up  Bliss  and  Masterman  for  transportation 
to  the  United  States.    But  before  the  return  of  the  Wasp,  the  Guerriere  had  returned 
to  Montevideo.    Captain  Kirkland,  after  remaining  there  a  number  of  days,  finding 
these  people  were  delaying  him,  and  would  furnish  no  facilities,  came  back  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  or  rather  to  Montevideo.    As  soon  as  I  heard  of  his  arrival  I  went  over  and 
saw  the  admiral.    In  the  mean  time  some  correspondence  occurred  between  the  ad- 
miral and  myself,  in  which  I  urged  the  admiral  to  do  everything  he  could  to  com- 
municate with  General  McMahon.     I  was  beginning  to  doubt  McMahon's  free  agency 
in  Paraguay.    The  United   States  had  never  received  a  dispatch  from  him,  and  I 
had  dispatches  in  my  office,  with  orders  to  transmit  them  to  him,  and  I  was  anxious 
he  should  get  them,  and  when  these  people  had  disregarded  these  instructions  I  then 
wanted  Davis  to  do  something,  as  the  executive  officer  of  our  government,  in  ord«r 
to  enable  me   to  communicate  with   General  McMahon.    A  very  considerable  time 
elapsed  and  nothing  was  done.    I  made  two  or  three  visits  to  Montevideo  for  the  puri)ose 
of  conferring  with  Admiral  Davis,  urging  all  the  time  an  effort  in  another  direction  to 
communicate  with  General  McMahon.    The  only  question  was  what  course  Admiral 
Davis  should  pursue  to  secure  that  result.    During  that  time  the  correspondence  was 
coing  on  between  the  Argentine  government  and  myself  about  the  sufficient  reason  for 
declining  to  furnish  an  escort.    While  that  correspondence  was  going  on,  Admiral  Davis 
made  his  appearance  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  in  some  interviews  that  he  had  with  the 
foreign  department,  of  which  I  knew  nothing  except  it  was  indirectly  communicated 
to  me,  the  foreign  department  informed  the  admiral  that  they  had  offered,  in  a  note  to 
me,  to  instruct  their  commanding  officers  to  furnish  every  facility  in  their  power  to 
communicate  with  the  American  minister,  subject,  however,  to  the  well  understood 
provision,  (that  was  their  language,)  that  if  the  orders  thus  given  should  interfere  with 
any  military  operations  about  to  be  executed,  or  in  contemplation,  that  the  order  should 
be  disregarded.    Well,  I  did  not  like  that,  because  I  had  been  induced,  at  an  expense 
of  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars  to  the  government,  upon  just  such  orders  before,  to 
send  the  Wasp  to  Paraguay,  and  I  objected  to  it,  and  told  the  admiral  so.    The  admiral 
having  mentioned  this  to  mo  verbally,  I  afterward  communicated  it  in  writing  to  him — 
the  offer  the  Argentine  government  had  made  to  me — in  reply  to  which  the  admiral 
wrote  me  that  in  consequence  of  that  information,  and  appreciating  the  necessity  of 
communicating  with  the  American  minister,  after  so  protracted  a  silence,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  government  he  would  send  a  special  bearer  of  dispatches  to  Paraguay ;  that 
he  would  send  Captain  Ramsay  and  LicMitenant  Davis  of  his  staff  as  special  bearers  of 
dispatches  to  Paraguay,  and  would  be  ])l<'iisod  to  take  charge  of  any  communications 
I  might  have  for  transmission  to  General  McMahon.    In  ten  minutes  I  responded  to  him 
that  I  had  a  number  of  communications  for  General  McMahon,  and  that  I  should  be 
pleased  to  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  send  them  to  him.    He  replied  that  Cap- 
tain Ramsay  woTild  call  upon  mo  to  receiv^e  them,  which  he  did,  and  he  and  Lieutenant 
Davis  went' to  Paraguay.    About  two  days  after  they  had  left  for  Paraguay,  I  received 
other  disp.'itches  for  General  McMahon,  and  among  them  his  letter  of  recall,  with  in- 
structions to  forward  them  as  speedily  as  possible.    I  found  a  Mr.  Hopkins,  a  gentle- 
man who  was  going  up  the  river,  to  whom  I  intrusted  these  dispatches,  with  direction 
to  deliver  them  to  Captain  Ramsay  and  take  his  receipt  for  them.    He  took  passage  by 
the  regular  packet  boat,  w  hich  went  through,  sailing  night  and  day,  while  the  Wasp,  on 
which  Captain  Ramsay  and  Lieutenant  Davis  took  passage,  ran  only  during  the  day- 
time ;  consequently  Mr.  Hopkins  managed  to  get  there  about  the  same  time  the  Wasp 
arrived.    He  went  out  to  the  headquarters  and  found  that  Captain  Ramsay  was  then 
negotiating  about  a  flag  of  truce  and  escort,  and  understood  that  as  soon  as  it  became 
known  to  the  Count  de  Eu  that  General  McMahon's  recall  had  been  received,  every 
facility  then  was  furnished ;  and  before  Captain  Ramsay  started  up,  that  very  evening, 
he  received,  for  the  first  time  since  General  McMahon  landed,  under  flag  of  truce,  a  bag 
of  dispatches  from  General  McMahon  directed  to  me ;  and  the  day  after  that,  I  believe, 
he  started  and  went  through  the  Paraguayan  lines  and  communicated  with  General 
McMahon. 

By  Mr,  Orth  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  reasons  other  than  those  of  an  official  character,  on  the  part  of 
Admiral  Davis,  which  induced  him  to  send  these  special  bearers  of  dispatches  to 
General  McMahon  ? — A.  I  know  of  no  other  reasons. 

Q.  Did  Admiral  Davis  ever  put  himself  in  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Argentine 
government,  and  thus  ignore  the  presence  of  the  United  States  minister  accredited  to 
that  government  ? — A.  Yes ;  I  think  he  did.  It  was  at  the  time  I  was  in  correspondence 
with  the  Argentine  government  in  reference  to  this  same  subject.  The  admiral  made 
his  appearance  at  Buenos  Ayres  and  called  on  the  Argentine  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
when  this  matter  was  talked  over ;  and  when  the  admiral  called  on  me  I  said  to  him, 
"Admiral,  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  this  matter  of  communicating  with  General 
McMahon  that  I  have  persistently  urged  for  some  time?"  ''Why,"  said  he,  "they  tell 
me  they  have  offered  to  grant  us  all  the  facilities  for  that  purpose."    "  Yes,"  said  I, 


236  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

"  upon  the  same  terms  they  gave  us  before ;  give  us  an  order  which  their  generals  may 
ignore  or  disobey,  if  they  think  proper."  "Well,"  said  he,  "I  have  arranged  all  that 
with  them,  and  if  you  will  just  write  me  a  communication  that  they  have  made  that 
oflfer  to  you,  I  will  immediately  send  Captain  Ramsay  through  with  dispatches  to 
General  McMahon."  I  went  immediately  home,  but  I  felt  that  it  was  an  unwarrant- 
able interference  by  the  admiral  with  the  duties  of  the  United  States  minister.  But  I 
was  not  so  tenacious  about  the  dignity  of  my  position  that  I  would  let  that  stand  in 
the  way  of  communicating  with  General  McMahon.  I  thought  that  the  interests  of 
my  government  demanded  that  communication  should  be  opened,  and  therefore,  I 
made  no  objection  to  Admiral  Davis's  action  in  the  matter.  We  had  not  heard  a  word 
from  General  McMahon,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  eight  months,  and  he  bad  not  received 
a  word  from  his  government  for  that  length  of  time.  I  thought  if  this  state  of  things 
was  to  continue,  we  had  better  have  no  representative  there  at  all.  I  therefore  com- 
municated to  Admiral  Davis  the  substance  of  the  offer  made  me  by  the  Argentine  gov- 
ernment, and  he  replied,  as  I  have  detailed  before,  that  he  would  send  Captain  Ramsay 
and  Lieutenant  Davis  to  Paraguay. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  I  understand  that  that  arrangement — except  in  regard  to  the  admiral's  inter- 
ference with  your  duties — was  satisfactory  to  you  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  because  it  was  carry- 
ing out  the  purpose  which  I  had  been  trying  to  accomplish.  I  was  satisfied  with  any- 
thing that  would  result  in  communicating  with  General  McMahon.  But  they  had 
given  identically  the  same  instructions  to  their  officers  before.  When  we  sent  the 
W^asp  up,  at  an  expense  to  the  government  of  about  seven  thousand  dollars,  and  when 
the  Wasp  reached  their  military  lines  their  commanders  disregarded  those  instructions, 
and  the  Wasp  had  to  return  without  accomplishing  anything.  Therefore,  not  regarding 
the  reasons  of  the  allied  generals  for  disregarding  the  instructions  of  their  government 
as  at  all  sufficient,  I  was  not  disposed  to  have  the  Wasp  go  up  again  under  the  same 
circumstances  and  upon  the  same  authority ;  and  for  that  reason,  but  for  the  inter- 
ference of  Admiral  Davis,  I  should  have  declined  their  oflfer  and  insisted  upon  their 
recognizing  our  right  to  communicate  with  our  minister.  It  was  a  question  of  right, 
not  of  courtesy.  It  was  a  question  whether  we  were  to  be  debarred  from  communicat- 
ing with  General  McMahon  simply  because  the  officers  of  the  allied  army  thought  it 
might  interfere  with  military  operations  that  were  contemplated,  but  which  had  not 
been  executed  for  forty  days.  I  should  have  insisted  upon  the  right  to  go  up,  and 
wanted  Admiral  Davis  to  land  there  even  with  fifty  men,  and  made  the  allied  powers, 
if  they  wanted  to  resist  our  eflforts,  do  so  by  force.  I  said  to  him  "  You  have  not  the 
force  necessary  for  that  purpose,  but  at  least,  let  us  assert  the  right." 

Q.  How  did  Davis  and  Ramsay's  mission  result? — A.  It  proved  successful.  It 
resulted  in  communication  with  General  McMahon,  and  I  was  abundantly  gratified; 
for  at  that  time  I  began  to  have  serious  apprehensions  in  regard  to  General  McMalion's 
free  agency.  At  the  same  time  I  can  not  help  insisting  upon  the  preservation,  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  of  the  civil  and  the  naval  service.  And  I  am  also  bound  to  say  that 
the  Argentine  government  always  manifested  every  disposition  to  aflford  all  the  facili- 
ties it  could  to  the  United  States,  in  every  way  and  under  all  circumstances,  during  my 
official  residence  there. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  What  position  did  the  Argentine  government  occupy  in  this  tripartite  alliance  ? — 
A.  It  was  secondary ;  that  is,  it  had  an  equal  vote  with  Brazil,  but  it  is  secondary  in 
its  influence  and  power. 

Q.  Was  there  any  other  instance  in  which  Admiral  Davis  interfered,  or  attempted 
to  interfere,  with  your  rights  and  privileges  as  minister  ?— A.  I  have  never  made  com- 
plaint at  all  to  my  government  about  these  things,  but  there  was  another  case  in 
which  I  thought  the  admiral  did  interfere  with  my  duties.  It  was  this :  The  Argen- 
tine government  wanted  to  have  a  survey  made  of  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  at 
some  other  point,  and  they  asked  me  to  solicit  the  aid  of  Admiral  Davis  for  that  pur- 
pose. Upon  consulting  the  admiral  he  informed  me  he  would  do  it  with  pleasure,  and 
was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  give  his  young  men  practice,  but  that  the  usual  method 
was  to  communicate  with  the  home  government,  and  the  Navy  Department  would 
then  refer  the  matter  to  the  proper  branch  of  that  service  that  came  within  his  juris- 
diction, and  he  would  be  authorized  then  by  the  department  to  make  it.  I  communi- 
cated with  the  government  at  Washington,'  and  after  some  delay  I  received  instruc- 
tions from  the  department,  authorizing  Admiral  Davis  to  make  the  survey,  and 
instructions  also  to  communicate,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  Argentine  government,  the 
pleasure  that  it  afforded  the  United  States  to  furnish  these  facilities.  The  same  mails, 
I  suppose,  brought  something  from  the  Navy  Department  to  Admiral  Davis.  It  must 
have  been  so.  However,  Admiral  Davis  immediately  came  to  Buenos  Ayres  with  Mr. 
Mediava,  who  was  interested  in  the  matter,  to  make  some  examinations,  before  ho 
had  received  any  communication  from  me  at  all,  and  before  I  had  time  to  send  him 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  237 

any  communication,  (I  suppose,  acting  upon  the  authority  of  his  instructions  from  the 
Navy  Department,)  and  addressed  a  communication  to  the  Argentine  government  on 
the  subject. 

Q.  He  did  not  address  it  through  you?— A.  No,  sir.  I  never  made  any  objection 
to  him.  I  may  have  said  that  I  thouglit  these  things  ought  to  be  done  through  the 
United  States  minister,  if  there  was  a  minister  there.  I  may  have  said  something  of 
that  sort.  I  did  Hot  care  materially  about  that,  however ;  the  other  i^oint  I  thought 
more  important. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  Mr.  Washburn,  at  any  time,  make  complaint  of  Admiral  Davis  for 
not  extending  to  him  the  jiroper  courtesies  due  to  an  American  minister  ;  if  so,  what 
was  the  special  cause  of  complaint  ?— A.  Mr.  Washburn  spoke  to  me,  at  Montevideo,  of 
neglect,  upon  the  jiart  of  the  admiral,  to  extend  to  him  the  usual  courtesies.  I  men- 
tioned it  to  the  admiral.  The  admiral  made  two  replies.  He  said  :  "  In  the  first  place, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  Mr.  Washburn,  being  an  out-going  minister,  was  not  entitled  to 
them."  But  he  said,  independent  of  that,  he  had  either  started,  or  was  going  to  start 
(not  only  himself,  but  Mrs.  Davis)  to  call  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Washburn,  when  a  pam- 
pero or  heavy  wind  sprang  up,  which  prevented  it. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  origin  of  this  war  between  the  allies  and  Paraguay  ? — 
A.  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  concerning  it.  I  did  not  reach  Buenos  Ayres  until 
some  three  or  four  years  after  the  war  began.    I  know  historically  about  it. 

Q.  Who  commenced  the  war ;  who  struck  the  first  blow  ? — A.  I  should  suppose  that 
Paraguay  did,  by  the  seizure  of  the  steamer  Marquez  do  Olinda,  and  the  capture  of 
Corrieutes.  I  can  only  state  my  view  about  the  commencement  of  the  war.  There  is 
a  great  diversity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  that  and  other  questions  connected  with  the 
war.  As  an  actual  fact,  it  is  universally  admitted  that  Lopez  began  the  war  by  the 
seizure  of  the  Marquez  de  Olinda,  a  regular  packet-boat,  belonging  to  a  Brazilian  com- 
pany ;  the  capture,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  governor  of  the  Brazilian  province  of 
Matto-Grosso,  and,  subsequently,  by  invading  the  territory  of  the  Argentine  Republic. 

Q.  Had  tlic  allies  organized  an  army,  at  the  time  of  these  captures,  for  the  invasion 
of  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  understand  not.  Lopez  also  went  into  the  Argentine  waters  and 
captured  two  steamers  at  Corrientes,  and,  by  means  of  these  steamers,  he  subsequently 
brou<^ht  down  a  large  number  of  men,  occupied  Corrientes,  and  held  it  for  some  time. 

Q.  This  was  before  there  were  any  military  operations  going  on  against  Paraguay — 
any  organized  military  operations  ? — A.  Understood  to  be  so.  I  have  understood  that 
those  in  favor  of  Paraguay  have  asserted  that  all  these  things  were  superinduced  by 
the  revolution  that  was  taking  place  at  that  time  in  Uruguay  under  the  auspices  of 
Brazil  and  the  administration  in  power  in  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  which  Lopez 
regarded  as  threatening  the  existence  of  republics  in  South  America. 

Q.  Then  after  the  capture  of  these  vessels  he  used  them  to  take  his  troops  into  the 
Argentine  territory  ? — A.  I  understand  so ;  these  vessels  and  others  tha^  he  had — a  small 
navy. 

Q.  When  the  war  commenced,  what,  or  about  what,  was  the  population  of  Para- 
guay ? — A.  I  had  supposed  upward  of  600,000. 

Q.  What  do  you  suppose  it  to  be  now  ?— A.  I  have  no  means  of  telling.  There  is 
such  a  diversity  in  the  estimates  of  persons  from  Paraguay  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  say. 
Doctor  Stewart  says  40,000 :  General  McMahon  says  200,000 :  Mr.  Thompson  says  from 
200,000  to  250,000. 

Q.  Is  it  the  general  impression  among  reliable  and  intelligent  gentlemen  who  have 
had  means  of  knowing,  that  one-half  the  entire  population  has  been  wiped  out  ? — ^A.  I 
should  suppose  a  greater  proportion. 

Q.  Taking  this  information  from  the  most  reliable  sources,  what  proportion  of  the 
men  of  Paraguay,  the  able-bodied  men,  should  you  suppose  had  been  wiped  out  in  this 
war  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  the  division  of  the  sexes.  I  have  never  heard  any  estimate 
on  the  subject.  I  talked  with  numbers  of  persons  recently  from  Paraguay,  before  I 
left  South  America — with  very  many  intelligent  Paraguayans  born  and  raised  in  the 
country,  and  I  derived  my  information  fr-om  tliem.  I  am  very  well  satisfied  that  there 
is  a  very  small  male  population  left  there.  I  look  upon  the  war  that  is  being  carried 
on  there  as  a  war  of  the  women  and  children  on  the  one  side,  and  the  allies  upon  the 
other.  There  are  hardly  any  men  in  the  country ;  that  is  the  information  I  have  ob- 
tained. I  have  seen  boys  captured  from  the  Paraguayan  army ;  soldiers  as  yoimg  as 
eleven  years.  When  anybody  came  down  from  the  country  I  saw  them  and  obtained 
all  the  information  I  could.  My  facilities  for  obtaining  information  were  as  good  as 
any  other  man's  in  the  country,  for  when  anybody  came  from  the  country  they  would 
be  brought  to  me  and  arrangements  made  by  which  I  could  see  and  talk  with  them.  I 
felt  it  to  be  my  duty  so  to  do  at  that  time,  because  General  McMahon  could  get  no  dis- 
patches through,  and  our  government  could  receive  no  information  about  the  condition 
of  the  country. 

Q.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  a  document  sent  by  Mr.  Lidgerwood,  a  list  of  ex- 


238  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

ecutionsin  Paraguay,  published  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  5,  4l8t  Cong.,  Istsess.  Have  you  seen 
that  dof.ument  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  saw  it  the  day  after  it  was  brought  to  Buenos  Ayres. 
I  saw  the  original  document.  It  was  shown  to  nie  as  genuine  by  the  Foreign  Office.  It 
is  called  "  Resquin's  Diary." 

Q.  Kow  was  that  document  obtained  ? — A.  It  was  among  the  papers  of  Lopez  that 
were  captured  at  Loma  Valentina,  the  last  of  December. 

Q.  State  where  you  saw  it. — A.  I  saw  it  amon^  the  archives  of  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic, in  the  office  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  I  saw  the  original  paper.  It  was 
exhibited  to  the  Brazilian  minister,  the  English,  French,  and  one  or  two  other  minis- 
ters and  myself. 

Q.  Have  you  any  doubt  of  the  correctness  or  truthfulness  of  that  paper  ? — A.  I  have 
no  doubt  in  my  mind  of  that  being  a  genuine  Paraguayan  paper.  I  have  doubts  of 
the  correctness  of  the  paper.  The  reason  of  my  doubt  is  this :  it  occurred  in  this  way: 
upon  General  McMahon's  arrival  at  my  house,  he  picked  up  a  paper,  lying  in  my  office, 
which  was  a  publication  under  the  authority  of  the  Argentine  government,  containing 
a  translation  of  Resquin's  Diary— this  paper.  General  McMahon  looked  over  it  and 
marked  out  several  names  on  that  of  persons  who  were  alive,  and  who,  he  says,  accom- 
panied him  to  the  lines  when  he  was  about  leaving  Paraguay.  I  remember  one  name. 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  in  this  document  as  published  by  the  House.  The  first  one 
General  McMahon  marked  out,  he  said,  was  a  gentleman  who  in  Piribebuy  had  lived 
very  near  his  house  during  his  whole  residence  at  the  capital.  Indeed,  he  said,  he 
accompanied  him  from  Piribebuy  to  Lopez's  headquarters  in  his  carriage,  and  I  think 
also  a  part  of  the  way  on  his  return  from  Paraguay.  That  gentleman  was  the  Vice- 
President.  I  will  not  undertake  to  identify  these  particular  cases.  My  impression  is, 
that  list  has  been  a  little  changed  from  the  original  publication  or  the  original  trans- 
lation, where  there  were  several  whom  it  Avas  ascertained  were  still  living,  were  left 
out.  Then  General  McMahon  marked  off  the  names  of  two  other  persons.  One  whose 
name  I  forget,  who  was  reported  to  have  been  executed  by  Lopez  in  that  diary,  he  told 
me  that  on  such  a  day  he  held  that  man  in  his  arms  when  the  man  died.  He  met 
him  on  the  road  in  a  carriage.  The  man  had  two  Brazilian  bullets  in  his  body.  For 
those  reasons  I  think  there  must  be  some  mistake  in  this  diary.  I  can  easily  under- 
stand, in  so  large  number,  and  under  these  circumstances,  how  there  might  be  some 
mistakes. 

Q.  But,  as  a  whole,  you  have  no  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  paper  ? — A.  No ;  of 
the  paper  that  I  saw,  and  if  this  is  a  correct  translation  of  it. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  there  was  a  largo  number  upon  that  list  that  you 
were  satisfied  had  not  been  executed  by  Lopez  ? — A.  Not  a  large  number.  I  said  there 
were  several  persons.  I  understood  Mr.  Wilkinson's  question  to  relate  to  the  identity 
of  the  original  paper  which  I  saw,  as  a  Paraguayan  paper.  I  have  no  doubt  that  that 
was  a  Paraguayan,  paper,  and  that  it  was  Resquin's  Diary  as  captured  in  the  battles  of 
December. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  Who  was  this  man  Resquin  ? — A.  Ho  was  an  officer  of  distinction  and  high  -au- 
thority in  Lopez's  army.    I  do  not  know  what  rank  he  held. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  How  many  did  you  see  upon  that  list  that,  from  your  own  personal  knowledge, 
you  knew  were  not  dead  ? — A.  I  knew  nothing  of  my  own  personal  knowledge.  I  only 
know  it  from  General  McMahon's  statement  to  me.  General  McMahon  marked  off 
hastily  that  evening  four  or  five  names,  saying  that  there  were  some  others ;  that  ho 
intended  to  examine  the  list  more  carefully.    He  picked  up  this  paper  incidentally. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  names  there  were  in  the  list  you  saw  ?— A.  Six  or  seven 
hundred,  I  think — a  large  number.  This  seems  to  be  a  recital  of  the  deaths  of  persons— 
either  from  executions  or  otherwise — who  were  prisoners. 

Q.  What  paper  is  that  ? — ^A.  The  paper  entitled  "  The  alliance  against  the  tyrant." 
This  is  the  same  list,  but  this  does  not  contain  the  same  names  that  the  list  that  was 
published  by  authority "Df  the  Argentine  government  in  Buenos  Ayres  contained;  be- 
cause I  remember  that  in  the  very  first  name  it  designated  the  person's  official  charac- 
ter— used  the  phrase  "the  venerable  Vice-President,'" or  "the  Vice-President  of  there- 
public." 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Does  that  list  state  these  men  all  died  by  the  hand  of  Lopez  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  it  says, 
for  instance :  "June  19,  the  traitor  Silvestre  Silva  died ;  his  death  was  a  natural  one. 
July  7. — Died  of  natural  death,  in  irons,  the  accused  Emilio  Neumann,  a  German  from 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  239 

Hamburg,"  &c.  In  the  list  referred  to,  as  examined  by  General  McMabon  in  Buenos 
Ay  res,  the  very  first  name  after  you  open  the  book,  among  those  who  were  executed 
by  authority  of  Lopez,  is  "  Sanchez,  the  venerable  Vice-President."  This  book  does  not 
seem  to  contain  it.  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  Argentines,  from  what  I  know  of  them, 
would  have  forged  any  such  paper  for  any  purpose. 

Q.  You  have  then  no  doubt  of  the  authenticity  of  the  document,  as  regards  its  being 
a  Paraguayan  document  ? — ^A.  None  whatever.  But  as  to  the  truth  of  the  document,  that 
is  a  different  thing.  I  also  believe  what  General  McMahon  says.  I  had  perfect  confi- 
dence in  what  he  said.  I  might  add  that  it  is  quite  common  in  Paraguay,  as  well  as  in 
all  Spanish  countries,  to  find  a  great  many  persons  bearing  the  same  name. 


Testimony  of  RicJiard  C.  Parsons. 

Washington,  D.  C,  November  10, 1869. 
Richard  C.  Parsons,  Esq.,  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Ortii. 

Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Porter  C.  Bliss  ? — Answer.,!  am. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  known  him  ? — A  I  only  knew  him  during  the  time  I  was 
United  States  consul  at  Rio  de  Janeiro.  At  that  time  he  was  acting  as  secretary  for 
General  Webb,  our  minister  at  that  place.  I  was  there  a  little  over  a  year's  time,  and 
my  impression  is,  Mr.  Bliss  was  there  during  the  whole  of  that  time. 

Q.  Did  you,  while  at  Rio,  become  intimate  with  Mr.  Bliss  ? — A.  I  lived  next  door  to 
him  and  met  him  every  day  for  several  months. 

Q.  What  was  Mr.  Bliss's  character  for  integrity,  so  far  as  you  know  ? — A.  Perfectly 
unexceptionable  while  I  was  in  Brazil. 

Q.  What  was  his  general  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity  ? — A.  Ho  had  no  general 
reputation,  but  his  personal  character,  so  far  as  I  know,  for  truth,  was  unexceptionable. 
I  thought  Mr.  Bliss  a  gentleman ;  ho  was  a  scholar  of  remarkable  power ;  he  com- 
menced, after  a  few  weeks'  residence  there,  to  compile  a  dictionary  of  the  language.  He 
was  a  peculiar  man ;  he  was  an  odd  man.  He  was  like  a  great  many  students  I  have 
met — had  a  great  deal  of  brain  and  knowledge  without  a  great  deal  of  sense.  He  was 
an  indiscreet  man,  in  the  sense  that  he  would  perhaps  be  running  against  jieople's  pre- 
judices. He  knows  several  dialects  and  is  a  student  of  unusual  accomplishments,  and 
yet  has  not  that  practical  turn  of  mind  that  would  make  his  knowledge  available.  I 
should  say  his  character  while  in  Brazil  was  as  good  as  that  of  any  man  in  the  empire 
for  truth,  veracity  and  integrity. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  How  long  have  you  known  him  ? — A.  I  never  saw  him  from  the  time  I  left  him  in 
Brazil,  until  I  met  him  here  last  year.  My  acquaintance  with  him  extended  only  to 
Rio,  and  I  could  not  say  that  he  was  with  General  Webb  all  the  time  I  was  there. 

Q.  How  long  were  you  with  him  in  Rio  ? — A.  My  impression  is,  a  year. 

Q.  He  had  then  retired  from  his  position  ? — A.  My  impression  is  that  he  and  General 
Webb  had  some  little  difficulty,  and  that  ho  left  his  employ  as  a  secretary,  and  either 
had  gone  or  was  about  going  to  leave  Rio  at  the  time  I  left,  in  July,  1862. 

Q.  Do  you  know  why  General  Webb  parted  with  him  ?— A.  No,  sir ;  I  never  heard 
General  Webb  speak  about  Mr.  Bliss  at  all,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection. 


Testimony  of  James  Watson  Webh. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Thursday  November  11, 1869. 

James  Watson  Webb  sworn  and  examined. 
By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Question.  What  official  position  have  you  occupied  under  the  government  recently  ? — 
Answer.  I  was  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  to  Brazil.  I  was 
appointed  in  June,  1861,  and  resigned  in  February,  1869,  but  did  not  cease  to  be  min- 
ister until  the  30th  of  June,  1869. 

Q.  Where  were  you  stationed  during  that  time  ? — A.  At  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

Q.  Wore  you  absent  at  any  time,  and  if  so  how  long  ? — A.  I  was  absent  on  one  occa- 
sion. I  went  down  to  the  La  Plata,  and  was  absent  between  thirty  and  forty  days.  I 
had  a  furlough  in  1865,  and  was  absent  until  March,  1869,  and  left  finally  May  25, 1869. 


240  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  You  were  there  at  Rio  when  the  war  commenced  between  the  allies  and  Paraguay  ?— 
A.  Yes. 

Q.  Please  give  to  the  committee  your  impressions  as  to  tlio  origin  of  the  war,  stating 
what  are  known  and  accepted  historical  facts  in  regard  to  that  war  and  its  prosecu- 
tion.— A.  In  my  report  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  on  the  war,  giving  in- 
formation as  it  came  to  me,  some  of  the  details  vary  from  the  facts  as  I  now  under- 
stand them.  There  had  been  a  war  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay.  About  the  period 
when  the  war  was  drawing  to  a  close  a  change  of  administration  took  place  in  Brazil, 
and  the  brother  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  appointed  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Matto-Grosso.  In  order  to  reach  Matto-Grosso  trom  Rio  it  became  necessary  to 
go  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata  and  ascend  that  river,  then  up  the  Paraguay 
to  the  seat  of  government  of  that  province,  (Managuara,)  there  being  no  passage  across 
the  land.  The  governor  was  ordered  to  go  to  his  post,  and,  as  stated  in  my  report  to 
our  government,  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  addressed  to 
President  Lopez,  in  Paraguay.  I  now  understand  that  a  special  messenger  was  sent 
with  the  letter.  The  letter  was  similar  in  all  respects  to  such  letters  sent  to  other  na- 
tions with  which  Brazil  may  have  diplomatic  intercourse.  It  set  forth  the  fact  that 
the  two  daughters  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  were  about  to  be  married  to  two  grandsons 
of  Louis  Philippe.  As  I  have  always  understood,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Marquez  de 
Olinda  at  Asuncion  the  governor  demanded  an  interview.  I  now  understand  it  was 
the  bearer  of  dispatches  who  demanded  the  interview.  At  that  interview  Lopez 
reminded  the  minister  of  Brazil  that  he  had  previously  given  notice  to  the  Brazilian 
government  that  if  it  invaded  the  republic  of  Uruguay  he  would  consider  that  an  act 
of  war  against  him,  (Lopez;)  that  that  notice  had  never  been  regarded  by  Brazil;  and 
that  thereupon  he  declared  that  war  iioio  existed,  and  directed  the  capture  of  the 
Marquez  de  Olinda  and  all  on  board.  That  vessel  had  then  left  Asuncion  and  gone  up 
the  river.  Another  steamer  was  sent  after  her,  and  she  Avas  brought  back.  The  min- 
ister was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  into  the  interior.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  of 
Brazil,  who  gave  me  this  information,  api^lied  to  mo  to  assist  him  in  conveying  letters 
through  Mr.  Washburn,  our  minister,  to  his  brother  in  captivity.  I  learned,  further, 
from  the  government  in  Brazil  that  this  was  the  first  notice  they  had  of  the  intention 
of  Lopez  to  declare  war.  At  all  events,  when  the  steamer  Marquez  de  Olinda,  with  the 
governor  of  Matto-Grosso  on  board,  ascended  the  Paraguay  river,  the  government  of 
Brazil  had  not  the  slightest  conception  that  it  was  any  part  of  the  purpose  of  Lo])ez  to 
declare  war,  but,  on  the  contrary,  supposed  their  relations  with  that  government  were 
of  the  best  character.  I  may  also  state,  although  I  did  not  get  it  from  the  government, 
that  Lopez  had  ai)plied  to  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  for  the  hand  of  his  second  daughter 
in  marriage ;  and  that  he  (Lopez)  supposed,  when  this  autograph  letter  was  sent  to 
him,  it  contained  the  Emperor's  consent ;  and  when  he  opened  it  and  discovered  that  it 
contained  a  notice  of  the  intended  marriage  of  both  (laughters  of  the  Emperor  to  the 
grandsons  of  Louis  Philippe,  that  was  the  immediate  cause  of  his  declaration  of  war. 
This  was  in  1864 ;  and  the  governor  of  Matto-Grosso,  then  captured  by  Lopez,  was  sent 
into  the  interior,  and  fi'om  that  time  for  three  or  four  years  his  relatives  heard  nothing 
from  him.  He  was  not  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  but  was  sent  back  into  the  interior, 
and  all  intercourse  with  him  by  his  relatives  refused.  Ultimately  they  heard  of  his 
death.  I  was  applied  to  repeatedly,  to  see  if  any  means  could  be  devised  to  liberate 
him  or  to  carry  him  funds,  but  he  was  never  liberated,  and  finally  died  there. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  make  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Washburn,  our  minister  to 
Paraguay  ?— A.  In  1861,  in  New  York. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Admiral  Godon ;  and  if  so,  where  did  you  make  his 
acquaintance  ? — A.  I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  1865,  when  he  arrived  at  Rio  as 
a  commandant,  and  acting  rear-admiral  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  and  reported 
himself  to  me  as  the  minister  of  our  government. 

Q.  At  what  time  in  1865  did  Mr.  Washburn  return  from  the  United  States  to  Para- 
guay ? — ^A.  It  must  have  been  some  time  in  September  or  October. 

Q.  Where  was  Admiral  Godon  when  Mr.  Washburn  arrived  at  Rio  ? — He  probably 
«^as  at  Rio.  I  cannot  answer  positively.  It  is  not  customary  for  the  squadrons  to  go 
south  until  the  warm  weather  sets  in,  about  November. 

Q.  State  what  you  know  of  the  diificulties  between  Admiral  Godon  and  Minister 
Washburn  in  reference  to  Admiral  Godon  furnishing  means  of  transportation  for  Mr. 
Washburn  to  his  i^ost. — A.  I  returned  to  Rio  from  the  United  States,  arriving  at  Rio 
the  first  day  of  August,  1866,  and  was  at  that  time  exceedingly  ill,  so  much  so  that 
my  life  was  considered  in  danger.  After  a  fortnight,  probably,  I  went  to  my  resi- 
dence at  Petropolis.  By  the  first  mail  I  received  dispatches  from  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  advising  me  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  improperly  detained  in 
the  river  Plata,  and  that  the  allies  had  refused  to  permit  him  to  pass  to  his  post  of 
duty.  I  no  doubt  had  heard  this  previously  by  reports  ;  but  this  was  the  first  oflScial, 
authentic  information  I  had  of  the  fact.  I  was  instructed  by  Mr.  Seward  to  say  to  the 
government  of  Brazil  that  this  hindrance  must  be  done  away  with,  and  if  it  was  not 
removed  within  six  or  eight  days,  I  was  to  demand  my  passports.    On  the  20th  I  at- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  241 

tempted  to  go  to  Rio  but  was  too  ill,  but  went  there  on  the  Slst,  the  day  on  which  the 
mail  steamer -was  to  sail  for  the  river  Plata,  having  prepared  a  letter  (which  is  pub- 
lished on  page  323,  Diplomatic  Correspondence,)  to  be  used  in  case  of  necessity,  On 
calling  at  the  foreign  office,  I  had  an  interview  with  the  director  general,  who  is,  in 
fact,  the  principal  person  in  that  office.  I  did  not  see  the  minister  of  foreign  affiiirs ; 
he  represented  that  officer.  In  that  interview,  (the  mail  steamer  for  the  La  Plata  being 
about  to  sail  that  day,)  I  made  the  declaration  to  him  that  unless  I  had  authority  from 
the  government,  before  the  sailing  of  the  steamer,  to  communicate  io  Mr.  Washburn 
that  all  hindrance  to  his  passage  to  Asuncion  in  a  United  States  vessel  had  been  with- 
drawn, I  should  demand  my  passports.  I  was  thereupon  informed,  after  some  little 
lapse  of  time,  that  all  obstructions  of  the  kind  would  be  and  had  been  removed,  and 
that  I  was  at  liberty  to  write  to  that  effect  to  Mr.  Washburn. 

A  few  days  afterward  Admiral  Godon  came  into  port  with  the  flag-ship,  and  inquired 
of  me  whether  it  was  true,  as  reported,  that  all  hindrance  and  molestation  to  Mr. 
Washburn's  proceeding  to  Para^iay  had  been  removed ;  to  which  I  replied  by  the 
letter  already  on  record  before  this  committee,  that  all  obstructions  to  his  proceeding 
to  his  post  of  duty  had  been  removed,  and  that  I  htid  so  advised  Mr.  Washburn.  Ad- 
miral Godon,  as  I  have  said,  originally  arrived  in  Brazil  in  August,  1865,  at  a  time  when 
the  Emperor  of  Brazil  was  with  the  army  on  the  frontier,  and  of  course  I  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  presenting  him,  as  was  my  custom  with  all  officers  who  arrive  in  command 
of  siuf^le  ships  or  of  squadrons.  Therefore,  after  my  return  on  the  Ist  of  August, 
1866,  tlie  admiral,  who  had  never  been  presented,  came  to  Petropolis,  made  me  a  visit, 
and,  as  was  usual,  staid  at  my  house.  While  there  he  reminded  me  that  he  had  never 
been  presented,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  present  him  at  an  early  day.  I  told 
him  I  would  do  so  most  cheerfully  as  soon  as  my  health  would  permit  me  to  visit  Rio, 
and  it  was  agreed,  as  soon  .as  I  was  able  to  do  so,  that  I  should  pay  him  a  visit  on  board 
his  flag-ship  and  ask  for  permission  to  present  him,  and  remain  until  the  presentation 
had  taken  place.  I  accordingly  visited  him  on  board  the  flag-ship,  and  made  applica- 
tion to  present  him,  and,  as  is  usual,  a  day  was  lixed  for  tlie  purpose.  My  visit,  includ- 
ing time  for  the  presentation,  continued  some  five  or  six  days.  At  the  proper  time  the 
presentation  was  made  by  me.  While  on  board  the  flag-ship,  between  the  17th  and 
22d,  the  admiral  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Washburn,  in  which  Mr.  Washburn  stated 
that  the  obstructions  to  his  passage  up  the  Paraguay  had  not  boon  removed,  and  made 
no  allusion  whatever  to  the  fact  that  I  had  advised  "him  that  all  such  obstructions  had 
been  and  were  removed.  At  this  I  was  very  much  annoyed,  as  it  ap[)earod  to  me  that 
he  was  intentionally  ignoring  the  fact  that  I  had  succeeded  in  removing  those  obstnic- 
tions.  And  at  the  same  time  I  was  exceedingly  annoyed  at  there  having  been  published 
in  the  Buenos  Ayres  papers  a  statement  of  the  fact  that  I  liad  said  to  the  Brazilian  gov- 
ernment that  unless  they  removed  such  ol)structions  I  was  directed  by  my  government 
to  demand  my  passports.  I  thereupon  said  at  once  that  I  should,  on  going  back  to  my 
legation,  write  Mr.  Washburn  a  letter,  rebuking  him  for  having  ignored  the  fact  that 
I  had  communicated  to  him  that  all  obstructions  were  removed,  and  pointing  out  to 
him  the  groat  impropriety  that  he  had  been  guilty  of,  and  the  injustice  he  had  done  me 
in  making  known  what  I  considered  as  an  important  diplomatic  secret,  not  to  be  used 
by  anybody,  and  which  had  never  transpired  in  Rio.  Admiral  Godon  thereupon  urged 
me  to  write  that  letter  to  Mr.  Washburn  from  on  board  his  ship.  I  told  him  that  it 
was  quite  impossible  for  mo  to  do  so,  as  I  must  necessarily  keep  a  copy  of  what  I 
wrote,  and  that  all  through  life  I  had  found  it  impracticable  to  copy  my  own  writing; 
that  I  necessarily  changed  it  in  copying  it.  He  then  oftered  me  a  clerk  if  I  would 
Avrite  it  on  board,  and  also  placed  at  my  disposal  his  after-cabin  for  the  pui-pose  of 
writing.  I  am  thus  particular  in  stating  why  I  did  that  work  on  board  the  ship,  instead 
of  waiting  until  I  went  to  my  legation,  because  Admiral  Godon  swears,  as  appears  by 
the  testimony  I  have  now  before  me,  that  "  the  letter  was  written  in  my  cabin,  in  my 
after-cabin,  greatly  to  my  annoyance.  I  did  not  care  so  much  about  the  letter,  but  I 
didn't  want  it  written  there.  I  earnestly  iisked  General  Webb  not  to  send  that  letter." 
I  wish  to  state  most  emphatically  that  there  is  not  one  word  of  truth  in  that  testi- 
mony ;  that  my  letter  never  would  have  been  written  on  board  of  that  ship  if  Admiral 
Godon  had  not  requested  me  to  write  it  then  and  there,  and  had  not  removed  my  diffi- 
culty by  placing  at  my  disposal  his  cabin  and  his  copyist.  He  says,  on  the  same  page, 
ill  another  part  of  his  testimony:  "I  regretted  the'letter;  I  did  not  think  it  was  a 
proper  one,  and  I  told  him  so." 

On  the  contrary,  he  exjiressed  himself  greatly  pleased ;  and,  in  substance,  said  it  wa* 
unanswerable.  He  also  says,  "  He  told  me  the  letter  had  to  go;  he  said,  'I  write  this 
letter  because  I  am  going  to  write  to  the  Secretary  of  State ;  and  this  letter  goes  with 
it ;  we  are  obliged  to  send  all  our  correspondence  to  the  State  Departnient.' "  I  will  not 
say  that  I  did  not  make  that  remark  to  Admiral  Godon,  but  at  that  time  I  had  a  com- 
paratively high  estimate  of  the  admiral,  and  such  a  remark  would,  in  my  judgment, 
have  been  a  reflection  on  him — his  intelligence.  He,  of  course,  was  supposed  to 
know,  as  well  as  I,  that  it  was  my  duty  to  send  all  my  correspondence  to  the  State  De- 
partment, and,  I  think,  the  fair  inference  is  that  I  could  not  have  made  so  imnecessary 

16  PI 


212  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

and  superfluous  an  observation  to  him.  No  doubt  my  oflfering  as  an  excuse  for  not 
complying  with  his  wish  to  liavo  mo  write  my  letter  on  board,  that  I  must  copy  my 
letter  for  the  State  Department,  and  therefore  could  not  write  it  until  I  reached  my 
legation,  was  the  cause  of  his  falling  into  this  error.  I  state  distinctly,  that  I  did  not 
write  the  letter  at  the  request  of  Admiral  Godon ;  but,  having  announced  to  him  my 
determination  to  write  such  a  letter  as  soon  as  I  returned  to  my  legation,  he  begged 
that  I  would  write  it  on  board  the  ship,  and  furnished  me  with  facilities  for  so  doing. 
He  had  nothing  to  do  with  prompting  the  letter.  He  says,  on  the  same  page :  "  You 
can  judge  better  how  to  take  letters  from  the  general,  but  I  had  to  take  it  for  its  face 
wheM  it  was  marked  '  official.' "  I  will  only  observe,  in  regard  to  that,  that  I  have  no 
doubt  the  admiral  both  believed  and  knew  the  contents  of  my  letter  to  be  true,  and 
acted  upon  that  supposition. 

This  may  be  as  good  a  place  as  any  other  to  state  something  which  should  precede 
another  correction  that  I  feel  it  necessary  to  make.  Two  or  three  days  before  my  ar- 
rival at  Rio,  I  reached  Bahia.  The  steamer  on  which  I  was  came  to  anchor,  and  I  was 
visited  by  the  officer  in  command  of  the  United  States  steamer  Nipsic,  who  reported 
to  me  that,  on  the  day  previous,  he  had  saluted  the  Brazilian  flag,  in  compliance  with 
my  promise  to  the  Brazilian  government  in  the  arrangement  of  the  Florida  affair.  To 
render  intelligible  what  I  am  about  to  state,  I  must  go  back  somewhat  in  the  way  of 
narrative.  The  pirate  Florida  had  been  cut  out  of  Brazilian  waters  by  the  United 
States  steamer  Wachusett,  Captain  Collins,  who,  however,  it  is  said,  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  affair,  he  being  in  his  cabin,  and  his  executive  officer.  Lieutenant  Beard- 
sail,  doing  the  work.  That  act,  of  course,  produced  very  great  excitement  in  Brazil, 
and  rendered  my  position,  temporarily,  very  embarrassing.  But  long  before  the  ani- 
val  of  Admiral  Godon  at  Rio,  I  had  definitively  arranged  the  whole  matter  with  the 
Brazilian  government ;  and  one  of  the  conditions  of  that  arrangement  was,  (we  having 
accidentally  sunk  the  Florida,)  that  the  Brazilian  flag  should  be  saluted,  and  all  honors 
paid  to  it  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia,  where  its  sanctity  had  been  violated.  Shortly  after 
the  admiral's  arrival,  I  informed  him  of  this  arrangement  with  the  Brazilian  govern- 
ment, and  that  1  should  shortly  call  upon  him  to  go  to  Bahia,  taking  me  with  him,  for 
the  purpose  of  firing  the  promised  salute.  He  told  me  in  reply,  that  he  could  do  noth- 
ing of  the  kind,  unless  he  had  orders  to  that  effect  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
that  he  did  not  think  the  Brazilians  were  entitled  to  any  such  salute.  Inasmuch  as  I 
did  not  choose  to  raise  a  qxiestion  in  regard  to  the  relative  rights  of  ministers  and  naval 
officers,  I  said  no  more  to  him  upon  the  subject,  except  that  that  salute  must  be  fired 
in  the  way  most  complimentary  to  Brazil ;  and  I  immediately  wrote  to  the  government 
as  I  had  done  previously,  urging  that  orders  should  be  sent  requiring  the  salute  to  be 
fired.  When  I  learned  that  the  salute  had  been  fired  by  the  Nipsic,  the  smallest  ves- 
sel of  the  squadron,  I  was  very  much  displeased ;  and,  in  an  interview  with  Admiral 
Godon,  complained  to  him  of  the  improper  manner  in  which  that  duty  had  been  exe- 
cuted, and  I  insisted  that  he  should  have  waited  for  my  arrival,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  fired  by  himself,  from  his  tlag-ship,  with  me,  the  minister,  on  board.  Originally, 
when  I  mentioned  the  subject,  the  admiral  was  opposed  to  any  proceeding  of  the  kind. 
He  spoke  disrespectfully  of  the  Brazilians,  and  said  they  did  not  deserve  a  salute  to 
their  flag,  and  "  pooh-poohed  "  the  idea.  The  mode  in  which  the  salute  was  ultimately 
tired  was  considered  exceedingly  offensive  to  Brazil.  My  attention  was  called  to  it  in 
the  office  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  and  I  apologized  for  the  proceeding,  basing  the 
apology  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  admiral  in  regard  to  what  etiquette,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, required;  and  I  assured  the  government  of  Brazil,  that  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  have  had  that  salute  fii-ed  in  the  way 
most  acceptable  to  Brazil ;  that  in  so  doing  we  honored  ourselves  equally  as  much  as 
wo  honored  Brazil;  and  that  I  was  quite  as  much  displeased  with  the  mode  in  which 
the  condition  was  complied  with  as  they  could  possibly  be.  The  apology  was  accepted, 
and  the  disrespect  exhibited  by  the  admiral  in  the  manner  of  executing  this  part  of 
our  arrangements  produced  no  bad  effect  as  regards  my  relations ;  but,  unquestion- 
ably, the  Avhole  proceeding  did  not  benefit  the  position  of  Admiral  Godon,  who,  up  to  J 
that  time,  had  not  been  presented  at  court.  1 

The.  committee  will  perceive  that  this  salute  must  have  been  fired  somewhere  about  ^ 
the  28th  or  29th  of  July  ;  and  about  the  middle  of  August  Admiral  Godon  sailed  for  the 
north,  instead  of  going  south,  or  waiting  to  hear  from  Mr.  Washburn.  Consequently, 
the  declaration  of  the  admiral  that  his  object  in  going  north  to  Bahia  was,  by  order  of 
the  government,  to  fire  a  salute  which  had  already  been  fii-ed,  on  account  of  the  Florida 
affair,  and  to  endeavor  to  renew  a  good  state  of  feeling,  is  necessarily  untrue.  It  is  ut- 
terly impossible  that  this  statement  of  the  admiral  can  be  true,  because  the  salute  was 
fired  on  the  28th  or  29th  of  July,  and  the  fact  was  known  to  him  before  he  sailed.  And 
it  is  equally  improbable,  in  my  judgment,  that  he  ever  received  instructions  from  any- 
body, or  from  any  member  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  relation  to  tho 
settlement  of  tho  Florida  affair,  or  to  endeavor  to  renew  good  feelings,  as  he  says,  in 
consequence  of  the  bad  feeling  which  may  have  been  created  by  that  affair.  The  Florida 
affair  had  occurred  and  been  amicably  arranged,  with  the  exception  of  firing  the  salute, 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  243 

long  before  the  admiral  came  to  Brazil ;  and  that  was  done  under  his  orders,  and  the 
fact  published  iu  the  Rio  papers,  before,  as  he  alleges,  he  sailed  from  Rio  to  do  it. 

In  thus  directly  contradicting  the  testimony  of  Admiral  Godon,  I  feel  bound  to  say 
that  it  was  a  current  rumor,  while  iu  command  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  that  he 
had  a  softening  of  the  brain.  I  did  not  credit  the  rumor  at  the  time,  but  I  now  feel  it 
only  charitable  to  believe  that  there  was  some  ground  for  that  rumor;  or,  otherwise, 
I  would  be  compelled  to  think,  as  I  know  his  testimony  to  be  untrue,  that  he  had  in- 
tentionally misrepresented  the  facts  iu  the  case. 

I  desire  also  to  state  here  that,  in  an  article  published  in  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal, 
purporting  to  be  a  history  of  the  services  of  Admiral  Godon,  it  was  distinctly  alleged 
that  he  had  settled  the  Florida  affair  ;  while,  as  I  have  heretofore  stated,  it  was  settled 
long  before  he  came  to  the  station  ;  and  tlie  gentleman  who  called  my  attention  to  that 
article  attributed  it  to  the  admiral  himself;  or  it  might  be  that  he  had  only  furnished 
the  facts. 

Having  alluded  to  Captain  Collins,  I  desire  to  say,  in  connection  with  that  naval  officer, 
behaving  si)okeu  of  me  as  an  enemy,  that  when  officially  informed  by  the  Secretary  of 
State  that  he  had  been  tried  and  cashiered,  and  directed  to  report  the  fact  to  the  Bra- 
zilian government,  I  did  so  promptly,  and  they  were  much  gratified.  I  then  said  to 
the  minister,  without  prompting  from  any  source,  "You  do  not  war  with  individuals; 
our  government  has  done  its  duty  and  recognizetl  your  right  to  demand  the  punishment 
of  the  otfcnder.  Tliis  settles  the  point  of  honor.  Now  be  magnanimous  and  authorize 
me  to  re(iuest  of  our  government  to  restore  to  Captain  Collins  his  sword  and  his  com- 
mission." The  minister  replied  that  that  could  only  be  done  by  a  unanimous  vote  of 
the  council  of  ministers,  in  consequenee  of  the  absence  of  the  Emperor  with  the  firmy, 
and  he  feared  it  would  be  impossible.  1  urged  him,  however,  to  try,  and  authorized 
him  to  say  that  I  asked  it  of  them,  not  officially,  but  as  a  personal  favor,  ;is  the  punish- 
ment of  Captain  Collins  beyond  the  sentence  of  the  court  could  not  be  of  any  import- 
ance to  Brazil. 

A  cabinet  council  was  in  consequence  convened,  and  I  was  requested  to  say  to  our 
government  that  Brazil  duly  appreciated  what  had  been  done,  and  desired  that  Captain 
Collins  might  be  restored  to  his  rank  in  the  navy.  This  I  did,  and  Captain  Collins  was 
accordingly  restored  and  had  a  command  conferred  upon  him.  This  is  the  full  extent 
of  my  enmity  to  that  naval  officer. 

Admiral  Godon,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  by  him  pub- 
lislied  in  the  United  States,  states  that  at  a  dinner  at  the  palace  of  the  Emperor  of  Bra- 
zil he  had  a  long  interview  with  the  Emperor,  and  did  much  toward  drawing  closer  the 
relations  between  the  two  governments.  The  committee  will  perceive  that  the  admi- 
ral was  there  from  1865  to  1866,  without  coming  in  contact  with  the  Eraperor.  I  pre- 
sented him  to  the  Emperor,  in  1866,  as  an  act  of  courtesy  which  I  was  not  bound  to 
perform,  and  to  which  jircseutatiou  he  had  no  claims  except  as  an  act  of  courtesy.  He 
accompanied  me  on  several  occasions  to  court,  where  neither  the  minister  nor  persons 
attached  to  his  suit  can  come  iu  contact  with  the  Emperor  except  to  approach  the 
throne,  make  a  bow,  and  retire.  The  admiral  was  present  at  a  ball  given  by  the  British 
minister  who  is  now  the  British  minister  here,  at  which  the  Imperial  family  were 
present,  and  at  Avhich  he  undoubtedly  had  some  passing  conversation  with  the  Empe- 
ror, as  the  Emperor  spoke  to  everybody  in  authority  and  position.  A  few  days  after- 
ward the  Emperor  gave  a  dinner  "to  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  to  whom  the  ball  by  the 
British  minister  had  been  given.  The  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  upon  being  invited  to  dine  with 
the  Emperor,  requested  that  all  the  admirals  in  port,  he  himself  being  a  naval  man, 
might  be  invited  to  meet  him  at  the  Emperor's  table ;  with  which  request  the  Emperor 
complied,  and  Admiral  Godon  was  invited,  iu  common  with  the  other  admirals.  As  only 
the  British  minister  was  invited  to  that  dinner,  the  diplomatic  corps  were  duly  apprised 
of  that  fact.  The  declaration  of  the  admiral  that  he  availed  himself  on  that  occasion 
of  the  opportunity  presented  to  draw  closer  the  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  Brazil  is  simply  ridiculous;  and  any  person  familiar  with  court  etiquette  will  at 
once  perceive  that  nothing  of  the  kind  could  >.ave  been  done  or  attempted.  I  think 
the  two  occasions  to  which  I  refer  are  the  only  ones  on  which  the  admiral  ever  was 
brought  in  contact  with  the  Emperor,  except  when  his  Majesty  visited  the  ships  in  the 
harbor,  and  out  llag-ship  among  the  number;  and  I  think  I  will  be  safe  in  saying  that, 
in  consequence  of  the  manner  in  which  the  salute  was  fired  to  the  Brazilian  flag  in  the 
harbor  of  Bahia,  no  individual  in  command  of  any  squadron  on  the  coast  of  South 
America  was  held  in  so  little  estimation  by  the  Imperial  family  as  Admiral  Godon. 

I  wish  to  say  to  the  committee  that  in  my  negotiations  with  the  government  of  Bra- 
zil, in  relation  to  Mr.  Washburn's  passing'  up  the  Paraguay,  no  distinction  whatever 
was  at  any  time  drawn  between  the  blockade  and  the  military  lines.  Admiral  Godou 
speaks  of  an  interview  that  he  had  with  tiie  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  He  had  no 
business  to  have  held  any  such  interview.  I  being  absent  from  the  country,  the  charge 
d'affaires  ad  interim,  inexperienced  in  diplomatic  matte4-s,  was  induced — how,  I  cannot 
say— .to  take  Admiral  Godon  with  him,  which  I  consider  a  great  impropriety  on  his 
part ;  but  I  can  easily  conceive  that  the  admiral  did  thrust  upon  our  charg^  d'affaires 


244  PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION. 

his  own  views,  from  an  occurrence  whicli  took  place  between  the  aclrairal,  General  As- 
hoth,  and  myself.  General  Asboth,  when  passing  through  Rio,  asked  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  me,  in  order  that  I  might  give  him  my  advice  in  regard  to  the  principles  of 
blockade,  he  being  a  foreigner,  and  his  mission  not  being  so  high  in  rank  as  my  own. 
I  named,  in  the  presence  of  Admiral  Godon,  a  certain  hour  in  the  following  day,  when 
I  would  have  an  interview  with  General  Asboth.  At  the  hour  named  General  Asboth 
appeared,  accompanied  by  Admiral  Godon.  General  Asboth  commenced  by  making  a 
statement  of  what  njight  occur,  assuming  certain  positions,  and  inquiring  what  wouhl 
be  his  duty  under  such  and  such  circumstances.  Before  I  could  reply  Admiral  Godon 
commenced  answering  the  question  and  informing  him  wbat  would  be  his  duty  in  the 
case  supposed.  I  permitted  him  to  i)roceed  until  he  had  finished.  His  views  were  to- 
tally opposite  to  my  own  in  regard  to  the  international  law  upon  the  subject  of  block- 
a4es ;  and  when  he  got  through  I  said  to  General  Asboth :  '^  You  will  not  pay  the 
slightest  regard  to  what  Admiral  Godon  has  said.  He  does  not  understand  the  subject 
about  whicli  he  has  jjroceeded  to  speak  in  answer  to  a  question  proposed  to  me ;"  where- 
upon the  admiral  flew  into  a  passion  and  walked  excitedly  about  the  room.  Finally, 
sobering  down,  he  said :  "  How  could  you  excite  me  so  f '  My  answer  was :  '^  How 
could  you  come  to  a  meeting  to  which  you  were  not  invited  and  answer  a  question 
put  to  me  in  a  manner  which  I  do  not  think  at  all  correct  ?  You  obtruded  your  answer 
in  response  to  a  question  of  General  Asboth  put  to  me,  and  he  must  not  pay  the  slight- 
est regard  to  what  you  have  said.  It  was  none  of  your  business,  and  you  have  drawn 
this  thing  upon  yourself."  Upon  which  he  sobered  down,  and  I  told  General  Asboth 
what  1  thought,  upon  a  certain  contingency,  it  would  be  his  duty  to  do.  I  allude  to 
this  fact  as  taken  in  connection  with  the  other  strange  testimony  that  I  find  here,  and 
which  induces  me  to  believe  that  there  is  something  mentally  wrong  about  the  admi- 
ral in  having  placed  such  testimony  upon  record. 

I  find  also  here  that  he  swears  distinctly  that  he  had  good  relations  with  all  the 
ministers  and  consuls ;  whereas  I  reported  to  Mr.  Seward,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1867,  as 
fonnd  on  page  124,  that :  "  While  I  have  taken  no  part  in  the  controversy  between  Admi- 
lal  Godon  and  Mr.  Washburn,  and  have  not  permitted  myself  to  express  an  opinion  to 
either  of  them  in  approval  or  disapproval  of  their  proceedings,  I  have  a  very  clear  con- 
viction that,  if  the  admiral  had  been  so  disposed,  he  could  have  sent  Mr.  Washburn  to 
his  post  of  duty  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  the  river,  without  any  interference  on  the 
part  of  the  allies.  But  it  appears  that  the  admiral  made  it  a  matter  of  pride  to  ignore 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  ministers  and  consuls,  and  has  quarreled  with  nearly  all 
of  them  except  myself;  that  is  to  say,  with  Ministers  Kirk,  Washburn,  and  Asboth, 
and  with  Consul  Monroe,  and  one  or  two  others ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  add  that  he  has  no 
friends  among  the  officers  of  the  squadron."  And  I  now  repeat  this  declaration  made 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  say  to  the  committee  that  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  of 
its  accuracy.     • 

It  api)ears  that  the  Secretary  of  State  asked  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  have  de- 
tached one  of  the  smaller  vessels  to  go  up  the  Paraguay  and  bring  down  Mr.  Waslibum 
and  his  family,  whose  position  was  considered  very  precarious ;  that  the  Wasp  was  so 
detached,  and  that  the  government  of  Brazil  sent  her  back.  In  the  corresiiondence 
which  grew  out  of  that  act,  between  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  and  myself,  and 
when  Brazil  insisted  upon  her  right  to  do  so,  (send  back  the  Wasp,)  the  minister  of  for- 
eign afiairs  wrote  to  me,  in  reply  to  one  of  my  dispatches,  as  follows  : 

'•  So  true  is  this,  and  so  worthy  of  consideration  in  view  of  the  consequences  on  the 
part  of  friendly  powers,  that  Admiral  Godon  himself,  in  1866,  when  the  passage  of 
Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  was  in  treaty,  was  the  first  to  admit  it,  merely  begging  in 
his  request  for  the  permitting  of  the  passage  up  the  river  to  Asuncion  of  the  said  Min- 
ister Washburn,  that  it  should  be  done  in  any  way  which  would  harmonize  with  the 
dignity  of  the  United  States  and  have  been  most  convenient  to  Brazil  and  its  allies ; 
further  desiring  that  Mr.  Washburn  might  be  helx)ed  forward  to  his  destination,  either 
by  land  or  by  water,  without  placing  any  obstacle  in  his  way." 

In  reply  to  that  I  said : 

"  Your  excellency  next  quotes  Rear-Admiral  Godon,  then  commanding  the  United 
States  South  Atlantic  squadron,  as  fully  justifying  the  action  of  the  allies  in  1868.  '  So 
correct  is  this,'  says  your  excellency,  '  that  Admiral  Godon  himself,  in  1866,  when  the 
passage  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  Paraguay  was  in  treaty,  was  the  first  to  admit  it,  merely 
begging  in  his  request  the  passage  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  that  he  might  be  helijcd  for- 
ward to  his  destination,  either  by  land  or  by  water,  without  placing  any  obstacle  in  his 
way.  Tliis  is  just  what  the  Marquis  deCaxias  desired  to  effect  in  the  present  instance, 
had  he  not  been  denied  the  option.'  " 

It  is  for  the  committee  to  compare  the  extract  from  the  letter  to  me  with  the  letter 
as  quoted  by  me,  and  if  they  can  discover  any  misquotation  it  is  more  than  I  can.  I 
did  not  quote  his  whole  dispatch,  but  so  far  as  I  quoted  I  quoted  correctly. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  245 

Washington,  November  12, 16G9. 

Examination  of  James  Watson  Webb — continued. 
By  Mr.  Okth  : 

Q.  Please  state  to  the  committee  what  steps  were  taken  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
Mr.  Washburn  from  Paraguay. — A.  I  think  it  will  save  time  and  cover  the  whole 
ground  by  my  reading  to  the  committee,  from  the  New  York  Times  of  January  28,  a 
communication  from  Washington,  which  is  essentially  accurate,  and  which,  by  making 
one  or  two  changes  and  alterations,  I  can  make  so  accurate  as  to  properly  constitute  a 
I)ai-t  of  my  testimony.  This  communication  was,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  substance  dic- 
tated by  me,  and  was  submitted  to  and  approved  by  me  before  publication.  It  is  as 
follows ; 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  limes  : 

''  On  the  8th  of  December  the  Senate  called  for  the  correspondence  in  regard  '  to  re- 
cent transactions  in  the  rej;ion  of  the  river  Plate  ;'  and  a  few  days  thereafter  the  House 
©f  Representatives  called  for  the  correspondence  between  our  minister.  General  Webb, 
and  the  Brazilian  government,  on  the  subject  of  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp  pass- 
ing up  the  Paraguay  to  bring  from  Asuncion  our  minister,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn, 
and  family ;  and  also  General  Webb's  correspondence  with  Admiral  Davis,  upon  the 
necessity  of  employing  the  squadron  under  his  command,  in  vindicating  the  honor  of 
our  country  and  protecting  the  lives  of  the  members  of  our  legation  in  Paraguay, 
seized  by  Loi)ez. 

"  Thelatter  correspondence  will  be  far  more  interesting  than  the  former,  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  it  will  make  its  appearance  until  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress, 
as  it  might  very  materially  affect  the  ap[)ropriations  for  the  naval  service  during  the 
coming  year.  In  his  correspondence  with  the  State  Department,  General  W,ebb  shows 
that  one  of  our  '  tirst-rate'  steamers  of  war,  '  admiral's  yachts,'  as  he  calls  them,  costs 
the  government  annually  more  than  the  entire  diplomatic  service  of  the  United  StJites ; 
and  yet  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  may  put  in  commission  as  many  of  these  pleasure 
yachts  as  he  pleases;  and  when  in  commission,  they  neglect  to  perform  the  duties  for 
which  they  are  sent  abroad.  At  all  events,  such  is  the  charge  General  Webb  makes 
against  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  commanded  by  Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis.  In 
consequence  of  such  neglect  of  duty  by  Admiral  Davis,  General  Webb  declares  that  he 
and  the  admiral  have  produced  a  groat  public  scandal.  Both  of  them,  he  says,  cannot 
be  right.  One  must  be  greatly  in  fanlt,  and  he,  therefore,  demands  of  the  government 
that  he  or  the  admiral  sliould  be  severely  censured  or  recalled. 

**The  correspondence  called  for  by  the  Senate  is  in  print.  It  makes  a  very  large  vol- 
ume ;  and  I  have  selected  from  it  all  that  appears  in  relation  to  the  Wasp  affair  and 
Admiral  Davis.  This  will  be  found  exceedingly  interesting,  anA  it  is  rendered  especially 
so  by  Minister  Washbuiu's  declaring  to  evei-ybody  that  if  the  Wasp's  arrival  had  been 
delayed  two  weeks,  he  and  his  family  would  never  have  been  heard  of  again,  as  they 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  sent  into  the  interior  and  disposed  of.  This,  Mr.  Wash- 
btu'u  says,  he  knows  was  the  purpose  of  Lopez,  notwithstanding  the  reports  that  have 
been  published  since  he  left  Paraguay  of  the  tyrant's  expressions  of  friendship  for  the 
United  States.  His  plans  of  destroying  Mr.  Washburn,  and  all  others  who  would  bear 
witness  to  his  atrocities,  were  frustrated  by  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  ;  and  when  the 
war  is  over  and  the  facts  are  all  known,  Mr.  Washburn  says  that  the  whole  world  will 
be  aj^ast  that  such  a  monster  as  Lopez  could  be  a  member  of  the  human  race. 

"  This  part  of  the  correspondence  sent  to  the  Senate  is  very  materially  emasculated, 
on  the  ground  that  the  Secretary  of  State  did  not  consider  himself  justitied,  under  the 
Senate  call,  to  arraign  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  government,  and  therefore  what 
General  Webb  says  in  his  dispatches  of  the  neglect  of  duty  by  Admiral  Davis,  and  the 
disgrace  brought  upon  us  by  his  refusal  to  employ  the  large  squadron  under  his  com- 
mand in  defense  of  our  national  honor,  as  also  his  assertion  that  the  annual  cost  of 
a  first-rate  steamer  exceeds  the  entire  cost  of  the  diplomatic  corps  of  the  United  States, 
&c.,  has  been  suppressed.  All  this  will  doubtless  appear  under  the  call  of  the  House 
of  Representatives ;  but  that  will  be  sent  in  at  so  late  a  period  of  the  session  that  legis- 
lative action  on  it  will  be  impossible. 

"  The  following  history  of  the  affair,  as  gathered  from  the  conversations  of  General 
Webb  and  Mr.  Washburn,  will  enable  you  to  fill  up  the  omissions  in  the  publi8he<l  cor- 
respondence. 

"  When,  in  1865,  Minister  Washburn  was  on  his  return  to  his  mission  at  Asuncion, 
Paraguay,  the  commander  of  the  Brazilian  naval  forces,  as  also  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  allied  armies,  refused  to  permit  him  to  pass  their  line  of  blockade.  He  was  de- 
tained, either  at  their  headquarters  or  below  it,  for  more  than  a  year,  when  General 
Webb,  on  his  return  to  Rio,  in  1866,  demanded  of  the  Brazilian  government  that  they 
must  either  withdraw  all  hindrance  to  his  passing  their  lines,  or  at  once  give  him 
(General  Webb)  his  passports.    The  hindrance  to  Mr.  Washburn's  going  to  his  post  of 


246  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

duty  was  thereupon  vritMrawu,  and  in  October,  1866,  the  United  States  steamer  Sham- 
olvin,  with  Minister  Washburn  on  board,  passed  the  allied  lines  of  blockade. 

*•  Mr.  Washburn  liad  been  quietly  at  his  post  two  years,  when,  in  consequence  of  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  country,  the  Secretary  of  State  addressed  a  note  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  by  order  of  the  President,  directing  him  to  have  a  vessel  detached  from 
the  South  Atlantic  squadron  and  dispatched  to  '  relieve  Mr.  Washburn  and  family  from 
their  embarrassing  and  probably  dangerous  position.'  Admiral  Davis  was  accordingly 
instructed  to  send  a  vessel  to  Asuncion  for  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family.  The  United 
States  steamer  Wasp  was  thereupon  sent  up  the  river  in  discharge  of  that  duty.  On 
arrival  at  the  allied  headquarters  the  Marquis  do  Caxias  peremptorily  refused  to  permit 
her  to  pass  his  lines  of  blockade,  and  at  th<5  expiration  of  seven  weeks  she  was  com- 
pelled to  return  to  Montevideo,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Plata.  Lieutenant  Commander 
Kirkland  promptly  reported  the  failure  of  his  mission  to  Admiral  Davis,  then  at  Eio, 
and  the  Brazilian  press  boasted  of  the  fact  tliat  tlie  United  States  had  been  snubbed. 
Unfortunately,  Mr.  Seward,  assuming,  of  course,  that  the  right  of  passing  the  block- 
ading lines  having  been  settled  by  General  Webb  in  1866,  there  could  be  no  possible 
obstruction  to  our  minister  being  sent  for  in  1868,  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  apprise 
our  minister  at  Eio  of  his  intention  to  send  a  national  vessel  to  Asuncion  after  Mr. 
Washburn.  Consequently,  the  first  intelligence  which  General  Webb  had  received  of 
the  indignity  offered  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces  to  our  Hag  was 
through  the  offensive  publications  referred  to  in  the  Brazilian  press ;  but  he,  of  course, 
could  do  nothing,  and  had  no  right  to  interfere,  until  his  attention  was  officially  called 
to  the  subject  by  Admiral  Davis,  under  whose  orders  the  Wasp  had  ascended  the  river 
and  met  with  the  rebuff'  alluded  to. 

"  An  entire  Aveek  elapsed  after  the  arrival  of  the  mail  steamer  from  the  Plata  which 
brought  the  intelligence  of  the  indignity  offered  to  our  flag,  noted  in  the  publications 
alluded  to,  both  in  Portuguese  and  English,  when  General  Webb  met  Admiral  Davis 
and  expressed  his  astonishment  that  this  important  subject  had  not  received  his  prompt 
attention.  The  admiral  replied  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter.  True,  he  had 
received  quite  voluminous  dispatches  from  Commander  Kirkland,  but  they  had  been 
lying  unopened  on  his  table.  He  would,  however,  on  going  on  board  the  Guerriere,  look 
into  the  affair. 

''  On  the  following  morning  General  Webb  received  a  private  note  from  Admiral  Davis, 
exi>ressing  a  wish  that  he,  the  miuiator,  would  obtain  permission  for  the  Wasp  to  pass 
the  blockading  lines  of  the  allies.  The  general  proceeded  at  once  to  the  flag-ship,  re- 
turned the  private  note,  and  asked  the  admiral  to  write  him  an  official  note  complaining 
of  the  outrage— for  such  he  tried  to  convince  the  admiral  it  was — and  especially  to  avoid 
saying  anything  ixhowt  permission  to  relieve  our  minister  from  his  critical  and  dangerous 
position. 

"■The  admiral  was  at  length  roused  to  the  gravity  of  the  case,  and  agreed  to  have 
his  oflicial  note  and  documents  ready  by  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning,  by  which  time 
the  minister  would  get  back  from  Potropolis,  (forty  miles  distant,)  where  the  archives 
of  his  legation  were  kept.  At  the  time  appointed,  the  minister  was  again  on  board  the 
flag-ship,  when  the  note  to  be  addressed  to  him  by  the  admiral  was  again  modified  to 
suit  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  minister,  thus  armed,  proceeded  to  address 
his  first  note  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  demanding  the  censure  of  the  Marquis 
de  Caxias,  and  the  withdrawal  of  all' hindrance  to  the  Wasx)'s  passing  the  allied  lines 
after  our  minister. 

"  To  this  came  the  reply  of  De  Souza,  approving  of  the  conduct  of  Caxias,  and  per- 
emptorily refusing  to  let  the  Wasp  go  up. 

'•  General  Webb's  position  was  now  one  of  great  embarrassment.  He  had  no  instruc- 
tions from  the  State  Department ;  ho  felt,  in  common  with  every  American,  that  our 
flag  had  been  outraged,  and  our  country,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  treated  discourteously ; 
he  had  the  best  reason  for  believing  that  the  lives  of  our  minister  and  family,  and  every 
member  of  his  legation,  were  in  danger ;  and  he  knew,  beyond  all  peradventure,  that 
the  press  and  the  public  having  approved  of  the  Wasp's  being  turned  back  contempt- 
uously, and  the  ministry  having  indorsed  that  approval  in  an  official  dispatch,  nothing 
but  a  resort  to  extreme  measures  could  force  the  Wasi>  up  the  river  and  save  onr  lega- 
tion. He  was  without  instructions,  and  if  he  assumed  the  responsibility  of  resorting 
to  extreme  measures  he  was  certain,  if  unsuccessful,  to  be  censured,  and  most  probably 
suspended  and  tried.  But,  as  he  says,  the  honor  of  the  country  was  at  stake ;  the 
representatives  of  every  court  in  Europe  were  watching  to  report  to  their  respective 
governments  what  amount  of  snubbing  the  great  rei)ublic  would  peaceably  bear ;  and 
the  lives  of  our  minister,  his  family,  and  legation  were  at  stake.  To  have  hesitated, 
under  such  circumstances,  would  not  have  been  in  character  with  the  veteran  editor 
of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer.  He  at  once  assumed  the  responsibility  of  construing  the 
instructions  of  1866  as  applicable  to  the  situation  of  affairs  in  1868,  in  regard  to  which 
he  had  no  instructions  whatever,  and  was  not  even  informed  that  Mr.  Washburn  had 
been  sent  for.    And  he,  thereupon,  again  promptly  demanded  of  the  Brazilian  govern- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  247 

ment  the  withdrawal  of  all  himlrauce  to  the  "Wasp  passing  to  Asuncion,  or  his  pass- 
ports. 

"  This  demand  was  made  on  the  13th  of  Jnly,  and  on  the  same  evening  the  liberal  min- 
istry resigned.  The  new  ministry,  ultra-conservative,  reiterated  the  aj)i)roval  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  commander-iu  chief  of  the  allied  forces,  and  again  peremptorily  refused  to  let 
the  Was})  go  up.  Pending  this  controversy,  Admiral  Davis  used  all  his  influence  with 
General  Webb  to  moderate  his  tone,  and  ask  '  permission '  for  the  Wasp  to  pass,  de- 
claring that,  in  his  judgment,  we  could  not  claim  to  pass  as  a  matter  of  right. 
General  Webb  insisted  up(m  our  right,  according  to  every  principle  of  international 
law.  He  admitted  that  if  there  were  live  roads  to  Paraguay,  the  allies  might  close 
four  of  them  ;  but  our  diplomatic  relations  with  Paraguay  having  been  established 
in  advance  of  their  blockade,  they  must  leave  one  road  open  by  which  we  could  com- 
municate with  our  minister,  and,'a8  in  this  case,  extricate  him  from  an  *  embarrassing 
if  not  dangerous  situation.'  At  all  events,  the  emergency  was  a  pressing  one.  If  Mr. 
Washburn  and  family  v«-ere  to  be  relieved,  there  could  be  no  delay  ;  and  as  certainly  ;is 
he,  General  Webb,  waived  the  right  to  go  up,  and  with  it  his  demand  for  his  pass- 
ports, just  so  certainly  permission  to  go  would  be  refused,  in  order  to  justify  the  Mar- 
quis of  Caxias,  and  thus  our  country's  flag  be  dishonored,  and  Wfishburn,  his  family 
and  legation,  be  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  tyrant  Lopez.  The  admiral  then  re- 
minded the  general  of  the  risk  he  incurred  in  thus  acting  without  instructions,  and 
the  probability  of  suspension  or  removal  in  case  of  failure.  The  general  admitted  all 
that  was  urged,  but  still  persisted  in  adhering  to  the  course  he  had  marked  out  for 
himself,  as  due  alike  to  humanity  and  to  his  convictions  of  what  the  national  honor 
dcnuinded. 

"  Three  conferences  took  place  between  General  Webb  and  the  minister  of  foreign 
aftairs  of  Brazil,  at  the  request  of  the  latter;  and  at  the  close  of  the  last.  General 
Webb  compared  his  i)ositiou  to  a  car  on  a  circular  railroad,  without  any  place  to 
switch  off,  and  which,  of  necessity,  always  returned  to  the  starting  point.  The  start- 
ing point  in  his  case  was — the  Wasp  must  go  up.  From  liis  position,  that  the  Wasp 
must  go  up  by  right,  he  could  not  be  persuaded,  either  hv  Admiral  Davis  or  the  Bra- 
zilian government;  and  it  was  linally  arranged  that  the  last  dispatch  of  the  Brazilian 
government,  and  General  Webb's  sharp  reply  to  it,  should  both  be  withdrawn,  and  the 
Wasp  go  up  Avithout  molestation.  She  went  accordingly,  and,  as  General  Webb  says 
to  Admiral  Davis,  '  Thank  God,  in  time  to  save  the  lives  of  Mr.  Washburn  and  his 
fiimily.' 

"Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  were  thus  saved  from  the  fake  Avith  which  they  were 
threatened ;  but  Lopez,  while  he  pennitted  their  departure,  after  first  declaring  to 
Lieutenant  Kirkland  that  he  intended  to  keep  possession  of  them,  forcibly  seized  two 
members  of  our  legation  and  kept  them  piisoners — an  act  of  war,  according  to  all 
wcll-*)ttled  principles  of  international  law,  and  which  rendered  it  impossible  for  Mr. 
W^ashburn's  successor  to  recognize,  or  present  credentials  to  him,  until  he  had  given 
satisfaction  for  his  disgraceful  and  lawless  conduct. 

"  When  the  intelligence  reached  Rio,  on  the  5th  of  October,  Admiral  Davis  had  pro- 
claimed that  his  squadron  would  sail  for  the  River  Plate  on  Saturday,  the  lUth ;  and 
officers  were  on  shore,  settling  up  accounts,  &c.,  although  no  written  order  had  been 
issued  fixing  the  day  of  sailing.  On  receiving  Mr.  Washburn's  report,  General  Webb 
hurried  on  board  and  begged  the  admiral  to  sail  on  Thursday,  the  8th,  instead  of 
Saturday,  the  10th,  and  thus  gain  two  entire  days,  and  also  urged  him  not  to  send  the 
Shaiuokiu  home  to  be  broken  up,  because  she  was  as  well  qualified  to  do  river  duty  as 
any  vessel  of  his  squadron,  all  of  Avhich,  the  Guerriere  excepted,  could  go  to  Asuncion. 
He  had  five  steamers,  viz.,  the  Pawnee,  Kansiis,  Shamokin,  Quinuebaug,  and  Wasp,  all 
capable  of  going  to  Asuncion — a  force  greater  than  the  combined  availal)le  force  of 
the  English,  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian  squadrons — all  of  which  were  discharging 
the  duty  which  belonged  to  us,  and  resenting  an  insult  to  our  legation,  while  our 
squadron  was  lying  idle  in  the  bay  of  Rio. 

"  But  the  admiral  resented  the  ministei-'s  application  as  an  improper  interference 
with  his  command,  and  not  only  rei used  to  expedite  his  day  of  sailing  to  the  8th,  but 
actually  deferred  his  departure  to  the  29th,  in  order  to  gratify  his  feelings  against  the 
minister,  nmch  to  the  annoyance  of  every  American  in  Rio,  and  greatly  to  the  injury 
of  our  national  prestige.  Aud  he  refused  to  give  any  credence  to  Mr.  Washburn's  re- 
port, which,  he  said,  was  the  production  of  a  crazy  man,  Avritteu  in  apprehension  of 
his  life  after  all  danger  had  passed,  &,c.,  &c.  But  all  this  appears  in  the  correspond- 
ence inclosed. 

"News  received  to-day  demonstrates  that  if  Admiral  Davis  had  moved  promptly 
when  it  was  his  duty  to  have  hastened  to  the  Plata,  our  national  honor  would  at  once 
have  been  vindicated,  and  this  disgraceful  aflair  have  been  avoided.  General  Webb  is 
quite  right  in  saying  that  he  and  the  admiral  cannot  both  be  right,  and  that,  in  view 
of  the  great  scandal  they  have  caused,  one  of  them  should  be  severely  censured  and 
recalled.  And  Congress  should  heed  what  he  says  about  the  exiDenditures  of  the  ^axj 
Department.    At  least  ten  millions,  now  thrown  away  upon  squadi'ons  which  are  of 


248  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

no  use  when  most  required,  may  be  saved  in  the  annual  expenditures  of  thaj;  depart- 
ment. 

"  You  will  perceive  that  Admiral  Davis  was  right  in  his  prediction  to  General  Webb 
that  if  unsuccessful  in  the  course  he  adopted  he  would  have  been  suspended  at  least. 
Mr.  Seward's  dispatches  clearly  demonstrate  that  Webb  only  escaped  censure  by  the 
success  of  his  energetic  course ;  and  if,  as  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn  says,  that  energy 
saved  the  lives  of  himself,  family  and  legation,  and  at  the  same  time  vindicated  the 
national  honor,  and  received  the  applause  of  his  diplomatic  colleagues — all  of  whom 
stood  by  him — he  can  have  nothing  to  regret  in  the  whole  of  this  proceeding. 

''General  Webb's  justification  of  Minister  Washburn  in  the  Brazilian  Times  is  com- 
plete ;  and  at  the  same  time  his  card  removes  from  our  government  and  minister  the 
odium  which  attached  to  them  in  consequence  of  our  squadron's  lying  idle  in  Rio  and 
permitting  others  to  do  its  work.  But  public  sentiment  at  length  drove  Admiral 
Davis  to  the  Plate,  where  events  demonstrated  that  he  should  have  gone  at  once. 

"T. 

"  New  York,  Monday,  January  25,  1869." 

I  now  propose  to  say  to  the  committee,  in  answer  to  their  question,  that  I  first  learned 
that  the  United  States  steamer  Wasp  had  been  sent  from  Montevideo  to  Asuncion  for 
Minister  Washburn  and  family,  through  the  medium  of  the  Brazilian  press,  which 
declared  and  boasted  that  the  commanding  general  of  the  allies  had  refused  to  lot  her 
pass,  and  virtually  bragged  of  the  manner  in  Avhich  we  had  been  snubbed  by  Brazil. 
Meeting  Admiral  Davis  some  days  afterward,  I  asked  whether  he  had  received  any 
information  or  reports  from  Commander  Kirkland,  and  Avhether  it  was  true  that  he 
had  sent  the  Wasp  ui)  the  river  for  Mr.  W^ashburn,  and  that  she  had  been  sent  back. 
He  said  he  had  received  orders  from  the  Navy  Department  to  detach  the  Wasp  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  down  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family,  but  that  he  had  not  known 
until  I  mentioned  It  to  him,  that  she  had  come  back  to  Montevideo.  I  inquired  whether 
Commander  Kirkland  had  not  reported  his  arrival  and  the  facts  of  the  case.  He 
answered  that  he  had  certainly  received  very  voluminous  letters  from  Commander 
Kirkland,  some  four  or  five  days  previously,  by  the  mail ;  but  that  they  were  then 
lying  on  his  table  uuoi)ened.  I  called  his  attention  to  the  great  importance  of  ascer- 
taining what  Commander  Kirkland  had  rei)orted  ;  and  pointed  out  to  him,  that  if  the 
Wasp  had  been  sent  back  it  was  his  duty  to  report  the  facts  officially  to  me,  in  order 
that  I  might  insist  upon  our  rights,  and  obtain  an  order  for  the  W^asp  to  go  up.  He 
informed  me  that  immediately  upon  his  return  to  his  ship  he  would  open  those  dis- 
I)atche8  and  ascertain  whether  the  reports  in  the  newspapers  were  true.  He  was  then 
on  the  eve  of  taking  a  drive  Avith  Mrs.  Davis  on  the  north  side  of  the  bay,  near  my 
residence.  I  went  to  my  house,  collected  the  Brazilian  papers  which  had  spoken  of  the 
return  of  the  Wasp,  and  went  down  to  the  admiral's  boat  and  placed  them  in  the  hands 
of  the  coxswain,  with  a  request  that  upon  the  admiral's  return  to  go  on  board,  he 
would  place  those  papers  in  his  hands,  that  he  might  see  what  had  been  said.  That  same 
evening,  or  early  the  following  morning,  I  received  a  private  note,  on  very  small  note 
paper,  asking  me  to  obtain  permission  from  the  Brazilian  government  to  allow  the 
Wasp  to  go  up  to  Asujtcion  with  Mr.  Washburn.  Of  course  I  could  not  act  upon  such 
information,  and  I  repaired  on  board  the  flag-ship  as  soon  as  possible,  returned  to  him  the 
private  note,  and  pointed  out  the  absolute  necessity  of  his  giving  it  an  official  form.  I  told 
him  I  would  then  leave  the  ship  and  go  to  Petropolis,  some  forty  miles  distant,  where 
the  archives  of  the  legation  were  kept,  and  get  certain  documents  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  use,  and  come  down  early  in  the  morning ;  that  I  would  be  on  board  again 
between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  when  I  hoped  he  would  have  ready  the  official  letter 
agreed  upon  in  regard  to  the  Wasp  having  been  sent  back.  I  went  to  Petropolis  and 
selected  the  necessary  documents,  remaining  there  during  the  night,  and  was  back  on 
board  the  flag-ship  by  half-i)ast  ten  the  next  morning.  The  admiral  had  prepared  a 
letter,  which,  however,  did  not  cover  the  points  of  the  case  sufficiently  well ;  and  then, 
at  my  request,  he  showed  me  the  original  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  reciting  the  condition  of  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family,  and 
asking  that  a  vessel  might  be  detached  to  bring  them  down  ;  and  also  the  order  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  directing  him,  the  admiral,  to  detach  some  one  of  his  smaller 
vessels  for  that  purpose.  I  then  suggested  the  necessity  of  referring  to  these  letters  in 
his  report  to  me,  and  also  other  changes,  making  the  letter  such  as  I  thought  would 
abundantly  justify  mo  in  the  course  I  deemed  necessary  to  pursue  in  negotiating  with 
the  Brazilian  government.  I  left  the  ship,  and  commenced  immediately  a  correspond- 
ence with  the  government.  At  the  proper  time,  and  within  a  few  hours,  the  admiral 
sent  me  his  corrected  letter  containing  the  report  from  Commander  Kirkland,  and 
copies  of  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
allied  forces. 

I  would  now  again  say,  that  instead  of  proceeding  further  with  the  details  of  this 
matter,  I  find  in  the  New  York  Times  of  January  28  a  letter  purporting  to  be  from  its 
Washington  correspondent,  (see  previous  testimony  of  General  Webb,)  which,  I  admit, 


i 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  249 

was  virtually  dictated  by  myself,  and  all  the  statemente  in  which,  having  reference  to 
Admiral  Davis  and  myself,  are  strictly  and  literally  true,  and,  with  the  consent  of  tho 
committee,  I  otter  the  Avhole  of  it  as  constituting  a  part  of  my  testimony — thereby 
saving  to  all  parties  considerable  time — not,  however,  being  responsible  for  so  much  of 
this  letter  as  refers  to  other  parties. 

I  aLso  refer  the  conmiittec  to  the  correspondence  between  Admiral  Davis  and  myself, 
as  furnished  by  me  to  the  Department  of  State,  and  also  my  dispatches  in  relation  to 
this  matter. 

[The  dispatches  referred  to  by  the  witness  are  published  in  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  5, 
40th  Congress,  3d  session.] 

I  desire  that  tho  dispatch  (Mr.  Webb  to  Mr.  Seward)  No.  75,  dated  October  24, 1868, 
may  be  here  inserted  in  full  as  written,  the  Department  of  State  having  only  furnished 
extracts  from  it  in  the  document  just  referred  to.    It  is  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Wd>b  to  Mr  Seward. 

"  Xo.  75.]  "  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  liio  dc  Janeiro,  October  24, 1868. 

"  SiK :  I  have  tho  honor  to  inclose  herewith  the  continuance  of  my  correspondence 
with  Rear- Admiral  Davis,  numbered  3,4,5,  and  6;  No.  2  having  already  been  for- 
warded with  my  dispatch  No.  74,  via  England. 

"  In  so  much  of  that  dispatch  as  jissumed  that  Admiral  Davis  is  popular  on  ship- 
board, I  was  in  grievous  error,  as  tho  long-suppressed  quarrels  and  bickerings  now 
become  public  scandal,  and  which  terminated  in  the  removal  of  Captain  Corbin 
from  the  command  of  the  llag-ship,  the  arrest  and  tx'ial  of  tho  executive  officer,  &c., 
too  clearly  demonstrate.  That  the  admiral  is  a  scientific  ofiicer  there  can  be  no 
question ;  and  yet,  as  au  American,  in  view  of  tho  general  obloquy  ho  has  brought 
upon  our  country,  I  cannot  but  regret  that  he  should  have  been  translated  from  the 
observatory,  where  he  was  in  his  element,  to  the  command  of  a  squadron,  where  ho  is 
entirely  out  of  place,  and  apparently  ignorant  of  his  duties. 

"  In  my  second  letter  to  the  admiral  I  give  only  an  extract  from  my  hasty  privote 
note,  written  at  the  consulate,  and  asking  a  boat  to  be  sent  me.  To  show  that  my 
only  object  in  suppressing  any  part  of  that  note  was  to  save  time  and  labor,  I  now 
place  the  entire  note  before  you.    It  was  as  follows : 

" '  Consulate,  12^. 

" '  My  Dear  Admiral  :  I  inclose  for  your  perusal  a  letter  from  Washburn.  I  think 
ive  should  talk  this  matter  over,  and  see  if  anything  can  be  done  to  relievo  the  two 
members  of  the  United  States  legation,  so  outrageously  seized  by  Lopez.  It  is  one  of 
those  cases  in  which  to  do  nothing  is  to  do  wrong,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  tho  mere 
fact  of  seiuling  up  a  force  to  look  after  our  peoi)lo  would,  at  least,  avert  much  reproach 
that  will  otherwise  fall  upon  us. 

"  *  As  to  sending  Washburn  from  the  La  Plata  in  a  United  States  gunboat,  that  is 
quite unnecessai-y.  Our  government  has  brought  him  down  from  Asuncion,  and  that  is 
demonstration  sufBcinnt.  Now  our  duty  is  to  look  after  the  other  members  of  the  lega- 
tion. No  matter  who  appointed  them,  our  obligation  is  equally  binding.  But  I  will 
come  to  you  at  two,  or  a  little  sooner.  I  have  an  appointment  at  the  Foreign  Office  at 
one  o'clock,  aud  write  this  that  you  may  turn  tlie  matter  over  in  your  mind  before  I 
join  you.  If  your  boat  is  at  tho  landmg  at  quarter  to  two,  I  shall  doubtless  be  there. 
" '  Your  friend, 

"'WEBB.' 

"  In  making  this  copy  I  have  underscored  the  words  '  we '  and  *  our,'  because  I  learn 
from  good  authority,  that  in  using  those  words  I  offended  the  admiral's  self-esteem ; 
his  fleet  captain  and  confidential  adviser  having  declared  that,  in  the  admiral's  judg- 
ment and  his  own,  I  was  meddling  with  what  did  not  concern  me,  and  that  I  had  no 
more  to  do  with  it  than  any  other  American  at  Rio. 

''  This  accounts  for  my  reception  by  the  admiral,  as  detailed  in  my  second  note  to  him, 
marked  4,  aud  dated  October  9,  when  he  declined  doing  anything ;  and  so  specially  to 
hurry  his  departure,  fixed  for  the  10th,  aud  get  off  on  Thursday,  tho  8th.  I  told  him  he 
left  me  no  alternative  but  to  address  him  an  official  note,  recapitulating  all  I  had  said, 
and  urging  him  to  take  up  the  Paraguay  every  vessel  of  his  squadron  of  light  draught 
of  water,  live  in  number.  He  said  ho  hoped  I  would  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Ire- 
plied  that  it  was  my  duty  so  to  do,  aud  make  a  requisition  upon  him  for  the  employment 
(if  tho  squadron  in  the  present  emergency,  and  liaving  done  that,  the  responsibility  of 
refusing  to  act  would  rest  upon  him.  He  answered,  *  I  will  write  in  reply ;  I  do  not  choose 
to  respond  to  your  call.  No,  I  will  not  say  I  do  not  choose  to  ;  I  will  reply,  that  on 
my  arrival  at  the  river  I  will  investigate  tlie  matter.'    I  rejoined,  '  There  is  nothing  to 


i!50  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

investigate.  I  hare  placed  in  your  hands  Mr.  Washburn's  report  to  me  ;  and  that,  and 
his  letter  to  the  British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  cover  the  whole  ground.'  In  an- 
swer to  this  he  said  that  Washburn's  letter  was  not  worthy  of  credit,  as  his  fears  for 
his  life  had  disqualified  him  as  a  witness  ;  he  was  a  frightened  man,  and  his  letter  to 
me  showed  that  he  had  not  yet  recovered  from  his  fears.  I  insisted  that  I  knew  Wash- 
burn and  indorsed  all  he  had  written,  and  that  he,  the  admiral,  had  no  right  to  listen 
to,  or  put  faith  in,  what  others  said.  We  then  agreed  that  our  official  diiFerences  of 
opinion  in  regard  to  a  (juestion  of  duty  need  not,  and  should  not,  cause  any  change  in 
our  personal  relatdous. 

"  This  was  on  Monday,  the  5th.  Mrs.  Davis  and  daughter  had  spent  the  previous 
Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  at  our  house ;  and  the  admiral,  Friday  and  Saturday ; 
and  he  desired  me  to  say  to  Mrs.  Webb  that,  with  one  exception,  it  was  the  pleasantest 
visit  ever  made  in  his  somewhat  protracted  life.  I  replied,  *  Then  why  not  repeat  it  f 
and  he  answered  that  he  certainly  should  do  so. 

"  Judge,  then,  of  my  surprise  at  the  receipt  of  his  letter  of  the  8th.  He  is  an  exceed- 
ingly weak  man,  notwithstanding  his  accomplishments,  and  has  those  about  him  v/ho 
have  led  him  astray.  One  thing  is  certain ;  we  cannot  both  be  right,  and  one  of  us 
should  bo  severely  censured,  if  not  recalled. 

"  I  Avill  not  attempt  to  describe  the  general  feeling  of  indignation  among  Americans 
at  the  inaction  of  our  squadron  and  the  contemptuous  terms  in  which  intelligent  men 
of  all  nationalities  speak  of  us.  To  show  that  neither  our  government  nor  its  minister 
are  to  blame  in  this,  I  inserted  in  a  card  defending  Mr.  Washburn,  which  I  published 
yesterday,  a  paragraph  to  which  I  call  your  personal  attention.  You  will  find  that  card 
enclosed. 

"  General  McMahon  arrived  in  the  steamer  Mississippi  on  the  21st,  and  called  on  the 
22d,  after  having  been  on  board  the  flag-ship  both  on  the  2l8t  and  22d.  Before  showing 
me  his  instructions  from  you,  he  inquired  if  there  would  be  any  obstructions  to  his 
going  up  the  Paraguay  to  Asuncion.  I  asked  if  he  had  any  such  purpose  in  view.  He 
said  that  ho  had ;  that  Admiral  Davis  intended  to  take  him  to  the  river  next  week, 
when  he  would  change  his  flag  to  one  of  the  smaller  vessels  (the  Pawnee)  and  take 
him  up  to  Asuncion,  in  order  that  he  might  present  his  credentials  to  Lopez  and 
liberate  Bliss  and  Masterman. 

*'  I  told  him  (McMahon)  that  it  was  absolutely  imjjossible,  and  would  bring  disgrace 
on  our  country ;  that  Lopez  was  an  outlaw,  in  consequence  of  the  outrage  perpetrated  on 
0ur  legation ;  and  that  to  oflcr  letters  of  credence  to  him,  under  existing  circumstances, 
would  simply  disgrace  us. 

"  He  said  there  were  so  many  versions  of  what  had  occurred  that  he  could  not  decide 
what  to  do  until  he  reached  the  river.  I  replied,  *  That  is  an  error  ;  there  is  but  one 
version  of  the  facts  of  the  case  to  winch  yon  or  I  or  the  admiral  can  refer,  or  which  wo 
can  receive,  and  that  version  is  contained  in  the  official  report  of  your  predecessor,  the 
duly  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States  to  Paraguay,  and  indorsed  by  me  from 
my  knowledge  of  the  man  and  his  official  character.' 

"  I  then  placed  in  his  hands,  for  perusal,  ray  correspondence  with  Admiral  Davis. 
What  subsequently  passed  between  us  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  letter, 
which  I  addressed  to  him  yesterday,  but  which  was  not  sent  until  to-day : 

" '  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

'  Boa  Viagem,  October  23,  1868. 

" '  My  Dear  Sir  :  When  you  did  me  the  honor  to  call  at  this  legation  yesterday,  and 
intimated  yonr  intention  to  go  up  to  Asuncion  accomi)anied  by  Admiral  Davis  and  the 
smaller  vessels  of  the  United  States  squadron,  with  a  view  of  presenting  your  creden- 
tials to  President  Lopez  and  demanding  the  release  of  the  members  of  our  legation 
forcibly  detained  by  him,  I  at  once  said  that  nothing  of  the  kind  could  be  done  with- 
out bringing  deep  disgrace  to  our  country,  and  rendering  her  the  laughing-stock  of  the 
world.  That  the  bare  idea  of  i)reseuting  credentials  from  the  United  States  govern- 
ment to  a  wretch  who  had  just  perpetrated  against  us  the  greatest  outrage  known  to 
international  intercourse,  was  something  monstrous. 

"  'To  this  you  answered  that  there  were  so  many  versions  of  what  had  taken  place 
in  Paraguay,  that  you  would  not  decide  what  to  do  until  you  reached  the  La  Plata.  I 
replied,  '  That  is  an  error.  There  is  but  one  version  of  the  facts  of  the  case,  to  which 
you,  I,  or  Admiral  Davis  can  refer,  or  which  we  can  receive,  and  that  version  is  con- 
tained in  the  official  report  of  your  predecessor,  the  duly  accredited  minister  of  the 
United  States  to  Paraguay,  and  indorsed  by  me,  from  the  knowledge  of  the  man  and  his 
official  character. 

" '  I  then  placed  in  your  hands,  for  perusal,  my  correspondence  with  Admiral  Davis, 
urging  him  to  employ  the  squadron  under  his  command  for  the  sole  and  only  purpose 
it  IS  kept  here,  viz,  the  vindication  of  our  national  honor,  and  the  protection  of  the 
commerce  and  lives  of  our  peojjle,  instead  of  keeping  it  idle  in  this  harbor,  when  the 
ships  of  other  nationalities  are  hastening  to  the  scene  of  outrage  upon  us,  and,  through 
us,  upon  the  civilized  world.    You  proceeded  to  read  what  I  placed  in  youi-  hands,  and 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  251 

when  nearly  through  with  it,  handed  me  your  official  instrnctions  from  the  State 
Department,  directing  you  to  see  me  before  you  proceeded  to  the  river. 

** '  Alter  you  had  huished  reading  the  correspoixdeuce,  upon  which  no  comments 
were  made  by  either  of  us,  you  i)roceeded  to  detail  your  programme  on  arrival  at  the 
La  Plata.  I  listened  and  said,  I  did  not  like  to  make  any  comments  upon  it,  unless 
you  requested  me  to  do  so ;  although  I  freely  admit,  that  on  farther  reflection  I  should 
have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  have  earnestly  protested  against  any  such  i)roceeding,  and 
distinctly  have  placed  before  you  what  I  considered  to  be  your  duty  in  the  premises. 
You  thought  of  jiddressiug  a  letter  to  the  admiral  setting  forth  your  oflicial  character, 
&c.,  &c.,  and  that  you  desired  to  i)re8ent  your  credentials,  and  deliver  to  Lopez  certain 
very  friendly  messages  and  assurances  from  the  President,  which  he,  the  admiral,  might 
send  to  Lopez. 

'' '  I  advised  against  any  such  proceeding,  and  against  your  making  any  advances 
whatever  toward  Lojjez ;  the  whole  matter  having  entirely  changed  since  you  were 
accredited  to  Paraguay.  Lopez  has  placed  himself  entirely  beyoud  the  pale  of  civilized 
nations  ;  and  least  of  all  can  the  United  States  have  any  intercourse  with  him,  except 
through  the  naval  and  military  power  of  the  country.  To  me  your  duty  appears  very 
simple ;  and  I  will  proceed  to  give  you  my  view  of  it,  holding  myself  responsible  to  our 
comuion  superior  for  so  doing. 

*"I  tliink  you  should  at  once  address  an  oflacial  note  to  Admiral  Davis,  stating  who 
you  arc,  and  requiring  from  him  the  employment  of  the  naval  force  under  his  command 
m  rescuiug  the  members  of  Mr.  Washburn's  legation,  forcibly  seized  by  the  tyrant,  in 
violation  of  every  principle  of  international  law  and  t^e  comity  of  nations;  and  you 
should  particularly  press  upon  him  the  gravity  of  the  emergency,  and  strive  to  en- 
lighten him  in  regard  to  his  duty  in  the  premises,  in  order  that  our  country  may,  as 
far  us  pructicabl(5,  be  relieved  from  the  odium  of  being  careless  in  atlbrdiug  ])rotection 
to  our  legations  throughout  the  world,  and  unmindlul  of  our  national  honor ;  all  of  which 
he  has  most  unhappily  brought  upon  us  by  his  obstinately  refusing  to  employ  our  largo 
squadron  on  this  station  in  vindication  of  the  national  honor,  instead  of  keei)iug  it  idle 
in  this  harbor,  where  it  is  of  no  more  value  than  if  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  Strive  to 
impress  liim  with  a  realization  of  the  disgrace  inflicted  upon  us  by  leaving  to  other 
nationalities  the  defense  of  our  honor  and  tlignity  when  he  and  his  squadron  are  here 
for  no  other  purpose.  Kemind  him  that  while  for  the  purpose  of  this  emergency  his 
sqnadron  is  larger  and  more  available  than  the  combino<l  squadi'ons  of  England,  France, 
Spain,  and  Italy,  he  has  left  to  them  exclusively  the  vindication  of  our  national  dig- 
nity from  the  gross  offense  perjietrated  against  the  civilized  world,  through  the  United 
States. 

'' '  You  will  find  the  admiral  an  amiable,  courteous,  and  scientific  gentleman,  and 
doubtless  without  a  superior  as  the  superintendent  of  our  national  observatory,  but  ut- 
terly ignorant  of  the  rights  of  legations,  of  the  principles  of  diplomacy,  and  of  the  rela- 
tive rights  and  duties  of  our  ministers  and  naval  conuuanders  on  foreign  stations. 

" '  Do  all  in  your  power  to  induce  him  to  take  all  his  se[uadron,  except  the  Guerriere, 
up  the  Paraguay,  and  from  the  deck  of  the  flag-ship  send  a  flag  of  truce  into  the  coun- 
try, demanding,  without  parley,  the  immediate  surrender  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  But 
let  him  not  whisper  even,  much  less  proclaim,  that  since  Lopez's  outrage  upon  our 
legation,  it  is  i)ossible  that  under  any  conceivable  state  of  things  wt;  can  send  him  a 
minister  until  our  government  at  "Washington  has  declared  itself  satisfied  and  concil- 
iated. He  has  virtually  declared  war  upon  the  United  States,  and  neither  you  nor  I 
have  a  right  to  make  peace,  or  to  decide  what  the  ofteuded  dignity  of  our  country  de- 
mands. If  he  is  no  longer  in  authority,  then  you  have  nothing  todo  with  him ;  while 
if  he  is,  then  it  is  for  our  government  to  deal  'with  him,  and  you  and  I  have  nothing  to 
do  but  await  its  action.  If,  in  themean  time,  the  allies  shall  S6t  up  a  government  of 
their  own  in  Paraguay,  as  by  treaty  they  are  pledged  to  do,  most  assuredly  you  can 
have  nothing  to  do  with  that  affair ;  and  if  recognized  at  all,  it  must  be  by  our  govern- 
ment, and  not  by  you  or  me.  And  you  will  do  well  to  enlighten  the  admiral  in  regard 
to  his  duties  in  such  a  contingency,  which  in  all  probability  is  certain  to  occur. 

" '  Under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  then,  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  your  duty  to 
remain  quietly  at  Buenos  Ayres,  or  in  that  region,  until  you  can  receive  further  in- 
structions from  Mr.  Seward.  All  your  instructions  and  all  your  messages  fi^om  the 
President  to  Lopez  are  canceled  by  the  latter's  act  of  war  against  the  United  States. 
This  letter  to  you  will  constitute  a  part  of  my  dispatch  to  the  Department  of  State,  by 
the  Mississippi  on  the  26th,  and  beyond  all  iperadventure  you  will  be  in  possession  of 
fresh  instructions  on  or  before  the  1st  of  January,  which  will  be  less  than  two  months 
after  your  arrival  at  the  river.  They  will  come  by  the  return  steamer,  or  if  not,  then 
by  telegraph  to  our  legation  in  London,  and  hence  to  the  river  by  any  one  of  the  seven 
steamers  now  sailing  monthly  from  Europe  to  the  La  Plata,  touching  at  Rio. 

" '  My  only  apprehension  is  that  if  Bliss  and  Masterman  are  still  alive,  they  will  have 
been  rescued  by  one  of  the  vessels  of  war  belonging  to  other  nationalities,  now  in  Para- 
guay.   That  such  is  their  intention,  I  know,  and  such  intentions  are  not  concealed  in 


252  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  general  indignation  of  the  puhlic  at  the  non-action  of  our  ehow-squadron  on  this 
station.    God  grant  that  we  may  be  spared  that  blow. 

" '  111  my  opinion,  your  course  is  a  very  simple  one.  Yon  have  no  duties  to  discharge 
Im  connection  with  Paraguay.  Lopez,  by  an  act  of  war  against  the  United  States,  has 
canceled  alike  your  duties  and  your  instructions ;  and  nothing  remains  for  you  to  do 
but  to  consult  the  honor  and  the  dignity  of  your  country,  by  remaining  here  or  in  the 
La  Plata  until  you  can  hear  from  Washington. 

"  '  I  inclose  you  a  copy  of  Mr.  Washburn's  official  letter  to  the  British  envoy  extra- 
ordinary and  minister  ]»leuipotentiaiy  to  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  through  him  to 
the  other  legations  in  Buenos  Ayrcs.  This  is  a  duplicate  of  the  one  sent  to  me  by  Mr. 
Washburn,  and  which  I  sent  to  Admiral  Davis,  indorsing  its  authenticity,  and  I  fur- 
nish it  to  you  under  like  circumstances. 

"  '  Wishing  you  and  your  sisters  a  i)leasant  passage  to  the  La  Plata  in  the  Guerriere, 
I  am.  my  dear  general,  very  sincerely,  your  colleague  and  obedient  servant, 

"'J.  WATSON  WEBB. 

"  *  His  Excellency  General  Martin  T.  McMahon, 

"  *  United  States  Minister  Besident  to  Paraguay.' 

"1  should  have  stated  sooner  that  when  the  Brazilian  Times  announced,  on  the  8th, 
that  the  United  States  squadron  was  under  orders  for  the  river,  Admiral  Davis,  who 
had  that  day  written  mo  the  exceedingly  offensive  note  Avhich  called  forth  my  second 
letter,  addressed  the  editor  of  that  paper  as  follows : 

"  'Flag-ship  Guerriere,  Octoler  9,  1868. 
''  'My  D»ar  Sir  :  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  two  papers  which  you  very 
kindly  sent  me,  and  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  saying  this  in  person  on  my  return 
fi-om  Petropolis. 

'' '  I  see  in  these  papers  that  you  take  an  interest  in  the  movements  of  my  squadron, 
but  that  the  source  of  your  information  is  incorrect.  Not  only  is  the  squadron  not 
under  orders  for  the  La  Plata,  but  no  single  vessel  of  the  squadron  is  under  sailing 
orders  at  this  moment  for  any  place. 

"  <  Very  truly  yours,  ^ 

"  '  C.  H.  DAVIS,  Bear-Admiral, 
"'William  Sculley, 

" '  Editor  and  Froprietor  of  the  Anglo-Brazilian  Times.' 

"  I  learn  that  the  English  have  two  boats  up  the  Paraguay,  and  they  are  hourly  ex- 
pecting a  third  to  arrive,  which  will  be  immediately  sent  up  to  join  the  Linnet  and 
Beacon.  France,  Italy,  and  Portugal  have  one  each.  Lopez  refused  to  give  up  his 
English  prisoners  to  the  English  secretary  of  legation,  Mr.  Gould,  who  was  on  board 
the  Linnet,  and  that  gentleman  immediately  left  to  report  to  his  minister  at  Buenos 
Ayres.  Lopez  then  sent  word  to  the  French  gunboat  Decidde,  that  he  was  willing  to 
release  the  Englishmen. 

"  Mr.  Washburn  writes  me,  under  date  of  the  I4th  October,  confirming  the  previous 
report  that  Lopez  had  shot  both  his  brothers  and  his  sister,  the  widow  of  General  Barrios, 
who  committed  suicide  some  months  ago  to  escajje  torture.  And  Mr.  Matthew,  the 
English  envoy  at  this  court,  writes  me  as  follows.  Although  his  note  is  marked 
'  private,'  I  have  his  permission  to  send  it  to  you : 

" '  [Private.]  " '  October  15, 1 868. 

" '  My  Dear  General  :  Will  you  allow  me  to  ask  what  steps  you  are  taking  in  con- 
sequence of  the  treatment  of  your  legation  in  Paraguay  ?  If  the  last  letter  published 
as  from  Mr.  Bliss  was  genuine,  its  tone,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  confirms  the  belief  that  it 
v/as  written  under  torture. 

"  '  Rumors  of  all  kinds  are,  of  course,  rife,  and  I  frankly  confess  that  I  expected  ere 
this  to  have  heard  of  some  decided  course  of  action,  and  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  see 
the  prestige  of  the  United  States  in  this  land  affected  by  any  unsuitable  delay  or  hesi- 
tation in  a  case  that  seems  worse  than  ours  in  Abyssinia. 

"' Indeed,  I  almost  question  whether  all  nations  should  not  unite  in  bringing  this 
monster  to  his  senses.  The  latest  accounts  I  see  assert  that  Lopez  had  ordered  his 
sister  and  his  brothers  to  execution. 

' "  With  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Webb,  believe  me,  my  dear  general,  most  truly  yours, 

"'G.  BUCIiLEY  MATTHEW. 

" '  His  Excellency  General  Webb,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.' 

"  My  only  reply  was  a  statement  of  the  fact  that  Rear- Admiral  Davis  ignored  my 
right  to  have  any  opinion  on  the  subject,  while  his  admiral,  Ramsay,  promptly  re- 
sponded to  his  calls,  and  sent  every  vessel  he  had  up  the  Paraguay,  and  will  send  up 
the  gunboat  to  arrive. 

"  The  Emperor  inquired  of  a  gentleman  only  three  days  ago  *  why  Monsieur  Webb 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  253 

•vras  so  tardy.    He  "was  accustomed  to  be  very  prompt.'     I  fiimisliod  the  answer  in  my 
letter  in  the  Times  of  yesterday,  defending  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Washburn. 

"  I  am  mortified  and  crieved  that  in  such  an  emergency  we  should  have  been  so 
badly  served  by  onr  naval  force  on  this  station  ;  and  solely  because  of  a  senseless  jeal- 
ousy of  the  Department  of  State  aud  its  representatives.  The  South  Atlantic  squadron 
has  cost  tlie  United  States  treasury  during  the  last  three  years  not  less  than  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  for  which  it  has  rendered  no  national  services  whatever,  except  such 
as  could  have  been  aiul  were  rendered  by  the  smallest  gunboats  in  the  navy.  And 
now,  when  an  emergency  arises  in  which  it  can  bo  serviceable  to  the  country,  it  does 
not  suit  tlie  officer  in  command  to  employ  it.  Justly  to  estimate  the  character  and  cost 
of  this  refusal,  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Giierriere  and  crcrji  other  first-rate  steamer 
in  commission  costs  the  government  annually  upward  of  .S400,o6o ;  or  more  than  the 
entire  diplomatic  corps  of  the  United  States,  including  all  incidental  expenses,  in  any 
one  year.  And  yet  those  '  tii*st-rates '  have  become  mere  '  pleasure  yachts '  for  those 
who  command  them.  Kather  expensive  luxuries,  these,  in  time  of  peace ;  and  it  is  not 
very  extraordinary  that  a  man  who  is  employed  at  an  expense  to  the  government  of 
about  half  a  million  per  annum,  should  liold  in  contempt  the  claims  of  one  who  costs 
the  government  only  twelve  thousund,  less  income  tax.  We  have  a  great  many 'first- 
rates'  in  commission,  and  nothing  for  them  to  do  ;  and  the  time  has  arrived  when  our 
tax-payers,  throuj'h  their  representatives,  should  inijuire  whether  twenty  gunboats  in 
commission  would  not  do  the  work  of  the  country  better  than  it  has  been  done  with 
one  hundred  aud  two  vessels  of  war,  including  many  *  first-rates.'  And  if  the  small 
number  of  vessels  would  render  better  service  at  a  saving  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
millions  per  annum,  the  government  might  be  rendering  a  great  service  to  the  country 
by  calling  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  fact. 
"  Vcr\^  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB. 

''  Hon.  WiBLiAM  H.  Sew-Uid,  Secretary  of  State."  * 

Q.  Had  you  any  reason  to  suppose  that  Admiral  Davis  and  Captain  Ramsay  enter- 
tained unfriendly  feelings  toward  Mr.  Washburn  i)rior  to  their  being  informed  of  the 
arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  Certainly  not.  Nor  have  I  any  reason  to  believe 
that  Mr.  Washburn,  up  to  that  time,  was  ever  discussed. 

Q.  Have  you  any  such  information  after  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  ? — A.  After 
the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  announced,  it  was  generally  understood  that 
Admiral  Davis,  Captain  Ramsay,  and  several  other  officers  of  the  fleet,  as  well  as  the 
Brazilian  press,  openly  denounced  Mr.  W^ashburn  for  having  left  Paraguay  without 
bringing  Bliss  and  Masterman  with  him.  Of  my  own  knowledge,  I  cannot  say  whether 
they  did  so  denounce  him. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  When  you  say  it  was  generally  understood,  do  you  mean  to  say  it  was  the  public 
opinion  ? — A.  I  mean  to  say  that  it  wa«  a  matter  of  public  discussion  ;  that  officers  and 
others  said  to  me,  "  Ramsay  says  it  is  cowardly ;  Admiral  Davis  condemns  it." 

Q.  Did  you  publish  a  card  in  the  Brazilian  papers  in  reference  to  the  withdrawal  of 
Mr.  Washburn  from  his  mission  at  Asuncion  ? — A.  I  did.  It  was  dated  the  22d  of  Oc- 
tober, 18G8,  aud  a  copy  of  it  sent  to  the  Department  of  State.    The  card  is  as  follows ; 

"Legation  op  the  United  States, 

"  Boa  Viagem,  October  22,  1868. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Anglo-Brazilian  Tivnes  : 

"  Sir  :  Now  that  the  uncalled-for  and  inconsiderate  abuse  of  Mr.  Washburn,  the  United 
States  minister  to  Paraguay,  has  abated,  if  not  ceased,  I  desire  to  state  one  or  two 
facts,  calculated  to  vindicate  the  character  of  an  American  official  who  has  faith- 
fully discharged  his  duty,  under  very  trying  circumstances. 

*'  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  W^ashbum  is  the  same  indi\adual  who,  in  1864,  then  United 
States  minister  at  Asuncion,  protested  against  the  ti'eatmeut  of  the  Brazilian  minister, 
Senor  Viana  da  Lima,  by  President  Lopez ;  and  when  ho  found  that  remonstrance  was 
unavailing,  threatened  the  tyrant  to  insist  upon  his  passi)ort  and  breakup  his  legation, 
if  da  Lima  were  not  treated  with  the  consideration  his  dijjlomatic  character  demanded, 
and  the  necessary  facilities  afforded  him  to  leave  the  country  in  a  manner  suited  to  the 
dignity  of  his  position.  For  so  doing,  his  conduct  was  greatly  extolled  by  the  Brazilian 
press  and  Brazilian  officials,  including  his  Imperial  Majesty. 

*'  Secondly.  The  peculiar  character  of  Mr.  Washburn's  official  correspondence  with  the 
Paraguayan  foreign  office  is  to  be  attributed  solely  to  the  dangerous  situation  in  which 
he  and  his  family  were  placed  by  Lopez,  with  a  view,  probably,  to  their  destruction, 
and  which  is  thus  described  in  his  report  to  me  of  what  had  occurred,  dated  Buenos 
Ayres,  September  26 : 

" '  You  will  find  a  ridiculously  long  correspondence  in  regard  to  the  different  persons 
domiciled  in  my  legation^  which  was  published  first  by  Lopez,  in  his  Seminario,  and  has 


254  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

"been  republished  here.  On  the  continuance  of  tlm  correspondence  I  felt  that  my  life  depended, 
and  uiy  great  aim  was  to  prolong  it  till  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp,  which  I  was  certain 
you  would  send  up.  I  wrote  to  gain  time,  all  the  while  cherishing  the  hope  she  would  come 
before  Lopez  committed  any  violence  against  mo  ;  for  had  he  once  proceeded  to  that, 
he  would  have  gone  to  the  last  extremity.  For  one  whole  month  I  felt  that  I  would 
have  compromised  by  simply  being  shot ;  but  I  was  afraid  of  his  tortures,  which  he 
applies  to  all  who  do  not  make  such  declarations  as  he  desires.  And  then  I  did  not 
like  to  gi,ve  him  a  chance  to  put  forth  any  declarations  as  coming  from  mo,  when  I 
should  "hot  be  alive  to  deny  them.  Our  correspondence  ceased  when  the  Wasp  ar- 
rived. To  have  terminated  it  sooner,  by  indignantly  returning  the  first  dispatch  con- 
taining imputations  on  my  character,  would  have  insured  my  destruction.  Thank 
God  and  you,  the  Wasp  arrived,  and  we  were  saved.' 

"  Thirdly.  Mr.  Washburn  is  no  more  resj)on8ible  for  the  publication  of  that  cor- 
respondence than  I  am  for  the  United  States  squadron  lying  idle  in  this  harbor,  when 
all  the  available  men-of-war  belonging  to  other  nationalities  have  long  since  been 
occupying  the  waters  of  Paraguay,  .and  doing  all  in  their  i)ower  to  protect  the  lives  of 
their  citizens.  There  is  just  as  much  justice  ia  censuring  Mr.  Washburn  for  publish- 
ing his  correspondence  with  Lopez  as  there  is  in  visiting  upon  my  government,  our 
people,  or  myself,  the  just  indignation  expressed  by  the  public,  that  our  squadron  (all 
of  which,  except  the  flag-ship,  is  peculiarly  adaptable  to  river  service)  should  be  the 
only  passive  one  on  the  coast,  in  an  emergency  which  demands  prompt  action,  not 
only  in  vindication  of  our  national  honor,  but  in  the  discharge  of  our  duty  to  the 
civilized  world,  which,  equally  with  the  United  States,  has  been  insulted  by  the  gross 
outrage  perpetrated  on  our  legation  in  Paraguay. 

"Fourthly.  Mr.  Washburn  may  have  beea  imprudent  in  giving  expression  to  his  feel- 
ing in  regard  to  the  dilatoriness  of  the  Marquis  of  Caxias  in  concluding  the  war 
against  Lopez  ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  ho  was  the  victim  of  that  dilatori- 
ness, and  that  it  very  nearly  cost  him  his  life. 

"  The  Brazilian  army  has  exhibited  extraordinary  dash  and  abundant  daring  whenever 
it  has  had  an  opportunity  to  exhibit  its  soldierly  qualities  ;  and  he  who  vindicates  its 
character  merits  the  thanks,  instead  of  the  condemnation,  of  the  Brazilian  public. 

'^  Fifthly.  Mr.  Washburn  is  censured  and  called  hard  names,  because  he  seemingly  aban- 
doned members  of  his  legation  to  the  wild  beast  of  Paraguay.  This  condemnation  has  its 
origin  in  a  manly  and  generous  feeling,  which  I  fully  understand  and  appreciate  ;  but 
it  is  based  on  erroneous  information.  If  the  Was^  had  been  lying  at  the  wharf  of 
Asuncion,  doubtless,  from  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Washburn's  character,  he  would  have 
placed  his  wife  and  child  on  board  and  ordered  the  steamer  to  leave,  while  he  re- 
turned to  brave  the  tyrant  in  his  den,  and  share  the  fate  of  the  members  of  his  lega- 
tion. But  such  was  not  the  state  of  affairs.  Mr.  Washburn  says  :  '  I  demanded  and 
received  my  passports,  and  abandoned  my  residence,  and,  with  my  wife,  child,  and 
servants,  and  the  two  members  of  my  legation,  started  for  the  steamer — not  the  Wasp, 
but  a  Paraguayan  steamer,  which  was  to  take  us  to  the  Wasp.  When  approaching 
the  steamer.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  arrested  at  my  side,  and  forcibly  carried  away. 
What  was  I  to  do  ?  Follow  them,  and  leave  my  wife  and  child  in  the  streets  of 
Asuncion?  We  had  no  home  to  return  to.  Should  I  ha\e  placed  my  wife  on  board 
the  Paraguayan  steamer,  and  left  them  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Lopez's  minions  ?  My 
diplomatic  functions  having  been  brought  to  a  close  by  my  own  act,  Lopez  would  not 
have  permitted  me  to  resume  them,  and  the  seizure  of  the  members  of  my  legation,  as 
much  entitled  to  protection  as  I  was,  demonstrates  what  kind  of  protection  was  in  store 
for  all  of  us,  and  of  how  little  value  it  was  to  my  legation  as  to  my  family.' 

''  I  will  only  repeat  the  language  of  the  Buenos  Ayres  Standard :  '  If  Mr.  Washburn 
has  erred,  he  has  erred  on  the  right  side ;  and  his  government  and  his  country  will 
fully  indorse  his  conduct,  against  all  the  calumnies  and  slanders  now  heaped  upon 
him  by  evidence  not  worth  the  paper  upon  which  it  is  written.' 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB." 

Q.  Had  you  interviews  with  Admiral  Davis  and  Captain  Ramsay  after  the  publica- 
tion of  this  card? — A.  Never;  that  was  after  my  correspondence  with  the  admiral. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  impression  which  that  publication  made  upon  them ;  whether 
favorable  or  otherwise  ? — A.  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  the  impression  that  it  made 
upon  them;  but  I  am  bound  to  say  that,  from  the  publication  of  that  card  up  to 
the  time  of  my  leaving  Rio,  I  never  knew  an  intelligent  Brazilian,  or  an  intelligent 
American,  whether  of  the  navy  or  not,  w^ho  disapproved  or  censured  Mr.  Washburn, 
while  I  did  hear  very  many  persons  of  high  standing  and  good  position  defend  and  jus- 
tify the  course  Mr.  Washburn  had  jjursued. 

Q.  Wliat  was  the  impression  first  made  upon  your  mind  on  hearing  of  the  course  of 
Mr.  Washburn  on  his  retiring  from  Paraguay ;  was  it  the  same  as  that  expressed  by 
Admiral  Davis  and  Captain  Ramsay  ? — A.  I  confess  that  it  made  an  unfavorable  im- 
pression upon  my  mind,  until  I  received  hig  explanation. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  ♦  255 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  ? — A.  I  know  him  well. 

Q.  State  when  you  first  made  his  acquaintance,  and  the  opportunities  you  had  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  him. — A.  In  June,  1861,  after  I  was  appointed  minister  to  Brazil, 
Mr.  Bliss  applied  to  me  to  name  him  as  secretary  of  legation,  and  produced  a  volume 
of  letters  of  recommendation,  including  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  Eastern  States, 
from  Mr.  Everett,  and  from  gentlemen  connected  with  most  of  the  literary  and  scien- 
tific institutions  in  the  East,  settiufj  forth  his  great  knowledge  of  the  Indian  languages, 
and  his  great  facility  in  acquiring  tliem,  and  recommending  him  to  anybody  and  every- 
body who  might  have  anything  for  him  to  do.  Circumstances  rendered  it  inexpedient 
for  me  to  suggest  him  to  the  President  for  secretary  of  legation,  but  I  proposed  to 
him  that  he  should  take  the  place  of  private  secretary  to  my  family  and  tutor  to  my 
children,  which  he  accepted.  He  wished  to  go  to  England,  and  I  had  sufficient  con- 
fidence in  him  to  allow  him  to  leave  in  advance  of  us.  When  in  England,  on  my 
way  to  Kio,  he  joined  me,  and  his  duties  as  secretary  commenced.  He  was  in  my 
family  as  secretary  and  tutor  some  eighteen  months,  during  which  period  I  insisted  on 
his  always  being  treated  by  my  associates  of  the  diplomatic  corps  as  a  member  of  my 
family.  Shortly  after  taking  up  my  residence  at  Petropolis  the  members  of  my  family 
were  invited  to  a  reception  by  one  of  my  colleagues,  and  Mr.  Bliss  omitted ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  I  gave  notice  to  that  colleague  that  unless  Mr.  Bliss  was  included  I 
could  not  attend.  He  innnediately  came  in  person  and  invited  Mr.  Bliss,  and  apologized 
for  the  omission,  on  the  ground  that  he  hatl  not  appreciated  his  position  as  private  sec- 
retary. Mr.  Bliss,  during  tl-^o  time  he  acted  as  tutor,  got  up  a  Portuguese  dictionary, 
and  very  generally  his  mind  was  diverted  from  his  duties  as  tutor,  and  his  whole  indi- 
Mations  and  aspirations  were  totally  different  from  the  duties  pertaining  to  the  i)08ition 
he  held  in  my  family.  He  had  the  greatest  facility  of  acquiring  language  of  any  per- 
son I  have  ever  met ;  but  as  tutor  he  was  not  successful,  nor  was  he  so  constituted  that 
he  ever  could  have  accomplished  much.  My  arrangement  with  Mr.  Bliss  was  to  con- 
tinue during  three  or  four  years,  but  he  became  anxious  to  get  into  the  country  aud 
engage  in  literary  pursuits  and  investigations,  and  he  made  application  to  me  to  be 
discharged  as  tutor  upon  his  paying  me  the  sum  of  three  or  four  hundred  dollars.  I 
told  him  that  of  course  I  could  not  receive  anything  of  that  kind ;  tliat  I  myself  had 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  he  was  better  qualified  for  anything  else  than  for  teaching, 
and  that  I  would  very  cheerfully  abandon  the  arrangement ;  telling  him  at  the  same 
time  that  with  his  facility  of  aci^uiriug  language,  his  very  wonderful  meniory,  and  his 
devotion  to  study,  it  was  quite  within  his  power  to  make  his  mark  within  the  next  ten 
years.  When  we  parted  he  wrote  a  letter  to  me,  thanking  mo  for  our  kindness  to  him, 
aud  showing  clearly  that  the  relations  on  both  sides  between  us  were  of  the  most 
friendly  nature.  The  last  thing  I  did  before  his  leaviug  the  house  was  to  give 
liim  an  outfit  for  the  Indian  country.  I  should  hero  state  that  Mr.  Bliss,  as  I  under- 
stand, Avas  the  son  of  a  missionary  to  the 'Indians,  and  bom  in  the  Indian  country; 
that  he  ha<l  grown  up  among  that  people,  and  had  developed  great  aptitude  in  acquir- 
ing a  knowledge  of  Indian  languages.  The  learned  men  at  Rio  sooii  became  advised  of 
his  aptitude  in  acquiring  a  knov.'ledge  of  scientific  matters,  and  treated  him  wiHi  a 
great  deal  of  consideration,  and  I  understood,  also,  that  the  Emperor  received  him  on 
dilferent  occasions,  and  exhibited  great  kindness  toward  him. 

Mrs.  Webb  became  an  invalid  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  necessary  to  leave  Rio, 
and  I  sailed  for  the  river  Plata  in  December,  1862,  on  board  the  United  States  ship 
Jame«town,  and  asked  Captain  Price  to  give  Mr.  Bliss  a  passage  on  board,  which  he 
did.  Mr.  Bliss  first  told  me  when  he  came  on  board  the  English  steamer  at  Southamp- 
ton, for  Brazil,  that  he  was  not  familiar  with  a  word  of  the  Poi-tuguese  language.  He 
studied  Portuguese  on  board  the  steamer,  and,  before  he  had  been  in  Brazil  one  month, 
a  Brazilian  lady  exiiressed  to  me  her  utter  astonishment  at  the  facility  with  which  he 
spoke  the  language.  When  we  embarked  at  Rio  for  the  La  Plata,  I  am  satisfied  that 
Mr.  Bliss  was  quite  ignorant  of  the  Spanish  language.  At  Buenos  Ayres  I  informed 
our  countryman,  Mr.  Edward  Hopkins,  that  I  wanted  Mr.  Bliss  to  get  employment 
under  the  Argentine  government  to  make  explo-ratious  in  their  Indian  country,  and  re- 
quested him  to  introduce  me  to  the  minister  of  tlie  interior,  Mr.  Rawlson,  who  was  the 
son  of  an  American.  I  stated  to  Mr,  Rawlson,  in  recommending  Bliss  for  employment, 
that  he  knew  nothing  about  Spanish,  but  could,  beyond  all  question,  very  soon  acquire 
it.  Mr.  Rawlson  promised  to  give  him  employment,  and  did  employ  him  to  take  charge 
of  a  party  to  make  investigation  in  regard  to  the  Indian  languages  in  the  Argentine 
Republic.  Hearing  that  he  had  been  so  employed,  I  waited  upon  Mr.  Rawlson  and 
thanked  him  for  having  enqdoyed  him  at  ray  request.  He  said  to  me,  "  You  said  this 
youUj^man  does  not  know  anything  about  Spanish ;  why,  he  speaks  Spanish  as  well  as 
most  Ibreigners  in  this  city."  I  replied,  "  If  he  does,  he  has  learned  it  since  he  left 
Rio."    From  the  time  I  left  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  present,  I  know  nothing  of  Mr.  Bliss. 

Q.  How  did  3'ou  regard  his  character  for  integrity  and  veracity  ? — A.  I  have  no 
doubt  of  his  integrity.  I  have  no  means  of  judging  of  his  character  for  veracity,  ex- 
cept from  his  daily  intercourse  with  the  children,  or  something  of  that  kind.    As  tutor, 


256  •  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

I  felt  that  he  never  impresserT  upon  the  children  sufficiently  the  importance  of  truth.  I 
do  not  know  that  ho  over  made  any  misrepresentations  to  me. 

Q.  Did  you  dissolve  your  connection  with  him  hecaiise  of  his  want  of  character  for 
veracity? — A.  I  dissolved  my  connection  with  him,  more  than  for  any  other  reason, 
because  of  his  utter  disqualitication  for  teaching ;  because  he  was  passionate,  and  be- 
cause he  did  not  impress  upon  the  children  various  things  wliieli  I  required  him  to  do, 
and,  particularly,  the  importance  of  truth. 

Q.  Did  you  toll  Captani  Kirkland,  or  any  other  person,  you  discharged  him  on  account 
of  his  want  of  character  for  truth  ? — A.  Never.  I  cannot  say  that  I  discharged  Mr. 
Bliss  at  all.     He,  himself,  was  anxious  to  go. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  What  brought  particularly  to  your  notice  the  fact  that  he  did  not  teach  the  im- 
portance of  truth  in  the  education  of  your  children  ? — A.  I  cannot  allude  to  any  par- 
ticular case  at  this  time. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Did  you,  or  not,  r(;gard  his  failure  to  impress  the  importance  of  truth  upon  your 
children  as  different  from  a  man  who  would  deliberately  tell  a  falsehood  ? — A.  If  you 
should  ask  me  the  question  whether,  from  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Bliss,  during  the  time 
of  wliich  I  luive  been  speaking,  I  would  believe  him  under  oath,  I  should  answer  that, 
without  hesitation  or  qualification,  I  would.  I  would  give  full  credence  to  Mr.  Bliss 
under  oath,  or  in  any  serious  statement  he  should  make  to  the  public  or  to  me. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Was  ho  a  man  in  whom  you  reposed  entire  confidence,  and  whom  you  would  be  dis- 
posed to  trust  under  trying  circumstances? — A.  Ho  was  a  boy  of  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two  at  that  time,  and  there  are  very  few  I  would  put  implicit  confidence  in  at  that  age, 
under  trying  circumstances.  I  cannoT.  say  that  I  would,  and  yet  it  would  depend  entirely 
upon  what  were  the  circumstances,  and  Avhat  the  position  was. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  At  the  time  he  left  you,  was  his  character  such,  in  your  estimation,  that  if  he  had 
related  to  you  an  important  fact,  in  which  he  himself  was  interested,  or  any  other 
party  was  interested,  you  would  have  put  full  confidence  in  his  statement  ? — A.  Un- 
limited. If  he  had  come  to  me  and  stated  that  such  and  such  were  facts,  I  would  not 
have  doubted  his  statements.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  believe  the  whole 
of  his  statement  in  relation  to  the  conduct  of  Loi)ez  toward  him  in  Paraguay. 

Washington,  November  13, 1869. 

Examination  of  James  Watson  Webb  continued : 

When  the  committee  adjourned  yesterday  I  was  being  examined  in  relation  to  the 
character  of  Mr,  Bliss  for  truth  and  veracity,  and  the  chairman  had  asked  me  whether 
I  had  ever  said  to  Captain  Kirkland,  or  to  any  person,  that  I  had  discharged  Mr.  Bliss 
for  lying  and  in  consequence  of  his  bad  character.  I  replied  that  I  had  never  so  stated, 
and  proce<3ded  to  show  that  it  coiild  not  be  true,  by  stating  the  circiimstances  under 
which  we  had  parted.  I  have  since  read  the  testimony  of  Admiral  Davis  before  this 
committee,  in  which  he  says  he  received  a  letter  from  Commander  Kirkland  informing 
him  that  I  had  told  Kirkland  that  I  had  discharged  Bliss  for  lying,  &c.;  and  I  pre- 
sume the  chairman's -question  was  based  upon  that  testimony.  The  letter  referred  to 
by  Admiral  Davis,  from  Commander  Kirkland,  bears  date  June  5,  1869.  More  than  six 
years  since  I  met  him  casually  at  Montevideo,  a  young  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  whom 
I  had  never  seen  before  and  never  expected  to  meet  again.  He  writes  to  the  admiral 
as  follows : 

"  I  considered  Mr.  Bliss  to  be  an  unfit  subject  to  mess  and  live  with  gentlemen,  as  in 
January,  1863,  General  Webb  had  him  for  a  private  tutor,  and  brought  him  to  this 
river  from  Rio  Janeiro,  where  he  left  him  because  he  was  a  natural  liar,  whose  example, 
the  general  feared  would  contaminate  his  children.  This  I  heard  from  the  general's 
own  lips  at  that  time  January,  1863." 

Now,  I  would  submit  to  the  committee  whether  it  is  probable  that  I  could  have  made 
any  such  false  declaration  to  Lieutenant  Kirkland,  an  entire  stranger  to  me,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1863 — I  having  left  about  the  10th  of  that  month — and  at  the  very  time  when  I 
had  induced  Captain  Price  to  give  Mr.  Bliss  a  passage  from  Rio  to  the  La  Plata;  when 
I  had  indorsed  Bliss's  character  and  procured  for  him  an  appointment  in  the  Argen- 
tine Republic ;  and,  finally,  when  taking  leave  of  him,  (Bliss,)  I  had  requested  my 
wife  to  make  him  a  loan  of  money,  if  he  needed  it,  which  he  declined!  I  had*  never 
seen  or  heard  of  such  a  person  as  Lieutenant  Kirkland  until  my  arrival  at  the  river, 
and  saw  him  then  but  a  very  few  times.  It  is,  therefore,  utterly  and  absolutely  im- 
possible that  while  I  -was  using  my  personal  influence  and  my  official  character  to  get 
a  place  tor  Mr.  Bliss,  eulogizing  his  ability  and  vouching  for  the  correctness  of  his  con- 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  257 

duct,  and  offering  to  loan  him  money,  I  could  have  used  the  language  to  the  lieuten- 
ant that  I  had  discharged  him  for  lying,  thereby  virtually  contradicting  all  my  ac- 
tions. I  will  state  to  the  committee  that  I  separated  from  Mr.  Bliss  because  he  was 
not  qualified  to  be  a  tutor  of  children ;  because  his  whole  manner  and  all  his  habits  of 
life  were  utterly  contrary  to  those  of  my  family ;  and  that,  although  he  never  misrep- 
resented the  truth  to  me,  yet  there  was  a  disregard,  or  rather  an  absence  of  appreci- 
ation of  truth  in  his  intercourse  with  the  children  and  in  teaching  my  children,  which 
I  greatly  disapproved ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I 
would  believe,  without  any  doubt,  any  representation  made  to  me  by  Mr."  Bliss,  upon 
any  serious  question,  and  I  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  give  full  credence  to  his 
testimony  uuder  oath. 

The  committee  will  observe  that  so  far  as  I  have  any  interest  in  this  investigation, 
beyond  what  is  purely  of  a  public  character,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  sustain  my  reports 
to  the  government  in  regard  to  the  action  of  Admiral  Davis,  while  in  command  of  the 
fleet,  and  my  version  of  the  causes  which  induced  him  to  delay  proceeding  to  Para- 
guay, v/hen  in  my  judgment  the  interests  of  the  country  demanded  that  he  should  pro- 
ceed promptly.  I  attributed,  in  my  dispatches  and  letters  and  conversation,  the  re- 
fusal of  the  admiral  to  conqdy  with  the  requisition  I  officially  made  upon  him  to  a 
jealousy  on  his  i)art — a  jealousy  which,  unfortunately,  exists  in  the  navy — in  regard  to 
the  respective  rights  and  duties  of  ministers  and  naval  officers.  I  believe,  and  I  have 
reported  to  the  government,  that  the  delay  which  took  place  would  never  have  oc- 
curred if  I  had  not  innocently  felt  it  my  duty  to  insist  upon  his  expediting  his  depart- 
ure. That  being  the  issue  between  Admiral  Davis  aud  myself,  I  find  in  his  testimony 
an  attempt  to  attribute  the  delay  in  his  movement  to  other  causes.  On  page  4  of  the^ 
manuscrii)t  testimony  of  Admiral  Davis  I  find  tlie  following  questions  put  to  him : 

"  Q.  When  did  you  receive  the  first  official  notice  of  the  imprisonment  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman  ? — A.  I  must  have  received  the  first  information  from  the  letter  of  Mr. Wash- 
burn to  Mr.  Stewart,  the  British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres.  I  then  learned  for  the; 
first  time  of  their  imprisonment. 

"  Q.  You  determined  then  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  and  effect  their  release,  without 
awaiting  instructions  from  the  dei)artment  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  I  waited,  however,  for  our 
minister  to  arrive."  [Aud  at  page  90  ho  says  he  knciv  he  was  coming  "  out  in  that 
steamer.    That  was  my  motive  for  waiting."] 

"  Q.  He  brought  no  instructions? — A.  No,  sir;  but  I  considered  it  his  business.  He, 
as  minister  to  Paraguay,  had  a  right  to  be  consulted,  and  needed  to  take  direction. 
That  was  tbe  intention  of  the  government,  as  ho  was  specially  instructed  to  act  in  co- 
operation with  me,  and  I  in  co-operation  with  him." 

The  information  obtained  from  Mr.  Washburn's  letter  to  the  British  minister  at 
Buenos  Ayres  must  have  been,  according  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  and  knowledge 
of  dates,  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  when  it  appeared  in  the  Brazilian  i)apers  ;  and  the- 
admiral  swears  that  at  that  time  he  determined  to  proceed  to  Paraguay  and  release 
them,  but  that  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  our  minister,  who,  he  assures  the  committee, 
he  kncxv  would  arrive  in  the  next  steamer. 

If  this  testimony  of  the  admiral  be  of  value,  it  arises  simply  from  the  fact  that  he 
actually  possessed  such  knowledge.  I  was  there  officially,  in  constant  communication: 
with  the  government,  and  I  had  no  knowledge  of  the  kind  ;  aud  I  did  not  know  that 
General  McMahon  would  arrive  in  the  next  steamer.  I  have,  therefore,  gone  into  an 
investigation  of  the  dates  of  several  published  official  documents,  in  order  to  discover 
how  it  was  possible  for  Admiral  Davis  to  be  in  possession  of  the  fact  that  the  minister 
would  arrive  in  the  next  steamer,  to  reach  Eio  on  the  20th,  when  I  had  no  means  of 
coming  to  such  a  conclusion. 

In  the  first  place,  the  admiral  left  my  house  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  day  of  October, 
after  dinner,  and  after  having  spent  several  days  with  his  wife  and  child  at  the  lega- 
tion, as  my  guest.  At  the  dinner  table,  on  the  .3d  of  October,  ho  stated  distinctly  that 
he  should  sail  from  Rio  on  the  following  Saturday,  it  being  the  10th  of  October  ;  or, 


streets  of  Eio,  and  learned  from  one  or  more  of  them  that  they  were  there  for  the  pur- 
pose of  settling  up  their  accounts,  because  the  admiral  had  given  notice  he  would  sail 
on  Saturday,  the  10th,  and  on  reference  to  my  correspondence  with  the  admiral  it  will 
be  perceived  that  I  say,  in  substance,  to  him,  "  that  inasmuch  as  you  are  prepared  to 
sail  on  the  10th,  let  me  beg  you  to  get  off  on  Thursday,  the  8th,  and  thereby  save 
two  days."  At  that  time,  bear  in  mind,  the  admiral  had  full  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
these  gentlemen  of  the  legation  had  been  seized,  and  we  were  actually  corresponding 
about  the  necessity  of  his  moving  to  their  relief.  It  appears  to  me,  therefore,  utterly 
impossible  that,  on  the  5th  of  October,  when  he  refused  to  move,  his  "  motive  "  in  so 
doing  was,  as  he  alleges  now,  to  await  the  arrival  of  General  McMahon ;  and  it  is 
equally  impossible,  that  at  that  time  he  could  have  known,  as  he  says  he  did,  that  Gen- 
eral McMahon  would  arrive  in  the  next  steamer.  Had  it  been  his  intention  to  await 
17  PI 


258  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  arrival  of  the  new  minister  on  the  20th  or  2l8t  of  October,  why  announce  to  me, 
and  to  all  at  my  table,  that  he  would  sail  on  Saturday,  the  10th ;  and  why  give  notice 
to  that  eflfect  to  the  squadron,  in  order  that  the  officers  might  settle  up  their  accounts  ? 
These  are  conjectures,  based  on  a  common-sense  view  of  the  case.  Now  let  us  look 
at  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  dates,  and  see  if  it  were  possible,  under  any  circumstances 
whatever,  that  he  could  have  possessed  such  knowledge,  or  have  been  controlled  in  his 
movements  by  such  "  motives." 

Anterior  to  September,  General  McMahon  had  been  appointed  minister  to  Paraguay, 
and  ordered  to  proceed  to  his  post  of  duty.  The  State  Department  learning  from  me 
the  difficulties  that  existed  in  regard  to  the  Wasp,  and  that  the  Wasp  had  been  stopped 
by  the  allies,  in  passing  up  to  Asuncion,  instructed  General  McMahon,  on  the  18th  of 
August,  not  to  leave  the  country  until  he  received  farther  orders.  On  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1868,  Mr.  Seward  addressed  to  General  McMahon  the  following; 

"  When,  on  the  18th  oi"  August  last,  you  were  on  the  eve  of  your  departure  for  Asun- 
cion, the  capital  of  Paraguay,  as  minister  resident  of  the  United  States  to  that  repub- 
lic, this  department,  by  direction  of  the  President,'  requested  you  to  remain  in  the 
United  States  until  you  should  receive  further  instructions.  The  occasion  of  that  di- 
rection was,  that  Rear- Admiral  Davis,  who  commands  the  United  States  Soiith  At- 
lantic squadron,  had  just  then  reported  that  he  had  sent  the  United  States  ship  of  war 
Wasp  up  the  Parana,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  away  your  predecessor,  Mr.  Charles 
A.  Washburn,  and  his  family,  from  Asuncion.  ***** 

"  To-day  I  received  from  Mr.  Webb  a  dispatch,  which  bears  date  August  7,  and  which 
came  from  London  by  cable,  in  which  dispatch  he  says  that  the  Brazilian  ministry  has 
yielded  to  his  request,  and  that  the  Wasp  goes  to  Asuncion. 

"  The  information  thus  received  is  deemed  sufficient  to  warrant  your  proceeding  at 
ionce,  by  the  next  United  States  steamer,  to  the  seat  of  your  legation." 

Now,  the  next  United  States  steamer  was  to  sail  September  23.  That  dispatch  most 
•probably  did  not  reach  General  McMahon,  in  New  York,  until  the  4th.  By  what  means, 
then,  could  the  admiral  know  of  its  existence  at  Rio,  on  the  5th  of  October  ?  If  Gen- 
eral McMahon  wrote  to  Captain  Ramsay,  by  the  steamer  of  the  5th,  via  England,  the 
day  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter  from  Washington,  it  would  not  reach  England  before 
the  17th.  There  is  no  telegraj)h  from  England  to  Rio  Janeiro,  or  any  part  of  Brazil, 
and  the  first  steamer  from  England  would  be  that  of  20th  of  September,  from  Liver- 
pool, due  in  Rio  in  twenty-four  days,  she  being  a  freight  propeller.  That  would  make 
its  receipt  in  Rio  fall  on  the  14th  of  October,  whereas  my  correspondence  with  the 
admiral,  in  regard  to  this  movement  to  Paraguay,  commenced  on  the  5th  of  October, 
and  terminated  on  the  10th,  the  very  day  which  he  had  fixed  for  his  departure — my 
application  for  his  departure  having  been  made  and  refused  on  the  5th.  It  appears, 
then,  1 0  ba  morally  and  physically  impossible  that  any  information  could  have  been  in 
the  admiral's  possession,  by  private  letter,  apprising  him  that  General  McMahon  would 
arrive  in  the  steamer  of  the  23d,  and  I,  therefore,  again  give  it  as  my  firm  belief  that 
the  admiral  did  intend  to  sail  on  the  10th,  without  having  any  idea  of  the  arrival  of 
McMahon,  and  that  he  remained  in  the  harbor  of  Rio,  not  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
General  McMahon,  as  he  alleges,  and  of  whose  arrival  he  could  not  have  knowledge, 
but  because,  as  I  have  said  to  the  government,  I,  as  minister,  had  urged  him  to  ex- 
pedite his  departure  from  the  10th  to  the  8th.  I  consider  the  declaration  now  made, 
that  he  knew  that  McMahon  was  coming,  a  mere  subterfuj^e,  not  sustained  by  what 
possibly  could  be  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  i)alpably  an  after-thought.  But  the  ad- 
miral also  says  that  he  waited  for  the  minister  to  Paraguay,  "who  had  a  right  to  be 
consulted  and  needed  to  take  direction,  and  that  was  the  intention  of  the  government, 
as  lie  ivas  specially  instructed  to  act  in  co-operation  with  me,  and  I  in  co-operation  with 
him." 

Now,  mark  this  additional  specific  reason  assigned  for  delay.  The  committee  asks  the 
admiral :  Did  General  McMahon,  when  he  arrived  on  the  21st,  bring  any  instructions  ? 
The  admiral  answers  in  the  negative.  It  is  true  that  the  government  did  expect  and 
did  order  that  General  McMahon  and  the  admiral  should  co-operate,  but  not  pre- 
viously to  the  5th  of  October.  That  order  was  not  given  except  in  a  dispatch  dated 
Washington,  November  21,  which  would  arrive  at  Rio  only  on  the  20th  of  December, 
and  yet  the  admiral  says  that  a  knowledge  of  that  fact  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  forty- 
six  days  before  its  existence,  induced  him  to  determine  not  to  move  until  General 
McMahon  had  arrived.  On  the  21st  of  November  Mr.  Seward  writes  to  General  Mc- 
Mahon as  follows : 

"  Sir  :  I  transmit  a  copy  of  the  orders  which  have  been  issued  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  to  Rear- Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  commanding  the  South  Atlantic  squadron,  oc- 
casioned by  recent  events  in  Paraguay,  in  connection  with  your  predecessor  and  other 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  The  department  had  not  yet  received  from  Mr.  Washburn 
detailed  rei)orts  upon  the  subject.  No  doubt,  however,  you  will,  by  personal  inter- 
course with  him  and  from  other  sources,  have  obtained  such  a  knowledge  of  the  facts 
as  will  enable  you  to  proceed  judiciously,  in  co-operation  with  Admiral  Davis,  for  the 
purpose  of  vindicating  the  honor  of  this  government  and  the  rights  of  any  of  the  citi- 


P'ARAGTJAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  259 

zens  of  the  United  States  in  Paraguay  who  may  not  be  able  to  obtain  redress  through 
the  ordinary  channels." 

That  is  the  dispatch  dated  November  21,  by  which  alone  the  minister  and  admiral 
had  been  ordered  to  co-operate ;  and  yet  he  tells  this  committee  that  on  the  5th  of 
October  he  determined  to  await  General  McMahon's  arrival,  which  he  had  knowledge 
would  be  by  the  next  steamer,  because  he  knew  he  was  specially  instructed  to  co-op- 
erate with  him,  a  fact  Avhich  did  not  take  place  for  some  fifty  days  afterward.  I  bog 
the  committee  to  bear  in  mind  that  I  do  not  pretend  to  review  any  portion  of  the  testi- 
mony of  any  of  the  witnesses,  except  that  which  directly  conflicts  with  my  oflicial  re- 
ports to  the  Department  of  State. 

I  fmd  in  the  manuscript  (page  48)  of  Admiral  Davis's  testimony  a  series  of  ques- 
tions seeking  to  ascertain  from  the  admiral  whether  he  had  had  anj"^  conversation  with 
the  British  admiral,  in  which  he  had  made  certain  allegations  inVegard  to  this  out- 
rage in  Paraguay,  and  had  told  tlu^  British  admiral  he  did  not  place  any  value  upon  the 
letters  and  reports  of  Minister  Washburn,  l)ecause  ho  had  private  reports  from  Com- 
mander Kirklaud,  which  went  to  show  that  Washburn's  reports  were  not  worthy  of 
belief,  or  to  be  received  as  true,  all  which  the  admiral  denies.  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  question  is  based  upon  a  remark  that  I  have  made  and  which  may  have  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  committee.  The  British  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plen- 
ipotentiary to  Brazil  informed  me  that  his  admiral.  Admiral  Kamsey,  of  the  British 
navy,  much  to  his  surprise,  had  taken  ground  in  favor  of  Lopez,  while  he,  the  minister, 
was  denouncing  him  to  his  government  and  the  world,  and  to  everybody  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  as  the  greatest  wretch  living,  he,  the  minister,  having  been  minis- 
ter to  Buenos  Ajtcs  immediately  preceding  his  promotion  to  Rio.  He  also  told  me, 
that  this  difference  of  opinion  with  the  admiral  had  produced  quite  a  coolness  between 
them,  although  the  admiral  responded  promptly  to  his  demand  that  English  vessels 
should  be  detached  to  the  river  La  Plata  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  the  diplomatic 
corps  of  the  world  from  the  outrage  perpetrated  upon  it  by  Lopez  throujrh  his  assault 
upon  the  American  legation.  When  1  arrived  in  Rio  last  March  the  British  minister 
explained  to  me  that  before  Admiral  Ramsey  sailed  with  the  British  squadron  for 
England,  he,  Ramsey,  had  explained  the  cause  of  liis  course  of  proceeding  in  regard  to 
the  Paraf^uayan  difficulties,  and  stated,  in  apologizing  for  it  to  the  British  minister,  that 
Admiral  Davis  waited  upon  him.  Admiral  Ramsey,  and  informed  him  that  he  must  not 
receive  as  authentic  or  as  of  any  value  Washburn's  letter  to  the  British  minister  in 
in  Buenos  Ayres  because  he,  Admiral  Davis,  had  a  private  letter  from  Captain  Kirk- 
land,  commander  of  the  Wasp,  which  brought  down  Washburn,  giving  a  totally  different 
version  of  the  whole  affair.  Of  course  I  do  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this.  I  simply 
state  the  fact. 

I  find  on  manuscript  page  80  of  Admiral  Davis's  testimony  the  following : 

"  Q.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  whether  General  Webb,  in  an  interview  with 
you,  did  not  inquire  what  you  were  going  to  do  in  regard  to  the  Wasp  being  detained ; 
and  whether  you  said  you  had  received  letters  from  Captain  Kirkland  several  days 
before,  and  that  you  had  not  opened  them  ? — A.  I  do  not  recollect  any  such  thing.  I 
do  not  know  what  Mr.  Washburn  alludes  to.  What  business  had  General  Webb  with 
my  correspondence  as  long  as  my  department  was  satisfied  ?  If  I  received  letters  from 
Captain  Kirklaud,  which  I  /i«eHrtlid  not  require  my  attention,  who  was  to  be  the  judge 
as  to  when  they  should  be  opened  ?  I  do  not  recollect  making  any  such  statement  to 
Mr.  Webb.  I  supposed  at  the  time  I  was  dealing  with  men  who  were  gentlemen  ;  but 
I  now  find  they  were  taking  «o^e8  of  all  our  private  conversations,  and  now  bring  them 
up  and  try  to  confuse  me  by  asking  me  about  them." 

I  think  this  answer  is  of  a  character  so  puerile  and  childish  that  it  woujd  not  require 
any  comment  were  it  not  that  it  directly  conflicts  with  what  I  have  reported  to  the 
government.  The  news  that  the  Wasp  had  been  sent  back  first  appeared  in  the  Bra- 
zilian papers.  They  boasted  of  the  fact  that  the  Wasp  had  been  compelled  to  return, 
and  published  very  irritating  paragraphs ;  irritating  to  Americans,  and  insulting  to 
our  government,  in  regard  to  the  fact  that  she  had  been  sent  back.  I  waited  several 
days,  in  the  constant  expectation  that  Admiral  Davis  would  address  me  officially  upon 
the  subject,  in  order  that  the  matter  might  be  arranged.  Some  four  or  five  days  after 
the  arrival  of  the  mail  with  this  intelligence,  and  after  the  papers  in  Rio  had  announced 
and  commented  upon  it,  I  saw  the  admiral's  barge  landing  on  the  beach  not  far  from 
my  residence,  wliich  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Bay  of  Rio.  I  was  at  the  time  in  a 
carriage  near  the  ferry,  having  taken  a  friend  down,  and  instantly  hurried  to  where 
the  barge  landed — perceiving  there  was  a  lady  in  the  boat — for  the  purpose  of  offering 
my  carriage  to  the  admiral  and  lady,  who  I  supposed  was  his  wife,  and  believing  they 
had  come  over  for  the  purpose  of  calling  on  Mrs.  Webb.  Upon  reaching  him  I  imme- 
diately tendered  him  the  use  of  my  carriage,  and  said  I  presumed  he  was  going  up  to 
the  legation.  He  replied  no,  they  were  going  to  take  the  same  ride  that  he  had  taken 
with  his  son  just  before  his  death,  several  months  previous ;  and  he  declined  taking  my 
carriage,  because  he  had  sent  for  a  carriage  for  himself  While  waiting  for  the  arrival 
of  his  carriage  I  called  his  attention  to  what  was  said  in  the  newspapers,  and  inquired 


260  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

if  it  were  true  that  he  had  sent  the  Wasp  up  for  INIr.  Washburn,  and  that  she  had  been 
sent  back ;  for  up  to  that  time  I  had  no  knowledge  that  the  Wasp  had  been  sent  up. 
He  replied  that  he  had  dispatched  the  Wasp  to  Asuncion  for  Mr.  Washburn  and  his 
family,  by  order  of  our  government ;  but  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
she  had  been  sent  back.  I  then  said  in  subistance,  "  Is  it  possible  that  the  commander 
of  the  Wasp  has  not  reported  to  you  if  he  has  been  forced  to  return  ?"  He  said,  "  He 
may  have  done  so.  I  have  a  large  bundle  of  dispatches  from  him  lying  on  my  table, 
where  they  have  been  lying  since  the  mail  came  in,  (which  was  four  or  five  days  pre- 
vious,) but  I  have  never  opened  them."  At  this  I  expressed  very  great  surprise,  and 
probably  exhibited  some  little  indignation.  I  recapitulated  as  well  as  I  could  what 
had  been  said  by  the  newspapers,  and  how  very  awkwardly  we  stood  before  the  diplo- 
matic corps  of  the  world  accredited  to  Brazil  under  these  comments,  and  nothing  done ; 
and  I  reminded  him  that  the  only  possible  mode  of  getting  any  redress,  if  such  an  out- 
rage had  been  perpetrated,  was  for  him  to  address  a  note  to  me,  the  minister,  reporting 
the  fact,  and  I  would  then  commence  a  negotiation  with  the  government,  insisting 
upon  our  right  to  send  up  the  Wasp,  and  force  her  up  the  river ;  and  I  begged  him, 
immediately  upon  his  return  to  the  flagship,  to  open  and  examine  the  dispatches  from 
Kirkland,  which  must  contain  a  full  history  of  the  atiair,  as  he  said  they  were  evidently 
quite  voluminous.  He  promised  to  do  so,  and  left  on  his  ride  with  Mrs.  Davis.  I  Avent 
to  my  house,  hunted  up  the  various  newspapers  which  had  such  abusive  articles  in 
relation  to  the  proceeding,  and  carried  them  down  to  the  coxswain  of  the  admiral's 
barge,  and  directed  him,  upon  the  return  of  the  admiral,  to  go  on  board  the  ship,  to 
place  those  papers  in  the  admiral's  possession,  I  having  marked  various  passages  in 
which  the  matter  had  been  referred  to.  Either  that  evening  or  early  the  next  morning 
I  received  a  private  note  from  the  admiral,  containing  not  to  exceed  three  or  four  lines, 
saying  that  it  was  true  the  Wasp  had  been  sent  back,  and  he  wished  I  would  obtain 
the  permission  of  the  government  to  allow  her  to  go  up  after  Mr.  Washburn.  The 
next  morning,  as  I  have  already  said,  I  went  on  board  the  flagship,  and  what  occurred 
there  is  on  record. 

The  admiral  says : 

"  I  supposed  at  the  time  I  was  dealing  with  men  who  were  gentlemen;  but  now  find 
they  were  taking  notes  of  all  my  private  conversations,  and  now  bring  them  up  and 
try  to  confuse  me  by  asking  me  about  them." 

I  desire  the  committee  to  judge  whether,  in  stating  as  I  did  to  the  government  what 
I  have  just  said  to  the  committee,  it  has  the  appearance  of  having  made  private  notes 
for  any  such  purpose  as  the  admiral  alleges ;  w^hether,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  not 
strictly  in  the  line  of  my  duty  to  state  under  what  circumstances  I  became  officially 
advised  of  the  fact  that  the  Wasp  had  been  sent  back. 

This  probably  is  as  good  a  place  as  any  other  to  state  that,  at  the  termination  of  the 
correspondence  between  myself,  as  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Brazilian 
government,  w^hich  resulted  in  their  withdrawing  all  hindrance  to  the  Wasp  going  up 
after  Mr.  Washburn,  the  admiral  addressed  me  a  letter  of  congratulation  upon  the 
course  that  I  had  pursued  and  the  results  of  that  course. 

I  desire  to  put  in  as  part  of  my  testimony  the  following  copy  of  an  official  letter  to 
General  McMahon : 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"Boa  Viagem,  Octohe)^  27,  1868. 
"  My  Dear  General  :  This  government  will  only  be  too  well  pleased  to  have  our 
squadron  go  up  the  river  Paraguay,  and  to  my  certain  knowledge  the  emperor  has  ex- 
pressed his  astonishment  at  my  inaction ;  little  knowing,  until  he  saw  the  Brazilian 
Times  of  the  23d,  that  I  had  discharged  my  whole  duty  In  the  premises.  The  way  is 
open  to  the  vessels  of  all  nationalities,  and  most  assuredly  will  not  be  closed  against  us, 
through  W'hom  the  insult  to  all  the  civilized  governments  of  the  world  has  been  offered. 
The  only  wonder  of  the  allies,  and  of  every  intelligent  person  in  this  region,  is  that  for 
tliree  weeks  past  our  squadron  has  been  lying  in  this  harbor,  leaving  to  other  naval 
powers  the  vindication  of  our  national  konor,  and  the  attempt  to  release  the  members 
of  our  legation  forcibly  detained  in  Paraguay. 

"  In  all  probability,  the  time  for  effective  action  is  past ;  but  whether  it  is  or  not,  and 
although  we  cannot  regain  the  j)restige  so  wantonly  thrown  away,  I  am  well  pleased 
to  learn  that  our  squadron  is  about  to  proceed  to  the  river,  after  having  postponed  its 
time  of  sailing  nearly  three  weeks  to  demonstrate  that  our  minister  could  not  expe- 
dite its  movements ! — a  demonstration  so  important  in  the  opinion  of  Admiral  Davis, 
that  to  make  it  he  has  sacrificed  the  prestige  of  our  country  and  the  vindication  of  the 
rights  of  its  imprisoned  citizens. 

"  Very  truly,  your  fciend  and  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB. 
"  His  Excellency  General  Martin  T.  McMahon, 

"  U.  S.  Minister  to  Paraguay,  U,  S.  Flag-sUp  Guerriere." 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  261 

I  also  have  in  my  possession  in  New  York  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bliss,  addressed  to  me 
upon  his  leaving  my  employ.  I  ask  permission  to  send  it  to  the  committee  as  a  portion 
of  my  testimony,  and  as  conclusively  demonstrating  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  at 
the  time  I  was  rendering  him  the  favors  I  did,  and  when  we  were  parting  upon  such 
good  terms,  that  I  could  have  said  to  Commander  Kirkland,  quite  a  stranger  to  me, 
what  I  am  charged  with  having  said. 

[The  original  letter  forwarded  by  General  Webb  to  the  committee  is  as  follows :] 

"  Petropolis,  Brazil, 
'^Friday,  June  27, 1862. 
"  Dear  Sir  :  Among  the  inducements  which  were  prominent  in  determining  mv  ac- 
ceptance of  the  position  I  now  hold  in  your  family  as  private  secretary  to  yourself  and 
tutor  to  your  children,  was  a  rather  vague  expectation  of  being  able,  in  one  way  or 
another,  to  prosecute  in  South  America  a  class  of  researches  upon  American  ethnology, 
with  which  I  had  become  in  a  measure  identified  at  home.    The  desire  to  prosecute 
this  object  has  continued  to  exist,  although  a  more  intimate  knowled<ye  of  the  state  of 
affairs  in  Brazil  has  shown  it  to  be  incompatible  with  the  most  satisfactory  discharge 
of  my  duties  to  yourself.     If,  therefore,  circumstances  should  arise  which  may  place  it 
within  your  power  by  other  arrangements  to  secure  the  discharge  of  my  present  routine 
of  duty,  you  will  confer  a  favor  upon  me  by  so  doing,  and  by  releasing  me  from  the 
present  engagements,  in  the  fulfillment  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  PORTER  C.  BLISS. 
"  General  James  Watson  Webb, 

"  Env<yy  Extraordinary,  ^c,  ^-c."  * 

I  now  afik  permission  to  read  my  dispatches  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  under  dates  of 
April  7  and  April  24,  18G9.    They  are  as  follows  : 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Jpril  7,  1869. 

"  Sir  :  Intelligence  has  reached  this  city  to-day  that  our  minister  resident  to  Para- 
guay has  arrived  at  Asuncion,  the  capital  of  that  republic.  One  account  reads :  '  The 
American  minister  has  escaped  from  Lopez,  and  is  now  under  the  protection  of  the  Bra- 
zilian flag  in  Asuncion.' 

**  I  forbear,  at  this  time,  entering  at  length  into  a  history  of  the  conduct  of  our  min- 
ister and  admiral  in  the  waters  of  the  La  Plata ;  but  content  myself  with  the  remark 
that  their  proceedings  were  as  inimical  as  they  well  could  be  to  Brazil,  and  that  in 
the  estimation  of  the  diplomatic  corps  accredited  to  this  court,  of  Aiperican  citizens 
here  and  at  the  river,  and  of  the  people  at  large,  our  country  was  dishonored,  our  flag 
desecrated,  and  its  prestige  in  this  region  temporarily  destroyed  by  a  formal  and  per- 
emptory demand  for  the  persons  of  two  members  of  our  legation,  forcibly  taken  from 
its  protection  and  the  power  of  our  minister  by  the  tyrant  Lopez,  and  then  that  formal 
demand  abandoned,  because  Lopez  impudently  refused  to  yield  to  it.  But  this,  bad 
as  it  would  have  been,  was  but  the  beginning  of  our  humiliation.  Not  content  with 
rejecting  our  demand,  Lopez  assailed  the  character  of  Minister  Washburn,  charged 
him,  together  with  Bliss  and  Mastermau,  with  conspiracy  against  his  government,  justi- 
fied his  violent  seizure  of  them,  and  demanded  that  they  should  be  received  and  held 
by  us  as  prisoners  and  oft'enders  against  him  ;  and,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  our  admiral 
and  minister  consented  to  waive  their  demand  for  the  insult  offered  to  our  legation  by 
the  forcible  seizure  of  two  of  its  members,  and  in  contempt  of  any  sentiment  of  honor 
and  justice,  did  actually  receive  them  as  prisoners  on  board  of  one  of  the  identical  ves- 
sels sent  to  punish  and  humiliate  the  offender,  whose  instruments  of  vengeance  they 
thus  became.  They  went  to  denounce  and  punish,  and  they  left  praising  and  reward- 
ing. 

"  It  was  not  possible  for  our  greatest  enemies  to  have  placed  us  in  a  position  so  false 
and  humiliating,  and  every  American  in  this  region,  as  well  as  all  our  friends  who  do 
not  owe  allegiance  to,  but  honor  the  flag  of  our  country,  deeply  deplore  the  disgrace 
which  ignorance  and  folly,  to  use  no  harsher  terms,  have  brought  upon  it. 

"  The  demand  for  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  based  upon  the  facts  officially  reported 
by  our  duly  accredited  minister,  who  was  grossly  insulted  and  barely  escaped  with  his 
life.  Lopez,  the  offender,  the  tyrant  who  had  outraged  our  legation,  and  jjerpetrated 
against  us  an  act  of  war,  justified  his  conduct,  assailed  the  veracity  of  our  minister, 
and  persuaded  our  facile  representatives  to  ignore  and  condone  the  insult  to  our  national 
honor,  waive  our  demand  for  reparation,  and  absolutely  demean  ourselves  by  becoming 
his  jailors.  We  boldly  and  peremptorily  demanded  redress,  and  when  it  was  insolently 
refused,  we  humbled  ourselves  before  the  tyrant,  and  declared  our  country  and  its  min- 
ister to  have  been  the  offenders;  and  in  our  humility  and  in  apology  for  an  offense,  we 
humbly  consented  to  receive  as  prisoners — as  criminals  and  offenders  against  Lopez — 


262  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

the  tvro  educated  gentlemen,  one  an  American  tlie  other  an  Englishman,  whom  the  tyrant 
had  actually  wrested  from  our  legation  under  the  very  eyes  of  our  minister.  And  we, 
that  is,  our  admiral  and  minister  resident  to  Paraguay,  not  only  received  these  gentle- 
men as  prisoners  under  the  American  Hag,  but  as  prisoners  and  criminals  they  were 
actually  brought  to  this  port  under  the  charge  of  sentinels,  and  prohibited  all  inter- 
course with  the  officers  of  the  ship,  at  an  expense  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
dollars  in  gold,  and  from  here  sent  to  Washington  by  steamer,  also  at  an  expense.  And 
all  for  what  ?  Why,  to  prove,  if  possible,  or  to  make  it  appear,  at  least,  that  Minister 
Washburn's  report  of  occurrences  in  Paraguay  was  false,  and  that  Admiral  Davis,  on 
the  private  report  of  Lieutenant  Kirkland,  at  variance  with  his  public  declarations, 
was  justified  in  treating  it  with  contempt,  and  remaining  with  his  large  squadron  idle  in 
this  harbor,  when  patriotism,  duty,  self-respect,  and  a  regard  for  the  honor  of  his  coun- 
try alike  demanded  protection  for  our  citizens  and  a  prompt  and  fearless  defense  of  our 
national  flaj;  so  publicly  insulted  and  set  at  defiance  by  the  tyrant  of  the  La  Plata. 

"The  subject  is  too  humiliating,  and  the  disgrace  too  recent,  to  continue  commentary; 
upon  it. 

"  The  war  in  the  Plata  is  not  closed.  Count  d'Eu,  the  husband  of  the  i)rincess  im^ 
perial,  left  last  week  for  Asuncion  to  assume  command  of  the  Brazilian  forces.  He  ' 
young,  enterprising,  and  able,  and  distinguished  himself  in  the  Spanish  army  in  the 
late  war  of  that  nation  with  the  Moors.  I  have  great  confidence  in  his  success,  because 
he  is  in  all  things  the  very  antipodes  of  the  old  and  feeble  Marquis  de  Caxias. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB. 

'•  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish, 

"  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States. 

'■'P.  S. — Since  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  that  our  minister  is  in  Asuncion,  I  liav< 
barely  time  to  write  this  hurried  dispatch ,  and  no  time  to  have  it  copied,  if  I  wouM 
send  it  forward  by  the  English  steamer. 

"  WEBB." 

"No.  101.]  "Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  Bio  de  Janeiro,  April  24, 1869. 

"  Sir  :  I  have  this  day  received  a  communication  from  Mr.  H.  G.  Worthington,  oui 
minister  resident  near  the  Argentine  Republic,  dated  April  10,  1869,  in  which  ho  says  \ 

" '  I  am  satisfied  McMahon  is  under  a  restraint  imposed  by  that  cut-throat  Lopej 
nor  can  I  see  there  is  any  probability  that  that  restraint  will  be  soon  removed.  No  one 
has  heard  of,  or  from  him,  for  more  than  four  months. 

"  '  Recent  circiimstances  clearly  establish  the  danger  Washburn  was  in  when  in  Para- 
guay. My  firm  conviction  is,  he  would,  long  since,  have  been  ranked  amongst  Lopez's 
victims,  had  he  not  been  relieved  when  he  was.    He  is  being  fully  vindicated.' 

"  McMahon's  principal  object  in  going  to  Paraguay  and  presenting  his  credentials  to^ 
one  whom  his  predecessor  had  proclaimed  an  outlaw,  and  who  had  x)erpetrated  an  act 
of  war  upon  the  United  States,  appears  to  have  been  to  find  a  justification  for  the  dila* 
tory  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis,  by  demonstrating  in  his  own  .person  there  was  nothing 
to  be  feared  from  Lopez,  and  that  Washburn  had,  as  the  admiral  ©barged,  acted  cow-* 
ardly.  In  so  doing,  he  disregarded  the  advice  I  felt  it  my  duty,  under  the  circumstances^ 
to  give  him,  and  became,  unintentionally  no  doubt,  a  party  to  an  act  which,  in  mi 
judgment,  was  alike  disgraceful  to  our  flag  and  to  all  concerned  in  it ;  and  as  a  furthei 
consequence  of  his  imprudence,  he  has  imposed  upon  our  government  a  necessity  tc 
relieve  him  from  the  embarrassment  into  which  he  has  so  recklessly  plunged. 

"  Davis's  original  demand  upon  Lopez  was  for  the  immediate  surrender  of  'Messrs.^ 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  persons  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion,  while  under  the 
protection  and  attached  to  the  legation  of  the  United  States.' 

"  This  was  right  and  i^roper,  and  until  this  demand  had  been  complied  with,  and,  as 
the  admiral  stated  in  his  note  to  Lopez,  until  those  persons  had  been  '■  restored  to  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  flag,'  ^  as  an  indisputable  preliminary,'  '  his  excellency. 
General  McMahon,  the  minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  ReiDublic  of  Paraguay, 
could  not  present  his  credentials. 

"  To  this  very  proper  demand  for  the  persons  forcibly  taken  from  our  legation  in  vio- 
lation of  our  flag  and  of  every  principle  of  international  law,  Lopez  replied  through 
hi»  military  secretary:  'His  excellency,  the  President,  regrets  that  it  is  notin'hia 
power  to  accede  to  the  delivering,  on  the  terms  of  your  excellency,  the  accused  Blisa 
and  Masterman  to  the  keeping  of  your  excellency.  *  *  *  Nevertheless,  his  excellency, 
the  President  of  the  Republic,  would  cheerfully  consent  to  the  delivery  of  the  crimin 
nals.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  provided  it  were  requested  in  a  manner  more  in  conformity 
with  the  fact  of  their  being  accomplices  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  the  first  (Bliss)  in^ 
timately  acquainted  with  his  (Washburn's)  intrigues  in  the  character  of  cousj)irator 
and  agent  of  the  enemy,  of  which  he  is  now  accused  in  the  national  tribunals.' 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  263 

"After  this  peremptory  refusal  to  comply  with  the  demand  of  our  government,  un- 
less the  admiral  and  minister  would  make  themselves  parties  to  Lopez's  accusation 
against  that  minister's  predecessor,  Mr.  Washburn,  his  own  self-respect  and  a  decent  re- 
gard for  the  dignity  of  his  country  v/ould  seem  to  have  demanded  that  Mr.  McMahon 
should  have  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and,  as  he  had  been  advised  to  do,  await  further 
iustructions  from  your  department.  Incomprehensible  as  it  may  appear,  however,  our 
minister  and  admiral,  after  an  interview  between  the  admiral  and  Lopez,  agreed  that 
the  original  very  proper  demand  for  Bliss  and 'Mastermau  should  be  withdrawn,  and 
another  letter  substituted,  in  which  all  reference  to  their  having  been  forcibly  taken 
from  our  legation  shoukl  be  ignored;  and,  at  the  instigation  and  request  of  Lopez,  the 
testimony  of  our  minist  er,  Washburn,  be  repudiated  in  behalf  of  that  of  Lopez. 

"Accordingly,  as  Mr.  McMahon  reports  to  Mr.  Seward  in  paragrapli  3  of  his  dispatch 
of  the  11th  December,  from  *  On  board  the  United  States  flag-ship  Wasp:'  '  On  the  following 
day,  he  (the  admiral)  sent  the  second  letter  as  agreed  upon.'  And  in  that  letter  the  entire 
character  of  the  demand  for  Bliss  and  Masterman  is  changed.  At  Lopez's  dictation,  all 
allusion  to  their  having  been  members  of  our  legation  is  suppressed.  Mr.  Washburn,  the 
duly  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  his  testimony,  are  ignored,  and  the 
manly  demand  for  redress  for  an  insult  to  our  flag  degenerates  into  the  following  hum- 
ble and  liurniliating  solicitalion  for  criminals  in  arrest,  viz : 

"  '  My  object  in  placing  myself  in  personal  intercourse  with  your  excellency  is  to  request 
that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Miistcrmau,  the  individuals  arrested  and  detained  in  Asungion,  on 
the  10th  day  of  September  last,  may  bo  delivered  into  my  leeching,  subject  to  the  order  of 
the  United  States.' 

["Dated,  December  4,  1868.] 

"  But  even  this  humiliating  change  of  position  does  not  quite  come  up  to  the  wishes 
and  expectations  of  Lopez ;  and  in  consequence,  he  still  holds  on  to  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  demanding  further  concessions — a  further  humiliation  of  the  stars  and  stripes. 
And,  verily,  he  knew  his  men.  On  the  5th  of  December  the  admiral  again  entreats  that 
he  may  be  intrusted  witli  the  safe-kecpiiuj  of  these  witnesses  against  the  honor  and  integ- 
rity of  the  late  United  States  minister,  Mr.  Washburn ;  and  adds,  'but  your  excellency 
objects  to  their  delivery  under  the  terms  of  my  note.  I  wish  your  excellency  to  believe 
that  it  is  no  part  of  my  ofiicial  duty,  either  to  offer  or  refuse  amj  terms  which  will  affect 
the  alleged  criminal  condition  of  the  two  persons  in  question.  *  *  *  j  bave 
to  ask  your  excellency  to  embark  the  accused  persons.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  on  board 
of  this  vessel,  in  order  that  I  may  keep  them  in  security,  subject  to  the  disx^osition  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States.' 

"  Mr.  McMahon  reports  to  Mr.  Seward,  *  That  Lopez's  military  secretary  sent  a  reply, 
which  he  incloses  and  thus  describes':  'This  communication,  a  copy  of  which  is  in- 
closed, stated  that  the  delivery  was  made  as  an  act  of  courtesy  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Paraguay,  and  as  a  proof  of  its  friendship  for  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  confidence  in  its  justice ;  and  that  ho  did  not  understand  it  to  bo  in  an- 
swer to  a  reclamation  or  demand.' 

"  Originally  it  was  gravely  and  very  properly  determined  by  our  minister  and  admi- 
ral that,  '  as  an  indisputable  preliminary  step  to  the  presentation  of  General  McMahon 
to  your  excellency  of  his  credential  letter,  I  have  to  request  that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman, the  i)ersou8  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion,  vrhile  under  the  protection  and 
attached  to  the  legation  of  the  previous  United  States  minister,  be  restored  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  flag.' 

"Regardless  of  this  *  indisputable  preliminary  stop,'  Lopez  not  only  did  dispute  the 
position  assumed,  but  peremptorily  and  impudently  refused  to  comply  with  or  even  to 
consider  the  demand,  and  requested  an  interview,  in  whi:^!:  it  was  agreed  to  surrender 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  provided  our  minister  and  admiral  would  receive  them  as  criminals, 
and  as  his  witnesses  to  prove  that  the  late  minister  of  the  United  States  to  Paraguay 
was  a  conspirator  against  his  government;  and  consequently,  that  he  (Lopez)  was  jus- 
tified in  violating  our  legation  by  forcibly  seizing  as  prisoners  two  of  its  members. 
•  "  Under  these  humiliating  circumstances,  and  after  thus  compromising  the  honor  and 
dignity  of  the  United  States,  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  received  as  jyisoners  on  board 
of  our  flag-ship,  and  as  prisoners  were  brought  to  this  j)ort  at  an  expense  of  not  less 
than  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  General  M.T.  McMahon  presented  his  credentials  as 
minister  resident  of  the  United  States  to  '  Marshal  Lopez.' 

"  The  entire  proceeding  is,  in  the  estimation  of  all  nationalities  in  this  region,  dis- 
creditable to  the  United  States  and  to  all  concerned  in  it.  But  notwithstanding  the 
irregularity  and  absolute  impropriety  of  this  most  discreditable  proceeding,  we  may 
not  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that,  according  to  the  belief  of  our  minister  resident  in 
Buenos  Ayres,  our  duly  accredited  minister  to  Paraguay  is  held  in  '  restraint  by  that 
cut-throat  Lopez.'  This  may  not  be,  and  hence  I  deemed  it  proper  to  review  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  such  an  embarrassing  state  of  affairs  could  have  aiisen. 

"  It  required  no  little  effort  to  extricate  Mr.  Washburn  from  his  position  in  Paragiiay, . 
the  danger  of  which  the  adjniral  and  Minister  McMahon  have  so  pertinaciously  denied. 
But  our  minister  to  the  Argentine  Rei)ublic,  in  his  communication,  from  which  I  have 


264  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

extracted,  is  of  opinion  that  the  position  of  Mr.  McMahon  is  at  this  time  equally  pre- 
carious.   Of  course  he  must  be  relieved ;  but  how  is  his  release  to  be  elOfected? 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  VS^EBB. 
"Hon.  Hamilton  Fish, 

"  Secretary  of  State. 

"  N.  B. — This  dispatcli  was  written  at  too  late  an  hour  to  be  engrossed ;  therefore,  I 
am  compelled  to  send  this,  the  original  manuscript. 

"WEBB." 

I  would  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  a  declaration  made  by  Captain  Ram- 
say when  under  examination.     He  says  : 

"  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  were  demanded  from  President  Lopez  unconditionally. 
Admiral  Davis  expressly  said  that  it  was  not  his  place  either  to  discuss  or  to  define  his 
position;  that  he  simply  came  there  to  demand  that  these  men  should  be  released,  and 
that  the  whole  case  should  then  he  referred  to  the  government  at  JFashington." 

You  will  perceive  that  Captain  Ramsay  SAvears  that  the  admiral  stated  that  he  simply 
came  there  to  demand  that  these  men  should  be  released,  and  that  the  whole  case  should 
then  be  referred  to  the  government  at  Washington.  According  to  that  testimony,  if 
true.  Admiral  Davis,  and  not  Lopez,  is  the  originator  of  the  idea  that  these  men  were 
to  be  received  as  the  witnesses  of  Lopez  to  bo  sent  to  Washington.  How  much  truth 
there  is  in  the  declaration  it  is  not  for  me  to  say. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  It  is  somewhere  stated  in  this  testimony  that  the  annual  expenses  of  a  first-class 
■war  steamer,  or  "admiral's  yachts,"  as  they  are  called,  are  equal  to  the  annual  expense  of 
the  whole  diplomatic  corps  of  the  country.  Have  you  made  such  a  statement  ? — A.  I 
8o  stated  in  a  dispatch,  which  was  suppressed  by  the  late  Secretary  of  State,  upon  the 
plea  that  to  publish  that  in  reply  to  a  call  from  Congress  would  bo  to  assail  the  Navy 
Department,  and  that  it  was  no  part  of  his  business  to  assail  a  co-ordinate  branch  of 
the  government.  I  remonstrated  with  him,  and  insisted  that  the  right  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  of  the  President,  under  a  call  from  Congress,  to  suppress  such  matter  as, 
in  their  judgment,  would  be  injurious  to  the  public,  if  not  in  all  cases,  certainly  in  most 
cases,  was  in  my  judgment  intended  to  cover  only  matter  relating  to  foreign  govern-! 
ments,  the  exposure  of  w^hich  might  bring  us  into  unpleasant  collision  with  those  gov- 
ernments, or  which  might  tend  to  injure  or  retard  in  some  way  negotiations  pending 
between  this  government  and  some  other.  I  told  him  I  did  not  believe  it  was  evei 
intended  that  the  President  or  Secretary  should,  under  that  reservation,  withhold  fror 
Congress  anything  relating  to  matters  within  the  United  States,  between  its  citizens, 
or  between  the  government  and  its  employes,  the  publication  of  which  could  not  by 
possibility  be  injurious  to  the  public  interests.  That  therefore  he  was  bound  to  i)ut  in 
that  portion  of  the  dispatch,  because  I  had  put  it  into  the  dispatch  for  the  purpose  of  ■ 
calling  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  fact,  and  to  let  them  by  investigation  ascertain 
■whether  it  was  true  or  not ;  and  that  although  I  believed  it  to  be  true,  the  data  upon  j 
which  I  was  acting  was  not  official.  I  believe  it  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  country 
that  the  matter  should  be  specially  inquired  into  by  Congress,  because,  as  I  said  to  him, ; 
it  is  really  a  great  anomaly  in  our  system.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  may  put  into 
commission  one  or  twenty  first-rates,  each  one  of  which  will  annually  cost  as  much  or 
more  than  the  entire  dii^lomatic  corps  of  the  country,  while  the  Secretary  of  State 
may  not  increase  the  contingent  expenses  of  a  mission  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  dol- 
lars without  being  liable  to  censure.  I  believe  that  on  investigation  the  declaration 
will  be  found  to  be  very  nearly  accurate.  It  was  based  upon  such  information  as  I 
could  command  at  that  distance  firom  home,  and  without  reference  to  official  documents. 
The  statement  was  fortified,  in  my  judgment,  by  another  fact.  At  least  a  dozen  times 
in  the  course  of  my  editorial  career,  when  gentlemen  in  Congress  had  been  assailing 
some  small  aj)propriation  for  our  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  I  made  it  my  duty 
to  state  the  fact,  based  \i]}on  what  I  then  knew  to  be  accurate  information,  that  a  ship  of 
the  line,  a  seventy-four  under  our  old  naval  system,  in  commission,  cost  the  government 
each  and  every  year  more  money  than  the  institution  at  West  Point  had  evercost  in  an^ 
one  year,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  could  put  as  many  in  commission  as  he  please(L 
if  we  had  them.  That  statement  I  repeatedly  put  before  the  public,  and  it  was  basea 
upon  accurate  information. 

Q.  About  what  did  you  estimate  the  expense  of  one  of  these  vessels  ? — A.  Somewhere 
between  three  and  four  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  and  I  state  here,  that  while  we  had' 
many  of  these  first-rates  in  commission,  each  of  which  probably  cost  as  much  as  the 
entire  diplomatic  corps  of  the  United  States,  I  had  no  doubt  the  first-rate  sent  to  the 
Mediterranean  cost  during  the  year  very  much  more  than  the  whole  diplomatic  corps 
of  the  United  States,  including  its  contingencies. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  265 

By  Mr.  OrIH,  (at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Washburn :) 

Q.  What  service  was  rendered  by  the  South  Atlantic  squadron  from  the  close  of  the 
■war  up  to  the  time  your  commission  terminated  ?— A.  My  answer  to  that  question  is  an 
extract  from  a  letter  addressed  by  me  to  Rear- Admiral  Davis,  dated  at  the  legation  of 
the  United  States,  October  9,  1869,  as  follows: 

"  Permit  mo  to  illustrate  my  meaning.  For  more  than  three  years  past  we  have  had 
on  this  coast  a  South  Atlantic  squadron,  consisting  of  from  six  to  eight  steamers  in 
number,  and  sustained  certainly  at  a  cost  of  not  less  than  So,000,000  ;  and  yet,  during 
that  period,  the  only  national  services  required  of  it  have  been  the  firing  of  a  salute  to 
the  Brazilian  flag  in  Bahia  as  an  amende  honorable,  promised  by  me,  the  United  States 
envoy  cxtruordiuary,  in  conse<iucnceof  our  having  violated  Brazilian  neutrality  in  cut- 
ting out  and  capturing  iu  Brazilian  waters  the  i)irate  Florida.  That  salute  should 
have  been  fired  by  the  flag-ship,  because,  when  a  great  nation  resolves  to  make  an 
amende  honorable,  self-respect  demands  that  such  amende  shall  be  made  in  a  magnani- 
mous and  manly  manner.  But  your  predecessor,  having  denounced  any  such  concession 
to  the  wounded  honor  of  Brazil,  and  actuated  by  anything  but  a  commendable  feeling 
toward  the  civil  service  of  our  country,  and  incapable  of  ap])reciatiug  the  chivalry  of 
the  act,  sent  one  of  the  smallest  gunboats  in  our  navy  to  perform  this  dnty,  while  he, 
in  the  flag-ship,  remained  in  this  harbor ;  and  when  the  duty  had  been  discharged  in  a 
manner  so  disrci^utable  to  us  and  so  offensive  to  Brazil,  he  immediately  sailed  for  Bahia 
to  demonstrate,  as  it  were,  the  contemptuous  manner  in  which  the  matter  had  been 
disposed  of.  Ono  high  iu  autliority  here,  very  justly  remarked,  *  It  was  an  act  of  grace 
performed  most  ungraciously ;'  and  it  became  my  duty  to  explain  that  no  slight  was 
intended  by  our  government,  and  that  it  was  our  misfortune  to  have  had  in  command 
a  naval  officer  (Godon)  who  could  not  understand,  much  less  appreciate,  the  delicate 
duty  with  the  performance  of  which  he  was  intrusted,  and  who  did  not  perceive  that 
it  was  his  own  counti*y,  and  not  Brazil,  that  was  slighted  by  his  proceeding. 

"The  salute  referred  to  was  fired  by  the  Nipsic,  commanded,  at  that  time,  by  ono  of 
the  junior  lieutenant  commanders  in  service. 

"  The  next  national  service  rendered  by  the  squach-on  was  by  the  gunboat  IShamokin, 
which  was  permitted  to  take  Mr.  Washburn,  our  minister  to  Paraguay,  through  the 
enemy's  lines,  because  I  gave  notice  to  this  government  that  if  they  refused  such  per- 
mission I  should  demand  my  passports. 

"  And  the  third  occasion  upon  which  our  squadron  has  rendered  a  national  service, 
was  when  you  sent  the  Wasp  to  Asuncion  after  Mr.  Washburn  ;  and  after  a  detention 
of  seven  weeks  at  the  allied. headquarters,  permission  to  ])ass  was  jjeremjitorily  refused 
by  the  Marquis  do  Caxias.  You,  at  my  request,  reported  the  facts  to  me ;  and  I,  contrary 
to  your  judgment,  insisted  upon  our  right  to  send  her  to  Asuncion,  and  demanded  that 
all  hindrance  to  her  passing  up  should  cease.  Twice,  in  formal  notes  from  the  foreign 
office,  was  the  demand  rejected,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Marquis  de  Caxias  approved ; 
I  then  again,  in  opposition  to  the  advice  of  cautious  friends,  assumed  the  responsibility 
of  informing  this  government  that,  on  a  certain  day,  either  my  passports  or  an  order 
for  the  Wasp's  going  up  to  Asuncion  must  be  sent  me. 

"  Thereupon  all  opposition  to  the  Wasp's  passing  the  blockading  lines  of  the  allies  was 
withdrawn.  I  communicated  the  facts  to  you,  and  requested  that  the  same  vessel, 
commanded  by  the  same  intelligent  gentleman,  might  be  sent  up  to  Paraguay.  You 
promptly  complied  with  my  request ;  and,  thank  God,  she  not  only  arrived  safely  at  her 
destination,  but,  most  providentially,  just  in  time  to  save  the  lives  of  our  minister  and 
family. 

"Now,  you  know  that  the  Nipsic  could  have  rendered  all  the  national  services  per- 
formed for  our  squadron  by  the  Shamokiu  and  Wasp ;  and  at  the  same  time  have  made 
an  annual  visit  to  the  coast  of  Africa.  Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  the  Nijisic,  com- 
mauded  by  a  lieutenant  commander,  had  been  the  only  United  States  vessel  of  war  on 
the  station,  and  that  upon  receiving  Mr.  Washburn's  rejiort  of  the  gross  outrage  per- 
petrated in  Paraguay  against  the  honor  of  our  country  and  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
our  people,  I  had  addressed  him  the  identical  letter  I  had  addressed  to  you,  are  you 
prepared  to  say  that  such  lieutenant  in  command  would  have  been  justified  in  sending 
me  in  response  such  an  exceedingly  offensive  note  as  that  to  which  I  am  replying  1 
You  will  not  pretend  that  any  immunity  in  the  premises  attaches  to  you  Avhich  would 
not  equally  apply  to  him.  The  rights  and  immunities,  whatever  they  may  be,  attach 
to  the  position — to  the  officer  in  command,  and  have  no  relation  to  his  rank." 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Was  there  a  reply  to  this  letter  by  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  Yes,  I  received  in  reply  to 
my  letter,  the  foU  owing : 

"United  States  Flag-ship  Gueeriere, 

''Bio  de  Janeiro,  October  13,  1868. 
"  Sir  :  I  received  your  letter  dated  the  9th  instant  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the 
10th  instant. 


266  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

"  Its  style  and  language,  and  the  character  of  its  imputations,  forbid  tlie  continuance, 
on  my  part,  of  this  correspondence. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"C.  H.  DAVIS,  Eear-Admiral, 
"  Commanding  South  Ailantic  Squadron. 
"  His  Excellency  J.  Watson  Weijb, 

^^  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minintcr  FlenijJOtentiaj'y  of  the  United  States, 

"  Boa  ViagemP 

To  which.  I  responded  as  follows : 

"Legation  op  the  United  States, 

"  Boa  Viagm,  Octoler  14,  1868. 
''  Sir  :  I  am  in  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  in  which  you  say : 

"  '  Sir  :  I  received  your  letter  dated  the  9th  instant  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the 
10th  instant. 

"  'Its  style  and  language,  and  the  character  of  its  imputations,  forbid  the  continu- 
ance, on  ray  part,  of  this  correspondence.' 

"I  immediately  read,  with  great  care,  the  notes  which  have  i)assed  between  us,  with 
an  avowed  determination,  if  I  discovered  in  aught  I  have  written  any  imputation 
whatever  upon  your  character  or  conduct,  promptly  to  withdraw  and  ai)ologiz6  for  it. 
The  result  of  such  careful  examination  of  our  correspondence  is  a  conviction  that  the 
only  imputations  contained  in  it  ore  to  be  found  in  your  unwarranted  and  uncalled-for 
note  of  the  6th  instant.  A  statement  of  facts,  however  disagreeable,  cannot  bo  con- 
sidered '  imputations.' 

"  I  am  sorry  my  '  style '  does  not  please  you.  Looking  only  to  the  discharge  of  a 
public  duty,  I  did  not  consider  it  incumbent  upoh  me  to  aim  at  any  peculiarity  of 
'  style '  in  order  to  render  grave  official  truths  acceptable  to  a  fastidious  taste ;  and  I 
employed  the  simple  language  of  earnest  conviction  as  eminently  suited  to  the  occa- 
sion. 

''  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  WATSON  WEBB. 
"  Rear- Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis, 

"  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron." 

Q.  To  this  letter  there  was  no  reply  ? — A,  None  whatever.  I  Avould  here  call  atten- 
tion to  another  paragraph  in  my  letter  to  Admiral  Davis  : 

'*  I  will  only  add,  in  conclusion,  that  the  question  of  the  relative  duties  and  respective 
rights  of  United  States  ministers  and  naval  officers  in  command,  which,  for  soiue  pur- 
pose that  I  cannot  fathom,  you  have  thought  proper  to  raise,  should,  and  I  trust  will, 
be  speedily  settled  by  Congress.  Whetlier  in  your  favor  or  mine,  does  not  matter.  We 
are  simply  the  instruments  whose  diiferences  in  a  far-off  land,  in  regard  to  what  action 
is  demanded  by  our  naval  forces  on  this  station  in  vindication  of  the  nation's  honor, 
the  rights  of  its  officials,  and  the  lives  of  its  citizens,  must  and  will  call  forth  con- 
gressional legislation  too  long  delayed.  To  secure  such  a  result  I  shall  cause  this  cor- 
respondence to  be  called  for  at  the  next  session  of  Congress ;  and  to  convince  you  that, 
in  the  performance  of  my  whole  duty  in  this  emergency,  I  do  not  intend  to  i)ormit  an 
official  difference  of  opinion  to  degenerate  into  a  i)ersouaI  controversy,  I  inclose  here- 
with a  copy  of  my  dispatch  to  the  Department  of  State,  written  yesterday,  when  you 
were  penning  your  extraordinary  note  to  me,  and  which  went  forward  by  the  steamer  to 
Southampton  this  morning.  Its  spirit  will  be  found  somewhat  different  from  that 
which  guided  your  pen,  and  invited  a  jjersonal  controversy.  To  that  spirit  I  shall 
adhere ;  and  I  now  feel  it  my  duty  to  reiterate  my  requisition  upon  you,  promptly  and 
properly,  to  employ  the  large  naval  force  under  your  command  in  the  vindication  of 
our  national  honor,  the  protection  of  the  diplomatic  rights  of  our  country,  and  the 
attempt,  at  least,  to  save  the  lives  of  our  outraged  officials." 

I  will  state  to  the  committee  that  I  did,  for  the  purpose  here  named,  ask  a  friend  in 
Congress  to  call  for  this  correspondence,  and  that  my  principal  object  in  so  doing  was 
to  induce  congressional  legislation,  with  a  view  of  defining  the  relative  positions  and 
duties  of  the  two  arms  of  the  service.  And  I  hope  and  trust  that,  whatever  may  be 
the  report  of  this  committee  upon  other  matters  with  which  I  certainly  have  no  interest 
l3eyond  seeing  justice  done,  it  will  be  considered  by  the  committee  that  perhaps  the 
greatest  possible  good  they  can  render  to  the  country  is  to  convince  Congress  that  the 
honor  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  both  services,  and  the  respectability 
of  the  nation,  all  require  that  there  should  be  legislation — I  don't  care  of  what  kind— 
so  definite  and  positive,  that  these  occurrences  in  distant  parts  of  the  world,  which 
bring  dishonor  upon  our  country  and  disgrace  upon  our  flag,  may  never  again  arise. 
And  in  this  connection  I  will  state  other  occurrences  during  my  mission. 

The  better  class  of  officers,  the  more  intellectual  men  of  the  navy,  do  not  advocate 
the  absurd  views  of  Godon  and  Davis  in  regard  to  their  being  clothed  with  diplomatic 
powers.    Such  men  as  Maynard  Rogers,  Commodore  Glisson,  and  others  of  their  stamp, 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  267 

do  not  advocate  such  doctrines.  Maynard  Rogers  is  considered  the  Chevalier  Bayard 
of  the  navy,  and  to  show  how  totally  different  are  his  views  and  those  of  his  class  of 
intelligent  officers,  I  will  state  that  when  the  pirates  Avere  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and 
our  government  was  too  much  in  want  of  our  navy  at  home  to  furnish  the  necessarj- 
force  to  keep  them  off,  I  was  asked,  "  Why  does  not  your  government  send  here  a 
force  sufficient  to  drive  these  fellows  away  ?  Why  does  it  not  do  as  England  and 
France  do,  keep  a  force  here  sufficient  to  protect  your  commerce  ?"  I  told  them  that 
was  all  very  well  in  time  of  peace ;  but  that  when  wo  were  struggling  for  national 
existence,  fighting  the  battle  for  the  Union,  when  we  required  all  the  torce  we  could 
possibly  raise  at  home,  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  and  relied  upon  friendly  nations 
preserving  their  neutrality,  wo  hfid  nothing  to  send  abroad.  Still  I  would  agree,  al- 
though I  had  only  one  vessel  on  the  coast,  to  make  arrangements  for  that  naval  vessel 
to  visit  every  Brazilian  port  at  least  once  in  three  months.  When  Commodore  Glisson, 
in  command  of  the  Mohican,  was  on  the  South  Atlantic  station,  on  one  occasion  he  had 
received  orders  to  return  homo  with  the  ship.  It  so  hai)pened  that  he  Avas  going  to 
take  home  with  him  ray  two  oldest  boys  to  school,  and  I  was  very  anxious  to  have 
them  go  homo,  but  I  said  to  him :  '*  Commodore,  you  must  not  go  home ;  you 
must  go  to  the  river  Plata ;  I  have  such  information  as  leads  me  to  believe  that  the 
Alabama  is  down  there."  "  Very  well,"  said  he,  "  I  recognize  my  duty  to  do  whatever 
the  minister  may  require,  although  I  have  orders  to  return  home  without  delay.  Put 
it  in  writing,  and  I  will  go  to  the  river  Plata."  And  he  did  go.  Subs(!queutly  another 
vessel  arrived  and  he  went  home.  Captain  Maynard  Rogers  arrived  with  a  government 
vessel,  bound  for  China,  under  very  specific  orders  to  go  on  without  delay.  He  reported 
at  the  legation,  as  the  regulations  require,  and  was  very  anxious  to  go  on  innncdiately. 
I  said :  "  You  cannot  leave ;  I  am  under  such  and  such  arrangements  with  this  govern- 
ment ;  this  coast  cannot  be  left  without  a  steamer ;  I  must  require  you,  therefore,  to 
remain,  notwithstanding  the  orders  of  the  Sedtetary  of  the  Navy,  until  some  other 
vessel  comes  along."  "  Very  well,"  said  he,  "I  recognize  your  right.  Address  me  a 
letter,  and  I  will  stay  here  until  you  tell  me  I  can  go."  Captain  Rogers  remained  there 
upon  my  recognition  about  a  month,  when  I  received  a  letter  from  him  that,  learning 
that  Captain  Walke,  with  another  United  States  steamer,  Avas  at  Pornambuco,  on  his 
way  to  Rio,  he,  Captain  Rogers,  would  proceed  on  his  Avay.  Captain  Walke  came  up 
and  reported.  He  was  on  his  way  to  tho  Pacific,  Avith  orders  to  go  there  as  soon  as 
possible.  I  said :  "  You  cannot  go ;  I  must  haA'e  a  vessel  here  on  tliis  coast."  Walke 
at  once  recognized  my  right  and  said :  '*  Put  your  requisition  in  writing  and  I  will 
remain." 

'  NoAV,  on  the  other  hand,  Captain  Collins,  in  command  of  the  Wachusett,  came  on  the 
coast.  It  Avas  a  matter  of  \'ery  great  importance  that  I,  the  minister,  should  have  a 
vessel  on  the  coast  which  I  could  apply  to  in  the  event  of  an  emergency,  and  I  sent  a 
circular  to  all  the  consuls  directing  that  whenever  a  United  States  vessel  was  about 
to  leave,  to  inquire  of  the  commander  Avbero  he  was  going,  and  to  show  him  the  circu- 
lar, in  order  that  I  might  be  advised  of  his  destination,  and  that  I  could  reach  him  by 
telegraph,  or  in  some  Avay,  when  AA^anted.  The  consul  at  Bahia  reported  that  Captain 
Collins  had  just  sailed ;  and  that  upon  his  showing  him  my  circular,  and  requesting  to 
know  where  he  was  going,  in  order  that  ho  might  report  tome,  he  peremptorily  refused 
to  give  any  information  upon  the  subject,  and  said  1  Avas  not  entitled  to  it.  I  reported 
his  conduct  to  tho  Secretary  of  State,  and,  I  presume,  he  reported  it  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy ;  at  all  events,  I  received  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
addressed  to  Captain  Collins,  justifying  him  in  refusing  to  give  that  information  for 
the  guidance  of  the  legation.  I  stated  to  Adniiral  Godou,  on  his  arrival  in  August,  1865, 
that  it  would  be  necessary  shortly,  in  compliance  Avith  my  arrangements  A\dth  the 
Brazilian  government,  in  the  settlement  of  the  Florida  affair,  that  he  should  fire  a  salute 
to  the  Brazilian  flag  in  the  port  of  Bahia.  He  told  me  that  he  Avould  not  do  so  unless 
specially  instructed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  and  added  that,  in  his  judgrneut, 
Brazil  was  not  entitled  to  such  a  salute.  Of  coui-se,  that  at  once  put  me  in  a  falee  i)osition 
Avith  regard  to  my  negotiations;  and  therefore  I  had  no  resource  but  to  Avrite  to 
the  government.  The  salute  Avas  ordered,  and  a  AA'hole  year  elapsed  before  it  Avas  fired. 
Then,  as  you  knoAv,  in  the  case  of  the  Paraguayan  outrage,  I  called  upon  Admiral  Davis 
to  expedite  his  departure  two  days,  and  sail  on  the  8th  instead  of  the  10th,  as  he  had 
announced  to  be  his  intention,  and  he  Avas  so  offended,  and  apparently  so  outraged  at 
the  idea  of  a  minister  presuming  to  influence  the  destination  of  the  squadron,  that 
instead  of  expediting  his  departure  two  days,  and  sailing  on  the  Stli  instead  of  the 
10th,  he  actually  remained  until  the  29th  ;  and  now  i^retends  he  Avas  waiting  for  General 
McMahon,  of  AA^hose  movements  at  that  time  he  was  profoundly  ignorant. 

I  mention  tliesn  facts  Avith  a  Aaew  of  asking  this  committee  that  they  Avill  report  to 
Congress  that  there  is  a  necessity  for  legislation  on  this  subject.  As  to  the  character 
of  the  legislation  it  matters  very  little  to  me,  taking  it  for  granted  that  after  once 
entering  upon  an  investigation,  Congress  will  arrive  at  a  sound  conclusion  in  resjject 
to  the  actioi  that  may  be  necessary. 


268  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

ByMr.  Swann: 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  acquainted,  either  officially  or  otherwise,  with  Admiral 
Godon  and  Admiral  Davis  ?— A.  I  first  knew  Adipiral  Godou  upon  his  reporting  to  me 
as  acting  admiral  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron  in  August,  1865.  I  never  saw  him 
before.  I  tirst  know  Admiral  Davis  on  his  reporting  to  me,  on  his  arrival  on  the  Bra- 
zilian station,  in  September,  1867. 

Q.  Are  you  familiar  with  the  official  records  of  these  two  officers  since  they  have 
been  connected  with  the  navy  ? — A.  My  knowledge  of  Admiral  Godon's  record  is  based 
upon  his  report  to  mo  of  what  he  did  during  the  war.  He  repeatedly  gave  me  a  history 
of  the  battle  of  Port  Royal.  On  one  occasion  I  think  he  kei)t  me  some  three  hours 
after  my  wife  had  retired,  fighting  over  that  battle,  in  which  he  demonstrated,  beyond 
all  possible  cavil,  that  he  alone  fought  the  battle,  and  won  it  by  refusing  to  obey  his 
superior's  orders  during  the  fight,  and  pointed  out  how  badly  he  had  been  treated  by 
Admiral  Du  Pont,  and  how  little  Du  Pont  and  the  country  appreciated  his  services.  I 
have  no  other  information  in  regard  to  his  record  except  that  derived  from  himself. 
I  repeated  to  several  officers  of  both  squadrons  Admiral  Godon's  history  of  that  event. 
One  of  them,  of  rank,  informed  me,  in  reply,  that  so  far  from  its  being  true,  the 
officers  of  Dupont's  staff,  of  which  Davis  was  chief,  in  connection  with  several  other 
officers,  had  deemed  it  their  duty  to  say  to  Admiral  Du  Pont,  that,  in  their  judgment, 
Admiral  Godon  should  be  reported  for  gross  disobedience  of  orders  if  not  cowardice 
in  that  fight ;  and,  in  support  of  the  position  they  assumed,  they  instanced  the  case  of 
Perry  and  Elliott,  pointing  out  to  Du  Pont  that  if  ho  did  not  report  Godon,  but  attempted 
to  screen  him,  ultimately  Godon  might  get  the  position  toward  Du  Pont  that  Elliott 
had  occupied  towards  Perry,  who  had  overlooked  what  was  alleged  to  be  Elliott's  cow- 
ardice on  Lake  Erie.  Du  Pont,  however,  as  I  was  told,  declined  to  report  Godon  for 
cowardice,  but,  as  Godon  informed  me,  treated  him  rudely  and  unjustly.  I  regard 
Admiral  Davis  as  a  gentlemanly,  scientific,  and  valuable  officer  in  the  position  which 
he  so  long  occupied  in  connection  with  the  Observatory  and  Nautical  Almanac.  In  all 
my  intercourse  with  him  up  to  the  time  I  made  the  unfortunate  application  to  him  to 
proceed  to  the  La  Plata,  I  have  rarely  met  with  any  person  whose  social  intercourse 
gave  me  more  pleasure,  and  I  so  reported  in  a  dispatch  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  his  answer  to  my  first  letter,  I  think  there 
were  not  half  a  dozen  gentlemen  in  the  navy  (and  I  know  a  great  many  of  them)  for 
whom  I  entertained  more  respect  and  cordial  esteem.  I  looked  upon  him  as  an  accom- 
plished gentleman  and  a  credit  to  the  navy,  without  knowing  anything  about  his 
naval  qualifications,  but  respecting  his  scientific  acquirements.  And  I  believe  I  may 
add  that  his  record,  in  a  scientific  point  of  view,  is  all  that  I  have  stated.  I  have  since 
discovered  that  his  record  as  a  man  and  an  officer  is  very  different  from  what  I  suj^posed 
it  to  be.  That  he  is  not  considered  reliable,  but  in  the  navy  has  a  reputation  for  cun- 
ning and  intrigue. 

Q.  You  say  that  it  was  a  current  rumor,  while  in  command  of  the  South  Atlantic 
squadron,  that  Admiral  Godon  had  a  softening  of  the  brain  ;  that  you  did  not  credit 
the  rumor  at  that  time,  but  now  feel  it  only  charitable  to  believe  that  there  was  some 
foundation  in  that  rumor.  I  desire  to  know  whether  or  not  this  is  to  be  taken  in  its 
literal  sense,  or  whether  it  was  designed  by  you  merely  asanillustration  of  the  estimate 
you  held  of  his  intellectual  status? — A.  I  desired  it  to  be  taken  strictly  in  its  literal  sense. 
That  such  a  rumor  did  exist  is  absolutely  certain  ;  that  I  did  not,  at  the  time,  believe 
it,  is  equally  so ;  but  now  I  must  either  believe  that  rumor,  or  I  must  believe  that 
Admiral  Godon  has  deliberately  and  maliciously  perjured  himself  before  this  committee. 

Q.  You  speak  of  this  rumor ;  can  you  refer  to  any  persons  connected  with  the  squad- 
ron who  gave  you  that  information  ? — A^  No ;  but  I  will  say  that  I  have  understood — 
I  do  not  know  from  whom — that  a  similar  rumor  existed  in  the  United  States  before  or 
about  the  time  that  he  sailed  for  South  America. 

Q.  Is  it  not  usual  for  naval  officers  to  receive  specific  instructions  in  conducting 
their  relations  with  foreign  governments  when  proceeding  to  the  discharge  of  a  delicate 
duty,  at  all  times ;  do  you  know  what  instructions  were  given  to  Admiral  Godon  ? — 
A.  It  is  not  usual,  never  has  been  usual,  and  I  presume  never  will  be  usual,  to  give  any 
naval  officer  instructions  in  regard  to  any  intercourse  with  a  foreign  government,  when 
the  government  of  the  United  States  has  accredited  to  that  government  a  representa- 
tive of  its  own,  a  member  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  The  navy  are,  under  no  circum- 
stances, accredited  to,  nor  can  they  have  any  intercourse  with,  any  foreign  government, 
except  in  the  absence  of  a  representative  of  their  own  government.  Their  presentation 
at  court  is  entirely  an  act  of  courtesy,  depending  solely  upon  the  volition  of  the 
minister,  and  they  have  no  right  whatever  to  demand  it  under  any  circumstances. 

Q.  In  what  relation  do  these  naval  officers  stand  to  the  diplomatic  agents  of  the  gov- 
ernment ;  are  they  bound  to  carry  out  such  instructions  as  they  may  have  received, 
or  to  use  a  wise  discretion  on  their  own  responsibility  in  case  of  disagreement  with 
such  diplomatic  agents  ? — A.  I  think  it  has  always  been  a  well-settled  principle  with 
the  Department  of  State,  and  with  the  government,  that  while  the  diplomatic  agent 
shall  not  have  the  right  to  order  the  commandant  of  the  naval  forces  to  do  this  or  to 


•  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  269 

do  that  in  his  discretion,  yet  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  such  commandant  always  to 
comply  with  any  reasonable  requisition  which  the  minister  may  make  upon  him  that 
is  not  palpably  and  manifestly  wrong,  the  minister  being  responsible  to  the  government 
for  such  requisition.  That  a  commandant  thus  situated  may  not  have  the  right,  in 
extreme  cases,  to  disregard  the  views  of  the  minister  and  assume  the  responsibility  of 
refusing  to  act,  I  do  not  pretend  to  deny.  I  can  imagine  a  case.  For  instance,  if  the 
minister  were  to  order,  without  any  cause,  the  commandant  of  an  American  fleet  to 
batter  down  the  custom-house  at  Rio,  it  would  be  perfectly  right  for  the  commandant 
to  say  '•  I  will  not  obey  you ;  I  take  the  responsibility ;"  but  in  all  ordinary  cases  there 
can  be  no  question  but  that  it  would  be  his  duty  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the 
minister,  where  the  question  involves  ultimate  results  to  the  country,  and  leave  the 
minister  responsible  for  his  conduct.  And  this,  I  think,  is  illustrated  by  the  instance 
I  have  ]>rosonted  of  naval  officers,  touching  Rio  Janeiro  under  orders  to  the  China  seas 
and  the  i'Mcilic,  but  st  opining  for  such  period  as  they  were  required,  leaving  the  minister 
responsildc  f»)r  tluMr  (ietcntion. 

(At  the  instance  of  Mr.  Washburn.) 

Q.  Was  a  naval  officer  ever  censured  for  obeying  the  minister  ? — ^A.  Never,  to  my 
knowl(!dge ;  and  probably  never  would  be  censured,  except  under  an  extreme  case  of 
imprudence. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  You  state  that  Captain  Rogers  delayed,  at  your  request,  in  opiwsition  to  his  posi- 
tive instructions? — A.  He  did,  and  so  did  Commodore  Glisson,  and  so  did  Captain 
Walkc  ;  but  they  all  recognized  their  duty  to  obey  my  requisition  and  remained.  The 
only  parties  who  ever  refused  to  do  as  they  were  requested  by  mo  were  Captain  Collins, 
Admiral  Godon,  and  Admiral  Davis. 

Q.  Were  those  who  did  obey  censured  for  it  ? — A.  Certainly  not. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  Is  it  your  opinion  that  Admiral  Godon  was  so  much  prejudiced  against  Mr.  Wash- 
burn and  yourself  from  any  cause,  or  was  incapacitated  from  any  cause,  as  not  to  be 
able  to  conform  to  and  properly  carry  out  the  instructions  of  his  government  ? — A.  He 
was  abundantly  able  to  do  so  if  he  had  been  disposed.  It  is  not  for  me  to  assign  mo- 
tives for  his  conduct.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Admiral  Godon  was  in  position  to  carry 
out  the  requisitions  made  on  him  by  Mr.  Washburn.  He  probably  had  two  objects  in 
refusing.  One  may  have  been  an  early  dislike  to  Mr.  Washburn ;  but  probably  the 
overruling  motive  was  to  exalt  the  authority  and  dignity  of  the  navy  by  claiming  for 
officers  in  command  diplomatic  functions. 

Q.  Admiral  Godon  was  of  opinion,  as  appears  in  the  testimony,  that  to  force  the  al- 
lied lines  would  amount  to  a  casus  belli.  Suppose  he  had  forced  these  lines  and  pro- 
voked a  war,  would  the  responsibility  have  fallen  upon  the  admiral,  or  m  case  of  ad- 
vice from  other  sources — from  the  minister  for  instance — upon  him  ? — A.  I  will  state, 
first,  if  Admiral  Godon  had  understood  international  law  as  well  as  it  is  understood  by 
men  posted  up  in  the  matter— as  William  H.  Seward  understood  it — he  would  have 
known  that  it  was  not  possible,  by  forcing  the  blockade  of  the  Paraguay  in  1865-'C6, 
to  involve  us  in  war ;  because  it  is  perfectly  well  understood,  that  where  a  govern- 
ment has  established  diplomatic  intercourse  with  another  government,  a  belligerent 
cannot  cut  off  all  communication  between  such  goverameut  and  its  diplomatic  repre- 
sentative. As  I  stated  to  the  government  of  Brazil,  if  there  were  five  routes  to  Para- 
guay, they  would  have  a  perfect  right  to  close  four  of  them ;  but  that  our  diplomatic 
intercourse  with  Paraguay  having  been  established  before  the  war,  they  could  not  in- 
terfere with  our  right  to  communicate  with  our  minister,  but  must  leave  one  route 
open  to  us.  That  being  the  case,  it  was  optional  with  us  to  enforce  that  right ;  and 
Admiral  Godon  ought  to  have  known  that  in  sodoing,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case,  it  would  not  be  a  cams  belli.  In  regard  to  so  much  of  a  previous  ques- 
tion as  related  to  any  prejudice  which  Admiral  Godon  might  have  had  toward  me,  I 
desire  to  say  that  I  never,  directly,  had  the  slightest  knowledge  of  any  such  prejudice  until 
he  behaved  improperly,  in  neglecting  to  furnish  a  boat  which  I  wanted,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  an  official  call  upon  the  British  admiral.  But,  at  the  same  time,  I  had 
a  thorough  conviction  that  he  never  forgave  me  for  what  I  said  to  him  in  my  interview 
with  General  Asboth,  at  which  he  was  present,  by  his  own  invitation  ;  or,  rather,  at 
which  he  intruded  himself.  I  can  mention  another  instance,  which  now  occurs  to 
me,  that  I  knew  operated  to  prejudice  him  against  me.  The  Kansas,  Captain  Erben, 
arrived  at  Rio  when  the  squadron  was  down  at  the  Plata.  A  bad  fellow  on  board  had 
attempted  to  murder  one  of  the  crew,  and  escaped  on  shore.  The  captain  sent  Lieu- 
tenant Elliot,  a  young  gentleman  who  had  just  graduated  at  Annapolis,  to  find  this 
man  and  bring  him  on  board ;  and  when  he  was  leaving  the  vessel's  side,  he  asked  the 
lieutenant  if  he  had  a  pistol  with  him.  The  young  man,  I  think,  stated  he  had ;  at  all 
events,  procured  one  and  took  it  with  him.  The.  deserter  was  apprehended,  and  at- 
tempted to  make  his  escape,  and  ran  away  from  the  lieutenant,  about  three  or  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  taking  bim  to  the  boat.    The  lieutenant  drew  his  pistol 


270  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  • 

and  fired  at  him,  believing  it  was  his  right  to  do  so,  as  weU  he  might  have  done,  from  the 
fact  that  his  commanding  officer  asked  him  if  he  had  a  pistol.  He  shot  the  man  through 
the  back,  for  which  he  was  arrested  and  placed  in  prison.  The  case  was  not  reported 
to  me  as  soon  as  it  should  have  been,  and,  in  consequence,  when  I  arrived  at  the  for- 
eign office,  they  stipulated  that  they  Avonid  discharge  the  officer,  provided  no  report 
had  been  made  to  the  police  that  the  life  of  the  sailor  wounded  was  in  danger.  They 
accordingly  sent  down  to  the  police,  or,  rather,  the  director  general  of  the  office 
went  himself,  and  on  his  return  said:  ''Yon  are  too  late.  If  you  had  como  here 
sooner,  it  would  iiavc  been  before  any  report  had  been  made,  and  we  would  gladly 
have  discbav^cd  t  lie  lieutenant ;  but  the  physician  reports  that  the  wounded  man  will 
die,  and,  in  eiuir^eiiuence.  Lieutenant  Elliot  must  be  tried.  We  cannot  interfere  with 
the  civil  process,  but  Ave  can  pledge  ourselves  to  you,  as  we  do,  that  if  on  trial  he  is 
couAdcted  and  sentenced,  Jishe  i)robably  Avill  be,  the  Emperor  will  immediately  pardon 
him."  Captain  Erbeu  reported  to  me,  that  he  had  orders  to  proceed  to  the  river  La 
Plata  and  rei)ort  to  the  admiral.  I  told  him,  "  You  cannot  go.  Yoy.r  testimony  is 
absolutely  necessary  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  Elliot,  and  you  must  remain  here  until 
such  time  as  an  examination  can  take  place ;"  and  I  added  that  I  would  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  his  remaining.  When  Admiral  Godon  came  to  Kio,  he  found  the  Kansas 
lying  there,  and,  as  I  Avas  informed,  telegraphed  Captain  Erben  to  come  on  board 
the  liagship,  Avhich  Captain  Erben  did.  The  admiral  inquired  Avhy  he  did  not  come  to 
the  Plata  and  report  himself  to  him,  the  admiral.  Captain  Erben  replied,  tliat  lie  was 
detained  by  me ;  at  Avhicli  Godon  got  exceedingly  angry,  and,  among  other  things,  in- 
quired Avhether  the  minister  commanded  the  squadron,  or  whether  he  was  the  com- 
manding officer,  and  ordered  Erben  to  get  ready  for  sea  immediately.  Erbeu  there- 
upon addressed  a  note  to  me,  stating  the  fact  that  he  had  been  ordered  to  sea,  and 
Avhat  had  passed  between  him  and  Godon.  I  Avrote  him,  in  reply,  that  he  might  say 
to  the  admiral  that  I  had  detained  him,  and  that  he  must  wait  to  giA^e  his  testimony ; 
that  he  must  not  presume  to  leave  the  harbor  without  first  giving  his  testimony  at  the 
police  office ;  tliat  Admiral  Godon  was  behaving  very  badly  in  visiting  on  him  my 
sins;  and  that  he  Avas  at  liberty  to  show  that  note  to  the  admiral.  The  admiral  ncA^er 
spoke  to  me  on  the  subject.  He  did  send  Erben  to  sea,  and  under  very  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, but  he  never  mentioned  the  subject  to  me. 

Again,  during  the  admiral's  absence  a  Russian  frigatejirrived,  haAdng  on  board  eighty 
or  a  hundred  midshipmen,  being  a  school-of-practice-slTip.  The  Russian  admiral  came 
up  to  Petropolis,  Avhere  most  of  the  diplomatic  corps  reside,  and  Ave  all  entertained 
him.  It  Avas  the  custom  of  certain  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  to  have  receptions 
once  a  Aveek,  and  the  Russian  minister  Avas  of  the  number.  One  CA^euing  in  January, 
upon  reaching  the  Russian  minister's,  he  said  to  me  and  other  ministers  :  "  I  have  very 
bad  news ;  I  learn  that  our  frigate  is  lost ;  that  she  has  gone  doAvn  near  the  Grand  Isle, 
■where  she  went  to  practice."  At  that  moment  our  ship,  the  Juniata,  Avas  lying 
in  the  harbor  of  Rio,  under  orders  to  go  home  on  the  arrival  of  her  relief,  which  was 
tour] y  expected,  and  it  occurred  to  me  instantly  that  this  was  an  occasion  to  make  a 
good  impression  by  a  A^ery  kind  act  to  the  Russian  government.  I  did  not  belieA'e  at 
the  time  that  the  frigate  was  lost,  as  false  rumors  are  constantly  flying  about,  but  I 
said  to  him  that  if  that  Avas  the  fact  he  would  find  himself  Avith  eighty  or  a  hundred 
young  gentlemen  on  liis  hands  at  the  sickly  season  of  the  year;  and  as  Russia  and  the 
United  States  were  always  good  friends,  and  as  Ave  had  then  a  roomy  vessel  of  Avar 
lying  in  the  harbor,  I  Avas  A'cry  happy  to  place  her  at  his  disposal;  and  told  him  when 
these  boys  came  up  to  put  them  on  board  the  Juniata,  to  take  i»osse8sion  of  her, 
send  her  where  he  pleased,  and  keep  her  as  long  as  was  necessary  for  the  use  of  his 

fovernment.  The  British  minif^er,  (uoav  the  British  minister  here,)  Avas  annoyed,  as  I 
ncAV  he  would  be,  at  his  inability  to  make  a  similar  offer.  He  said :  '*  I  am  sorry  I  can- 
not do  as  handsome  a  thing.  The  only  A^essel  I  have  here  is  an  iron-clad,  on  her  way  to 
the  Pacific,  and  she  is  not  fitted  for  the  serA^ice  required."  On  my  return  home,  at 
twelA^e  at  ni<^ht,  I  wrote  an  official  letter  to  the  Russian  minister,  placing  the 
Juniata  at  his  disposal,  which  I  had  delivered  at  daylight,  assigning  to  my  Avife  the 
reason  that  I  had  no  idea  the  A^essel  was  lost,  and  that  I  did  not  Avant  to  miss  the 
opportunity  of  paying  Russia  a  compliment.  The  next  morning,  when  we  Avere  at 
breakfast,  in  came  the  Russian  minister  beaming  Avith  joy.  He  announced  that  ho 
had  good  news ;  that  the  frigate  Avas  not  lost.  I  said  to  him  that  he  would  recollect 
that  I  had  made  the  offer  in  Avriting,  and  tliat  he  must  report  it  to  his  government, 
Avhich  he  did,  and  in  time  along  came  a  communication  from  Priuce  Gortchakoff,  direct- 
ing the  Russian  minister  to  read  the  letter  to  me  Avhich  he  was  directed  to  write  by  or- 
der of  the  Emperor ;  stating,  also,  that  a  similar  letter  had  been  sent  to  the  goA'-ernment 
here,  thanking  our  government  for  its  good  offices  made  through  its  minister  in  Rio. 
Godon,  hoAvever,  Avas,  I  have  reason  to  belicA'^e,  very  much  annoyed,  but  he  never  said 
a  word,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  me  oh  the  subject.  It  does  not  belong  to  his  nature  to 
come  forward  manfully  and  say :  >'  Why  are  you  interfering  with  my  fleet  ?"  or,  "  Why 
have  you  done  this  or  that  ?"  I  gave  him,  perhaps,  one  other  cause  of  offense.  He 
and  lus  staff'  caUed  upon  Mrs.  Webb  and  myself,  as  Ave  were  taking  a  carriage  to  go  to 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  271 

Petropolia.  I  think  this  was  the  first  time  I  had  met  him  since  he  came  up  from  the 
river.  I  asked  him  if  it  was  true,  as  had  been  reported,  that  he  had  refused  to  send 
General  Asboth  np  the  Paraguay  iu  order  to  have  an  interview  with  Mr.  Washburn. 
He  said  yes,  he  had  refused  I  asked  him  what  right  he  had  to  refuse  a  minister  a 
passage  in  a  public  vessel, when  that  minister  believed  it  was  his  duty  to  go  up  the 
river.  He  said  he  did  not  belieye  General  Asboth  had  permission  to  leave  his  lega- 
tion. I  asked  him  if  he  presmued  to  put  that  question  to  General  Asboth.  He  said 
yes ;  he  asked  him  if  ho  had  permission  to  leave  his  legation,  and  General  Asboth  re- 
plied that  he  had  not.  I  remarked  that  General  Asboth  was  a  great  fool ;  that  if  such 
a  question  had  been  put  to  me,  I  would  have  replied  that  it  was  none  of  his  business, 
and  a  very  impertinent  question.  To  which  ho  responded:  "But;  you  are  not  General 
Asboth."  These  various  matters  undoubtedly  created  a  prejudice,  but  it  never  ex- 
hibited itself  until,  finally,  when  dining  with  me,  iu  company  with  the  diplomatic 
corps,  I  asked  him  to  have  a  boat  placed  at  my  disposal,  to  make  au  ofiicial  visit  to 
the  British  squadron,  to  return  the  call  of  the  admiral.  At  the  appointed  time  I  was 
ready,  but  there  was  uo  boat.  It  was  a  dark  morning,  but  did  not  rain,  and  I  there- 
upon took  the  first  boat  I  found  with  au  American  fiag — a  small  boat  which  had  come 
from  one  of  our  ships,  conuuaudcd,  I  think,  by  Captain  Wells.  In  her  I  made  my 
visit,  and,  as  etiquette  requires,  when  the  minister  visits  foreign  vessels  and  re- 
ceives a  salute,  if  there  bo  iu  the  harbor  any  vessel  belonging  to  that  nationality,  it 
becomes  its  duty  to  return  the  salute ;  I  knew  perfectly  well  it  would  annoy  Admiral 
Godon  when  the  salute  was  fired,  knowing  that  he  must  answer  it.  At  the  proper  time 
the  salute  was  fired,  and  immediately  afterward  the  salute  was  returned  from  the  flag- 
ship. I  was  so  much  annoyed  at  the  failure  of  Admiral  Godon  to  send  the  barge  for 
mo  that,  on  returning,  instead  of  going  on  board  the  GuerrieEO,  I  went  from  the  Brit- 
ish flag-ship  direct  to  the  landing,  and  home.  Admiral  Davis  arriv^ed  a  day  or  two 
afterward,  and  just  preceding  court-day ;  and  before  I  met  with  him  I  sent  a  note  on 
board  stating  I  was  going  to  court  on  such  an  occasion,  and  would  be  happy  to  take 
him  with  me.  Officers  are  always  desirous  of  going  to  court.  When  the  time  arrived 
Admiral  Davis  presented  himself  in  his  barge,  and  also  Admiral  Godon  in  his  barge. 
After  court  was  over,  Admiral  Davis  said  lie  would  go  and  pay  his  respects  to  Mrs. 
Webb.  Admiral  Godon  also  said  he  would  like  to  go.  I  then  said  I  would  take  the 
two  admirals  in  my  carriage,  and  the  other  gentlemen  could  order  carriages  from  the 
stand,  and  we  would  drive  up  together  some  three  miles.  While  wo  were  waiting  for 
these  gentlemen  to  get  carriages,  Godon  came  and  stood  alongside  of  me,  and  re- 
marked :  "  I  did  not  expect  you  would  visit  the  British  admiral  tiie  other  day."  I  in- 
quired, "Why  not?"  He  replied  that  it  was  a  very  rainy  morning.  I  vsaid  that  it  did 
not  rain  ;  that  it  had  rained  slightly  toward  Bota-fogo,  but  that  I  called  Mrs.  Webb'a 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  pavement  was  not  wet  at  the  landing  in  town.  He  re- 
plied :  "  We  are  not  iu  the  habit  of  sending  out  boats  in  that  kind  of  weather ;  and  ] 
nope  you  will  think  nothing  about  it."  I  said:  "There  is  the  end  of  it,  Godon; 
don't  say  another  word  about  it.  I  consider  that  as  quite  a  suflicient  apology."  He 
then  inquired :  "  Why  did  you  not  come  on  boar«l  my  ship,  after  your  visit  to  the  Brit- 
ish squadron  ?"  I  said :  "  Oh,  nonsense ;  don't  bother  mo  with  a  thing  of  that  kind. 
The  carriages  are  ready  ;  jump  in,  and  let  us  go  off."  "  No,"  said  ho,  "  I  want  a  specific 
answer,  why  you  did  not  come  on  board  my  ship  instead  of  going  ashore."  I  then 
said  to  him :  "  If  you  insist  upon  au  answer,  you  shall  have  it.  You  know  that  you 
behaved  badly  iu  not  sending  the  barge,  and  I  inteuded  to  rebuke  you  in  the  presence 
of  the  fleet,  knowing  that  everybody  in  the  squadron  would  understand  it."  He  re- 
plied :  "  There  is  the  end  of  it.  We  can  have  no  more  intercourse.  I  will  not  go  up  in 
the  carriage  with  you."  This  was  on  the  palace  steps.  I  remonstrated,  and  said : 
"  You  have  made  an  explanationwhich  I  have  accepted.  Let  this  all  pass,  and  jump 
into  the  carriage."  "  No,  sir,"  ho  replied,  "  I  Avill  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  you." 
It  occurred  to  me  that  this  conversation,  being  private,  with  some  twenty  gentlemen 
composing  the  two  staffs  near  by,  there  would  be  misrepresentation ;  and  I  thereupon 
turned  to  them  and  said :  "  Gentlemen,  you  notice  the  admiral  and  myself  have  been 
having  a  conversation  here.  I  wish  to  state  to  you  precisely  what  has  passed  between 
us."  I  then  repeated  the  entire  conversation,  and  added :  '"  I  now  say  to  you,  gentle- 
men, as  I  have  said  to  him,  I  did  not  go  on  board  his  vessel,  because  I  intended  to  re- 
buke him  as  severely  as  I  could  for  having  treated  his  minister  with  disrespect.  Now, 
gentlemen,  we  will  go  and  see  Mrs.  Webb."  That  was  the  last  interview  I  had  with 
Admiral  Godon,  and  the  only  quarrel  I  ever  had  with  him. 

(At  the  instance  of  Mr.  Washburn.) 

Q.  Had  you  reason  to  believe  that  Admiral  Godon  had  any  prejudice  or  dislike  to 
Mr.  Washburn,  until  after  he  sent  the  gunboat  for  him  ? — A.  None  whatever ;  nor  do  I 
now  believe  that  he  ever  had  any  ground  for  such  prejudice. 


272  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Washington,  D.  C,  November  15, 18C9. 
Examination  of  James  Watson  Webb  continued. 

By  Mr.  Outii  : 
Question.  General  McMabon,  in  his  testimony,  states  among  other  reasons  why  Brazil 
engaged  in  the  war  with  Paraguay,  her  desire  to  control  the  La  Plata  River  by  the  con- 
quest of  Paraguay,  and  her  hostility  against  any  republic  situated  on  the  borders  of 
her  slaveholding  empire,  Paraguay  being  a  republic  in  name,  with  an  elective  president. 
As  you  were  a  resident  of  Brazil  for  a  period  of  eight  years,  will  you  please  state  your 
impressions  as  to  the  purpose  of  Brazil  in  prosecuting  this  war  ? — Answer.  In  the  closing 
part  of  your  question  you  say  Brazil  would  be  hostile  to  any  republic  on  her  borders. 
That  Brazil  Avould  naturally  "be  unwilling  to  have  a  republic  on  her  border  I  have  no 
doubt ;  but  if  General  McMahon  intends  to  convey  by  that  remark  that  she  would, 
therefore,  attemi)t  in  any  way  to  conquer  the  republics  now  situated  on  her  borders,  or 
to  extend  her  jurisdiction  over  any  portion  of  these  republics,  he  is  entirely  mistaken. 
But  I  do  not  consider  the  fact  of  his  being  mistaken  on  that  point  as  very  material, 
because,  really,  General  McMahon  has  had  no  opportunity  to  ascertain  the  state  of 
public  opinion  in  Brazil.  1  think  when  he  passed  through  Rio  he  staid  there  about 
three  days,  and  I  imagine  he  could  say  to  this  committee  that  he  had  no  communica- 
tion whatever  with  any  Brazilian.  He  then  went  to  the  river  Plate,  and  there  found 
the  allies  of  Brazil  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  shortly  after  went  to  Paraguay.  I 
do  not  see  liow,  therefore,  he  had  any  opportunity  to  learn  the  purposes  or  feelings  of 
the  Brazilian  government,  and  of  the  allies.  He  remained  in  Paraguay  until  he  re- 
turned to  the  United  States  by  the  Avay  of  London.  It  does  appear  to  me,  there- 
fore, that  any  impressions,  honestly  entertained  by  General  McMahon,  must  have  been 
derived  from  Lopez,  or  persons  about  Lopez,  in  Paraguay ;  and  are  in  fact  Lopez's  opin- 
ions and  not  General  McMahon's.  I  happen  to  know,  and  can  speak  very  decidedly,  that 
there  is  no  purpose  of  conquest  whatever,  nor  has  there  been  any  such  purpose  on  the 
part  of  the  Brazilian  government,  from  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  its  war  with 
Uruguay.  Wlien  that  war  was  commenced  I  was  sounded,  unofficially,  by  an  official, 
to  know  whether  in  the  event  of  its  being  brought  to  a  successful  close  there  would 
be  any  objection  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  Brazil's  holding  a  portion  of  the 
territory  of  Uruguay.  I  stated  at  once,  without  any  authority,  but  based  upon  con- 
victions of  what  would  be  the  policy  of  our  country,  that  under  no  conceivable  cir- 
cumstances wovdd  the  government  of  the  United  States  permit  the  government  of 
Brazil,  a  slaveholding  nation,  to  annex  free  soil  to  her  territory  ;  that  while  we  would 
not  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  slaveholding  institution  of  that  country,  yet  any 
attempt  to  conquer  either  of  the  republics  on  her  borders,  for  the  purpose  of  adding 
them  to  her  own  territory,  would  unquestionably  be  'resisted  by  this  government,  and 
would  not  be  permitted.  Subsequently,  when  the  war  Vas  brought  to  a  close  with 
Uruguay,  in  an  interview  with  the  Emperor,  I  said  to  him,  "  Your  majesty,  there  is  here 
a  very  small  strip  a  few  miles,  in  extent  north  of  the  river,  which  appears  to  have  been 
the  source  of  all  this  difficulty.  Uruguay  has  jurisdiction  over  it,  but  it  is  settled  en- 
tu-ely  by  Brazilians  ;  there  are  no  people  belonging  to  Uruguay  there.  And  as  in  the 
interest  of  peace  a  necessity  seems  to  exist  for  the  acquisition  of  this  small  strip  of 
territory,  I  think  the  government  of  the  United  States  would  not  under  the  circum- 
stances deem  it  any  cause  of  offense  if  you  should  retain  jurisdiction  over  it."  He  said, 
"  No ;  when  I  was  compelled  to  go  into  this  war,  I  proclaimed  distinctly  that  under 
no  circumstances  would  I  add  one  square  foot  to  my  dominions.  I  have  closed  tiie 
war,  and  shall  carry  out  thoroughly  to  the  letter  that  disclaimer."  I  may,  therefore, 
say  distinctly,  as  I  do,  that  I  am  thoroughly  satisfied  that  neither  the  government  nor 
people  of  Brazil  have  in  view  now,  whatever  purpose  they  may  have  had  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago,  any  intention  to  extend  their  territory  by  conquest  from  the  neighbor- 
ing republics.  I  think  it  is  my  duty,  after  eight  years'  residence  in  Brazil,  to  speak 
thus  emphatically  with  regard  to  her  policy. 

Q.  (At  the  instance  of  General  McMahon.)  How  do  you  reconcile  this  statement  Avith 
the  proclamation  of  Paranhos,  after  the  occupation  of  Asuncion,  confiscating  tlie  jjrop- 
erty  of  all  Paraguayans  ?— A.  In  the  first  place  Paranhos  is  the  most  unscrupulous  public 
man  in  Brazil;  secondly,  I  do  not  know  of  any  such  proclamation ;  and  thirdly,  if  I  did 
I  should  not  consider  it  any  part  of  my  duty  to  reconcile  my  opinions  in  regard  to  the 
policy  of  Brazil  with  Paranhos's  conduct  in  Paraguay. 


Additional  testimony  of  Martin  T.  McMahon. 

Washington,  November  15, 1869. 
Majitin  T.  McMahon,  having  been  recalled,  testified  as  follows : 
Mr.  Washburn  has  just  read  a  statement  of  Alonzo  Taylor.    Let  me  say,  in  connec- 
tion with  it,  that  the  same  Alonzo  Taylor  told  me  in  Asuncion,  on  my  way  home,  severaJ 


PAEAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  273 

months  after  his  release,  that  Lopez  never  treated  him  otherwise  than  as  a  gentle- 
man. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  Did  he  have  reference  to  matters  occurring  before  or  after  his  arrest  ?— A.  He  re- 
ferred to  his  whole  intercourse  with  Lopez. 

Q.  Then  you  do  not  believe  those  statements  were  extorted  from  him? — A.  None 
whatever.  He  told  me  that  on  the  2Gth  of  September  President  Lopez  came  and  in 
person  released  him  from  confinement.  He  then  again  repeated  that  ho  was  never 
treated  by  him  otherwise  than  as  a  gentleman.  This  conversation  was,  I  think,  on  the 
Ist  or  2d  of  July,  this  year,  and  several  months  after  the  statement  which  Mr.  Wash- 
hum  has  filed. 

By  Mr.  Wilkixsox  : 

Q.  What  did  he  say  about  his  imprisonment  ? — A.  I  think  the  only  allusion  made  to 
it  was  that  President  Lopez  came  in  person  and  released  him,  on  the  26th  of  September, 
from  couliuement. 

Q.  How  long  did  he  say  to  jon  he  was  in  prison  ? — A.  I  do  not  remember  that  he 
stated.    I  was  talking  generally  about  Paraguayan  matters  with  several  gentlemen. 

Q.  How  did  he  speak  of  his  treatment  by  those  who  had  charge  of  him  in  the  prison? — 
A.  He  made  no  mention  of  that ;  he  simply  broke  into  the  conversation  with  the  remark 
I  have  stated. 

Q.  How  long  had  he  been  in  prison  ? — A.  I  do  not  know ;  I  think  two  or  three  months. 
I  only  refer  to  this  statement  of  Alonzo  Taylor  to  have  it  placed  with  his  other  state- 
ment as  additional  proof.  This  statement  was  entirely  voluntary  on  his  part,  no  refer- 
ence having  been  made  to  the  treatment  he  received  while  in  prison.  Ho  premised  the 
remark  by  somo  such  expression  as  this :  "  I  do  not  care  Avhat  others  may  say ;  President 
Lopez  never  treated  me  otherwise  than  as  a  gentleman."  He  was  not  then  under  the 
surveillance  of  Lopez ;  he  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  allies. 

Q.  It  has  been  reported  by  the  allies  engaged  in  the  war  with  Lopez,  that  among  the 
killed  in  that  war,  ki  one  of  their  recent  battles,  were  a  considerable  number  of  women. 
Do  you  know  anything  about  this? — A.  I  can  say  v<iry  positivt^ly  that  no  women  were 
in  his  army  during  my  residence  in  Paraguay,  except  as  camp-followers.  That  a  num- 
ber of  women  were  killed  in  one  of  the  battles  I  know,  but  they  Avere  not  bearijig  arms. 
They  had  (piarters  of  their  oavu  in  the  most  sheltered  part  of  the  field  when  the  allied 
artillery  opened  fire  upon  them. 

Q.  What  were  the  women  doing  there  ?— A.  They  were  there  as  camp-followers,  for 
the  most  part  the  wives  and  families  of  soldiers.  They  took  care  of  the  camp,  brought 
vegetables  and  provisions  there,  and  occupied  the  general  province  that  women  do  in 
any  army.    They  policed  their  own  camp,  and  attended  to  such  duties. 

Q.  Did  they  attend  to  the  bringing  in  of  the  wounded  from  the  field? — ^A.  Yes,  sir; 
and  sometimes  assisted  in  moving  the  heavy  guns.  I  saw  them  doing  that,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  they  were  doing  it  voluntarily,  and  with  langhing  enthusiasm.  As  a  general 
thing  their  wounded  were  not  brought  in  ;  they  have  no  ambulance  corps. 

Q.  What  do  you  .judge  to  bo  the  total  population  of  Paraguay,  within  Lopez's  lines, 
at  this  time  ?— A.  It  is  very  difiicult  for  me  to  give  any  estimate  of  that,  because  I  do 
not  know  to  what  extent  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  recent  reports  of  large  num- 
bers of  refugees  who  have  come  into  the  lines  of  the  allies.  I  know  that  many  of  these 
reports,  during  my  residence  there,  were  exaggerated,  and  some  of  them  wholly  untrue. 
I  know  of  one  statement  which  the  Brazilian  papers  published,  that  twelve  thousand 
refugees  had  been  brought  in  by  an  expedition  sent  out  by  the  allies,  Avhile  the  fact  was 
that  the  expedition  was  defeated  and  overwhelmed  with  great  loss,  and,  being  routed 
in  confusion,  brought  in  no  refugees.  Subsequently  I  learned  from  American  and  Eng- 
lish residents  in  Asuncion,  within  the  allied  lines,  that  these  reports  in  the  papers  about 
women  and  children  coming  in  were  greatly  exaggerated,  and  these  were  facts  within 
their  knowledge,  because  there  was  no  other  point  for  them  to  come  to  except  Asuncion. 
They  also  informed  me  that  the  treatment  of  these  refugees  who  came  in  there  was 
exceedingly  cruel  by  the  allies.  I  Avas  told  by  a  foreign  resident  in  Asuncvon  that  they 
were  brought  in  laden  with  packs  and  various  things,  paraded  round  the  streets,  some- 
times two  or  three  days,  to  be  exhibited,  almost  entirely  naked,  and  no  provision  being 
made  for  clothing  them,  or  providing  for  their  comfort  or  necessity;  that  they  were 
treated  Avith  insult  and  abuse,  and  turned  loose  upon  the  streets,  subject  to  the  caprices 
of  the  brutalized  soldiery  of  Brazil.  And  the  gentleman  Avho  told  me  this  was  in  the 
interest  of  the  allies.  He  said  that  formerly  ho  thought  it  a  piece  of  great  barbarity 
on  the  part  of  Lopez  to  drive  this  population  back  Avithiu  his  own  lines,  but  that  now, 
since  his  residence  in  Asuncion,  he  Avas  satisfied  Lopez  acted  Avisely  and  hurnauely  in 
so  doing,  as  it  preserved  them  from  the  brutal  indilierence  of  the  allied  authorities,  and 
the  more  brutal  lusts  of  their  soldiery. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated  here  that  there  have  been  little  boys  taken  prisoners  who  were 
fighting  in  the  ranks  of  Lopez  ;  boys  as  young  as  ten  or  eleven  years.  Do  you  know- 
any  thiiig  of  that  ?— A.  There  is  no  doubt  that  boys  are  in  his  army  as  yoimg  as  ten  or 

18  P  I 


274  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

eleven,  and  I  hav6  seen  these  boys  fighting  with  an  amount  of  courage  and  heroism 
that  surprised  me. 

Q.  Were  you  present  at  any  of  the  battles  between  the  Paraguayan  and  allied  forces  ?— 
A.  I  vras  present  at  the  engagement  that  took  place  on  the  21st,  9ed,  and  23d  of  De- 
cember. 

Q.  Do  you  know  an  officer  in  the  Paraguayan  army  by  the  name  of  Thompson  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  he  doing  there? — A.  He  was  in  command  of  a  battery. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  a  book  written  by  him  ? — A.  I  have. 

Q.  This  book  contains  what  jmrports  to  be  a  letter  from  Lopez  to  you.  Do  you  know 
anything  about  it  ? — A.  I  received  a  letter  of  which  I  suppose  this  to  be  a  copy.  I  never 
read  it  but  once,  and  returned  it  to  President  Lopez  afterward. 

Q.  Did  you  receive  the  document  annexed  to  it,  of  which  this  purports  to  be  a  copy  ? — 
A.  I  suppose  I  received  this  document.  I  remember  receiving  some  document  similar 
to  this,  which  he  asked  me  to  take  charge  of  and  deposit  in  the  legatiou  of  the  United 
States  until  such  time  as  he  should  call  for  it.  This  was  for  safe-keeping  in  case  of  his 
death.  I  was  very  glad  to  comply  with  his  request  as  au  act  of  courtesy  and  humanity. 
I  also  took  charge  of  his  children  to  take  them  away  from  this  scene  of  battle. 

Q.  Were  you  nuich  acquainted  with  this  mau  Thompson  ? — A.  Not  very  well ;  I  saw 
him  two  or  three  times. 

Q.  Did  he  appear  to  be  an  intelligent  gentleman  ? — A.  He  had  the  repatation  in  the 
armv  of  being  a  good  soldier.  He  was  in  command  at  Angostura,  which  was  the  most 
important  point  on  the  river.  The  position  of  Lopez  was  five  miles  back.  On  the  27th 
of  December  Lopez  fell  back  into  the  interior,  leaving  Thompson  in  an  isolated  position. 
Thompson,  the  following  day,  surrendered  the  post  without  liriug  a  sliot,  for  which 
Lopez  blamed  him  very  severely.  On  one  occasion  I  exi^ressed  the  opinion  to  President 
Lopez  that  I  did  not  blame  Thompson  for  surrendering  this  post ;  that  he  was  entirely 
isolated  and  cut  olf,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  as  a  soldier  to  surrender  the  position  to 
prevent  a  needless  sacriiice  of  life;  whereupon  the  President  said:  "If  this  is  your 
opinion  let  me  show  you  the  position  he  occupied,  and  give  you  some  evidence  on  that 
point."  He  then  showed  me  the  position  and  pointed  out  its  defenses,  which  were  much 
stronger  than  I  supposed.  I  asked  him  in  regard  to  his  supply  of  ammunition  and  pro- 
visions, in  reply  to  which  he  gave  me  a  letter  Avritten  by  Thompson  the  day  previous, 
stating  that  he,  Thompson,  had  achieved  successfully  an  expedition,  capturing  quite  a 
number  of  things  which  he  named,  among  which  were  cattle,  liorses,  wine,  sutlei''8 
stores  and  money;  stating  that  ho  was  amply  provisioned  for  at  least  a  mouth; 
'that  he  had  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  an  ample  garrison,  and  asking  the  President's 
permission  to  hold  that  position  to  the  last  extremity.  Lopez  sent  him  an  order  to  hold 
the  position  for  eight  days,  at  the  close  of  which  period,  if  not  relieved,  he  was  to  use 
.his  own  discretion  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue.  On  the  following  day  Thompson 
surrendered  without  iiring  a  shot.  It  was  known  in  Paraguay  that  the  occasion  of  his 
surrender  whb  a  letter  which  came  to  him  from  Dr.  Stewart,  who  liad  previously  deserted 
from  Lopez's  array.  It  is  but  justice  to  Dr.  Stewart  to  say  that  he  claims  tliat  ho  was 
captured,  but  that  report  was  not  believed  in  Paraguay,  even  among  his  co-patriots, 
and  liis  action  in  inducing  Thompson's  surrender,  and  his  subsequent  conduct,  convince 
me  that  his  statement  is  not  true.  Upon  reacliing  the  allied  headquarters  ho  wrote  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Thompson  asssuring  him  that  Lopez's  position  was  entirely  desperate, 
that  his  whole  army  was  destroyed,  and  that  Lopez  was  a  fugitive,  and  I  think  it  was 
in  consequence  of  that  letter,  and  of  a  subsequent  interview  had  by  him  at  headquar- 
ters, that  Thompson  surrendered.  I  think  that  he  afterward  discovered  his  mistake. 
I  do  not  think  he  had  any  disposition  to  give  up  his  post,  but  he  has  siuce  been  so 
severely  blamed  by  Lopez' for  his  surrender,  that  I  do  not  think  his  statements  about 
the  matter  are  entitled  to  credence.  Like  many  others,  his  defense  and  sole  revenge 
■consist  in  proving  that  Lopez  is  such  a  monster  that  even  sworn  officers  are  not  obliged 
to  keep  faith  with  him. 

Q.  How  many  fighting  men  had  Thompson  ? — A.  I  am  not  aware.  My  impression  is 
that  he  had  about  twenty-seven  hundred.  I  asked  President  Lopez  how  many  men  he 
had ;  he  laughed  and  said  he  had  enough. 

Q.  He  states  in  this  book  that  he  had  twenty-four  hundred  men,  but  that  a  great 
many  of  these  were  maimed  soldiers,  unable  to  do  duty  in  battle,  and  that  he  had  but 
eight  hundred  lighting  men.  Is  that,  in  your  judgment,  a  correct  statement  ? — A.  I 
■  thuik  eight  hundred  Paraguayans  were  sufficient  to  hold  that  post  against  tlifj  Brazilian 
army. 

Q.  How  many  men  do  you  understand  were  in  tliat  army  ? — A.  I  presume  they  could 
have  brought  at  that  time  fourteen  thousand  men.  I  once  saw  sixteen  thousand  of 
them  repulsed  several  times  with  great  slaughter  by  a  force,  I  have  reason  to  Ijclieve, 
that  did  not  exceed  twenty-five  hundred  Paraguayans.  The  position  of  Angostura  was 
very  strong,  and  the  iron-clad  fleet,  generally,  behaved  very  badly. 

Q.  Do  you  think  Thompson  is  an  intelligent  man,  whose  statements  can  be  taken  with 
reliance  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  him  at  all,  except  from  one  or  two  interviews  of  a  few 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  275 

minutes.  His  char<acter  in  Paraguay  was  that  of  a  good  soldier,  and  I  heard  nothing 
at  all  against  him  until  his  surrender  of  liis  post,  which,  as  I  have  said,  I  think  he  di^ 
covered,  subsequently,  was  done  unnecessarily.  I  have  no  doubt  he  intended  to  act 
conscientiously,  and  was  misled  by  the  communication  from  Dr.  Stewart.  After  this 
surrender  ho  went  down  to  Buenos  Ayres,  went  home  to  England,  and  never  returned 
again  to  Paraguay.  In  view  of  what  has  occurred  I  think  his  statements  as  at^ainst 
Lopez  are  not  worthy  of  credence.  When  asked  by  Mr.  Worthington,  in  Buenos  Ayres 
about  the  reported  atrocities  of  Lopez,  he  disclaimed  all  knowledge  of  them.  ' 

Q.  Were  the  men  who  occupied  the  positions  of  judges  in  that  country  priests  ? A. 

Some  were  priests  and  some  were  not ;  many  of  the  priests,  being  non-combatants,  were 
appointed  to  serve  as  oflQcers  of  these  courts,  three  judges  being  required,  I  think  for 
eacn  court. 

Q.  Have  they  any  legal  profession  there  as  we  have  ?— A.  I  think  not ;  they  still 
retain  the  old  Spanish  system. 

Q.  Please  state  what  mode  of  trial  is  adopted.— A.  I  cfould  give  you  no  definite  in- 
formation ;  whatever  information  I  have  is  taken  from  documents  I  have  read,  and 
from  the  statements  of  others.  For  petty  offenses  I  suppose  the  mode  is  very  much  the 
same  as  in  other  courts.  The  accused  is  brought  up,  testimony  is  heard,  and  if  found 
guilty  sentence  is  passed.  All  the  cases  for  conspiracy  and  treason,  which  have  been 
mentioned  in  these  documents,  were  conchuled  before  I  arrived  there. 

Q.  Upon  what  nature  of  evidence  did  Lopez  and  the  court  rely  in  passing  their  judg- 
ment of  condemnation  or  acquittal  ?— A.  The  evidence  seems  to  have  been  to  a  great 
extent  the  confession  of  the  parties,  implicrtting  themselves  and  others,  and  any  other 
witnesses  having  knowledge  of  the  facts,  I  presume,  were  examined. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  trial  for  conspiracy  or  treason  in  Paraguay  wherein  the 
accused  was  permitted  a  fair  trial  and  counsel,  as  tliey  are  allowed  to  them  in  civilized 
nations  generally  ?— A.  That  is  a  very  difficult  question  to  answer.  I  do  not  presume 
to  pass  upon  its  fairness,  not  bein<j  present  at  any  trial. 

Q.  Is  it  not  <'enerally  understood  that  the  first  step  in  one  of  those  trials  is  an  attempt 
to  extort  conlessjons  from  the  accused  ? — A.  I  know  of  no  understanding  upon  the 
subject.  I  have  heard  conversations  in  regard  to  the  trials,  but  I  never  heard  any 
specific  statements  as  to  the  mode  of  conducting  them. 

Q.  You  state  in  your  previous  testimony  that  the  list  of  persons  purporting  to  have 
been  found  in  the  diary  of  General  Resquiu  was  not  correct.  To  what  extent  is 
it  incoiTcct  ? — A.  I  glanced  at  the  list  as  published  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  noticed  that 
it  included  the  name  of  the  vice-president  of  Paraguay,  whom  I  knew  to  be  living. 
His  name  is  given  in  the  list,  and  he  is  described  in  the  pamphlet  as  the  late  vioe- 
I>re8ident.  This  pamphlet  was  published  by  the  Buenos  Ayres  authorities,  and  was 
handed  to  me  as  evidence  of  the  atrocities  of  Lopez.  I  looked  it  over,  and  recollect 
seeing  the  name  of  this  vice-president  in  the  list,  and  the  paragraph  giving  the  descrip- 
tion, referring  to  him  as  the  vice-president,  and  stating  that  he  was  tortured  for  a  long 
time,  and  then  put  to  death.  I  stated  to  the  party  who  handed  it  to  me  that  this  man 
was  living  when  I  left  Paraguay.  I  gave  very  little  attention  to  the  list,  merely 
glancing  it  over,  and  noticing  several  instances  in  which  it  was  incorrect,  and  that 
many  of  those  put  to  death  were  shot  for  desertion ;  that  others  were  spies  of  the 
enemy,  and  that  a  great  number  had  died  of  disease. 

Q.  Was  the  paper  not  made  by  one  of  Lopez's  own  oflScers  ? — ^A.  It  may  have  been. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  it  was  very  much  interpolated  elsewhere. 

Q.  How  many  names  canyon  mention  tbat  are  not  correctly  stated? — A.  It  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  say.  I  knew  a  great  many  soldiers  in  Paraguay,  but  I  do  not  know 
their  names.  I  noticed  the  name  of  a  person  here  as  one  who  died,  and  that  fact  is  true, 
for  I  happened  to  be  x)reseut ;  but  he  died  from  a  Brazilian  bullet. 

Q.  Is  it  not  common,  in  these  old  Spanish  countries,  to  find  many  persons  bearing  the 
same  name  ? — A.  I  do  not  know.  It  is  very  difficult  to  get  at  the  truth  from  any  docu- 
ments published.  The  committee  will  remember  that  there  never  was  a  war  in  reference 
to  which  there  was  so  much  lying  as  in  this  Paraguayan  war. 

1  oave  an  opinion  the  other  day  as  to  who  Mrs.  Lynch  was,  and  in  support  of  that 
opinion  I  would  like  to  read  the  following  extract  from  a  Buenos  Ayres  paper  which  I  have 
since  received :  "  We  publish  to-day  an  interesting  narrative  of  one  of  the  English  Para- 
guayan sufferers,  just  come  down.  He  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  kindness  shown 
to  himself  and  wife,  and  also  to  all  the  English  in  Lopez's  employment,  by  Madame  Lynch, 
and  he,  in  common  with  all  the  suft'erers,  denounces,  in  indignant  terms,  the  calumnies 
and  slanders  that  have,  from  time  to  time,  appeared  in  some  of  the  organs  of  the  press 
against  this  heroic  woman,  who  has  ever  exerted  herself  to  mitigate  the  suffering 
wliicli  the  war  entailed  on  the  Paraguayan  people." 

I  stated,  in  my  former  testimony,  my  belief  that  Mr.  Washburn,  at  one  time,  enter- 
tained the  opinion  that  a  conspiracy  in  some  form  did  exist,  and  in  support  of  that 
belief,  with  the  consent  of  the  committee,  I  will  refer  to  some  of  the  correspondence  on 
which  the  statement  was  based.  In  the  comuninication  from  Mr.  Washburn  to  the 
Paraguayan  minister,  Benitez,  dated  July  25,  he  says: 

"It  is  with  profound  regret  that  I  find  myself  compelled  to  differ  with  the  govern- 


276  PAEAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

meut  of  Paraguay  in  regard  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Maaterman ;  but  if  any 
man  hat*  reason  to  respect  fivniness  and  strict  adhesion  to  duty  it  is  his  excellency 
Marshal  Lopez.  After  having  nuiintaiued  a'struggle,  almost  uuparulleled  in  history,  for 
national  independence,  and  having  endured  years  of  toil,  danger,  and  sacrilice  to  defend 
his  country  and  maintain  a  principle,  he  cannot  but  regai'd  in  another  the  same  firm- 
ness and  the  same  adherence  to  conviction  and  duty  Avith  respect  and  approval. 

*'  That  the  plot  of  which  your  highness  speaks  has  been  detected  and  frustrated  I 
would  ask  you  to  convey  my  most  cordial  and  earnest  felicitations  to  his  excellency 
Marshal  Lopez.  I  v^^ell  remember  what  a  thrill  of  horror  ran  through  the  civilized 
world  when  the  great  and  good  Abraham  Lincoln  fell  before  a  foul  assassin,  and  the 
universal  execration  that  the  deed  provoked.  That  any  person  should  be  found  in 
Paraguay  engaged  in  a  similar  plot,  is  to  me  horrible  beyond  expression.  Will  your 
highness  also  felicitate  his  excellency  the  President  for  the  returning  of  his  birthday, 
and  express  my  regret  that  I  was  unable  yesterday,  owing  to  the  pressing  duty  of  pre- 
paring this  letter,  to  visit  his*  excellency  the  vice-president  at  Luque,  and  formally  oifer 
my  congratulations." 

In  another  letter  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  dated  August  11,  1868,  he  writes : 

"  It  is  fortunate  for  me  that  I  had  not  left  the  country  previous  to  the  discovery  of 
this  plot.  Though  my  dispatches  to  my  government  would  have  completely  disproved 
the  declarations  oi"  the  conspirators,  and  though  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  letters  which 
they  have  sent  below  will  show  that  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  their  plans,"  and  that 
they  had  not  dared  to  confide  them  to  me,  yet  the  impression  would  still  have  prevailed 
among  many  people  that  I  had  been  a  jjarty  to  the  not  only  wicked  but  inexpressibly 
stupid  plot." 

In  anotlier  portion  of  the  same  correspondence  Mr.  Washburn  writes  to  the  same 
oflicial,  si)eaking  of  letters  which  had  been  sent  by  the  conspirators  into  the  lines  of 
the  enemy  under  his  ministerial  seal  and  privilege : 

''  On  the  28th  of  April  last,  I  sent  away  my  last  dispatches  for  Washington,  to  be 
forwarded  below,  and  thence  passed  by  fiag  of  truce  through  the  military  lines. 
AVhether  I  sent  letters  for  other  persons  or  not  I  do  not  remember,  but  I  presume  I  did, 
though  I  do  not  recollect  for  whom. 

*•  Your  highness  expresses  regret  that  I  should  not  have  noted  in  my  diary  the  names 
of  the  i)ersons  for  whom  I  sent  letters.  I  also  regret  it.  But  such  is  the  fact,  and  it  is 
now  too  late  to  remedy  it.  *******  * 

"I  may  have  been  wrong  in  sending  letters  for  anybody  Avithout  first  knowing  their 
contents ;  but  as  the  minister  of  foreign  afi'airs  had  already  asked  me  to  do  the  same 
thn)g  iov  him,  I  could  not  suppose  that  the  government  would  object  to  my  sending 
family  letters  from  persons  holding  no  official  position. 

"  I  can  make  nothiug  of  it,  except  that  directly  under  my  eyes  there  was  a  horrible 
conspiracy  being  formed,  of  which  I  knew  or  suspected  nothing,  and  that  the  parties 
to  it,  after  having  abused  my  coufidence  and  hospitality,  have  sought  to  divert  the 
world's  indignation  from  themselves  by  implicating  in  their  crimes  the  minister  of  a 
great,  a  powerful,  aud  an  honorable  nation.  1  may  be  wrong  in  my  suspicions.  God 
knows  I  would  not  wrongliilly  or  unjustly  accuse  or  suspect  anybody,  but  that  there 
has  been  treachery,  ingratitude  and  villainy  practiced  upon  me  in  some  quarter  is  but 
too  evident.  All,  however,  will  some  day  be  made  clear,  aud  the  guilty  parties  must 
hold  a  place  in  the  history  of  infamy  never  before  paralleled." 

In  a  connnunication  to  the  same  party,  under  date  of  August  3,  Mr.  Washburn  says: 

"From  this  statement  your  honor  will  see  that  if  I  Jiave  in  any  way  been  the  means 
of  conveying  intelligence  to  and  fro  between  the  enemies  aud  traitors  to  Paraguay,  I 
have  myself  been  the  victim  of  the  most  damnable  treachery  and  ingratitude.  But  I 
yet  cherish  the  hope  that  of  those  who  have  abused  my  coufidence  the  number  will  be 
found  the  smallest  x»ossible.  I  cannot  yet  bring  myself  to  acknowledge  that  I  am  of  a 
nature  so  credulous,  and  so  imtit  to  be  a  minister,  as  to  have  in  my  house  for  near  five 
montlis  persons  with  whom  I  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms,  and  all  whose  thoughts 
I  ought  to  have  known,  yet  who  were  at  the  same  time  engaged  in  any  plot  against 
the  gov  ernment  without  my  suspecting  it.  1  yet  cherish  the  hope  that  a  full  investi- 
gation will  clear  this  legation  of  having  given  shelter  to  such  parties." 

"  As  I  before  said  I  do  not  think  it  strange  that,  after  the  declaratitm  of  Berges,  the 
government  should  have  regarded  me,  and  those  around  me,  with  suspicion." 

There  are  many  other  paragraphs  of  the  same  tenor. 

In  regard  to  the  treatment  of  Bliss  aud  Masterman  as  prisoners  on  United  States 
ships  of  war,  I  desire  to  submit  the  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Washburn's  letters, 
to  show  what  his  views  were  on  that  subject  previous  to  this  investigation. 

Under  date  of  July  20  (addressing  the  minister  of  foreign  afiairs)  Mr.  Washburn 
remarks : 

"  The  law  of  nations  clearly  prescribes  the  course  to  be  followed  when  persons,  mem- 
bers of  a  legation,  are  found  to  be  engaged  in  any  unlawful  acts.  It  says  that  the 
government  which  it  has  offended  may  ask  that  they  shall  be  sent  to  their  own  country 
to  be  tried,  when  the  minister  will  be  bound  to  comply  with  the  recpiest.  Therefore, 
if  the  charges  and  proofs  against  Mr.  Bliss  aud  Mr.  Masteiinau  shall  be  furnished  me 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  277 

■with  request  that  they  should  be  sent  to  their  respective  countries  to  he  tried  I  shall 
then  have  no  alternative  but  to  comply,  and  at  the  first  opportunity  send  them  awav 
the  one  to  the  United  States,  the  other  to  the  custody  of  the  English  minister  in  Buenos 
Ayres.  This  course,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  government  of  Para<'-uav 
as  it  will  remove  persons  obnoxious  to  it  from  the  country,  and  will  subject  them  to 
trial  according  to  the  laws  of  their  own  countries,  and  as  tbero  is  little  doubt  that  an 
American  gunboat  will  soon  be  in  these  waters,  there  will  probably  be  but  little  delay 
in  carrying  it  into  eflfect."  ' 
Again,  on  the  22d  of  July,  he  says  : 

''  i  will  therefore  uudert^iko  to  hold  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Mastcrman  close  prisoners  iu 
this  legation  till  I  can  send  them  out  of  the  country,  or  till  such  time  as  the  govern- 
ment may  not  object  to  their  being  set  at  liberty."  ' 
Under  date  of  July  13,  he  writes : 

"Yet,  as  your  honor  is  well  aware,  it  is  laid  down  by  all  writers  on  the  rights  of  le- 
gation, that  until  they  can  depart  from  the  country  the  m(;ml)ers  of  a  once  accepted 
legation  are  entitled  to  certain  immunities,  and  if  any  one  commits  an  offense,  the 
government  to  which  he  had  been  accredited  is  not  authorized  to  try  him,  but  may 
send  him  out  of  the  country,  aud  demand  his  punishment  of  his  own  government." 
And  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month : 

"Resi)ecting  the  question  whether  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman  are,  or  are  not,( 
rightlully  and  legally,  members  of  this  legation,  I  waive  all  discussion  at  present.  I 
have  assumed,  as  I  believe  correctly,  that  they  are,  aud  if  now  I  were  to  recede  from 
that  position  it  would  appear  weak,  and  would  be  a  confession  that  I  had  acted  illegally 
in  sending  them  away,  for  which  act  I  should  be  arraigned  and  censured  by  my  gov- 
ernment. I  maybe  in  error  in  my  judgment,  but  holding  the  opinions  that  I  do,  I 
have  no  other  course  to  pursue  than  ^ive  them  the  iirotection  of  my  legation  until  I  can 
send  them  to  their  respective  countries  to  be  tried." 

The  following  Iquote  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn  to  the  same  party,  under  date 
of  August  13 : 

"■  To  the  question  whether  or  not  the  punishment  that  my  government  would  admin- 
ister w(mld  be  timely,  I  reply  I  do  not  see  why  not.  Your  honor  cannot  suppose  that 
these  two  individuals,  closely  shut  up  as  they  are  in  this  legation,  and  having  no  com- 
munication with  any  person  outside  of  it,  can  be  dangerous.  If  not,  why  Avill  not 
their  punishment,  if  proved  guilty,  be  as  timely  some  months  hence  as  now  1  If  they 
can  give  any  evidence  which  is  necessary  to  ascertain  the  truth  in  regard  to  other 
accused  parties,  they  have  both  expressed  their  willingness  to  do  it ;  and  should  the 
government  choose  to  send  a  notary  to  my  house  to  examine  them,  I  will  give  him 
every  facility  for  doing  so.  I  will  also  say  that  Mr.  Bliss  has  declared,  in  relation  to 
the  paper  which  your  honor,  in  your  note  of  the  23d  of  July,  says  that  he,  'iu  a  secret 
committee  of  mutual  obligations,'  has  signed  to  commit  an  infamous  crime,  that  if  any 
such  paper  signed  by  him  shall  bo  produced  at  this  legation,  he  will  instantly  leave  it. 
To  this  I  will  add  that,  while  I  shall  still  insist  on  my  rights  of  legation,  I  will  under- 
take that  he  keep  his  promise  to  me."  *  #  ^  *  #  # 

"Except  under  very  extraordinary  circumstances  his  (the  minister's)  house  cannot 
be  entered  by  the  police,  and  no  member  of  his  legation  can  be  cited  before  the  Ipcal 
tribunals  ;  and  if  they  commit  any  offense  against  the  laws  of  the  country,  all  writers 
on  international  law  declare  that  the  minister  shall  either  punish  them  himself  or  send 
them  to  his  own  country  to  be  tried.  These  privileges  and  immunities,  doubtless,  fre- 
quently cause  serious  inconvenience  to  the  local  aihninistration.  But  is  it  not  better 
to  submit  to  such  inconveniences  rather  than  have  the  law  abrogated?" 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Benitez,  to  whom  these  letters  are  addressed,  or  did  you 
know  him  in  Parjiguay  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  heard  anything  as  to  what  became  of  him?— A.  I  have  heard  from 
persons  who  have  no  other  information  than  hearsay  that  he  is  dead ;  I  have  heard  it 
said  he  was  executed  for  treason  aud  conspiracy. 
Q.  Did  you  believe  the  report  ? — A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you,  when  you  went  to  Paraguay,  believe  there  had  been  a  conspiracy  ? — 
A.  I  will  say  that  I  was  in  a  state  of  indecision  upon  that  subject.  I  did  not  believe 
it  possible  that  Lopez,  at  that  stage  of  the  war,  could  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  invent 
the  story  of  a  conspiracy,  which  would  tend  very  much  to  encourage  his  enemies  and 
to  weaken  his  own  cause,  and  for  this  reason  I  was  inclined  to  believe  that  there  had 
been  a  conspiracy.  On  the  other  hand  there  were  reasons  for  doubting  its  existence — 
such  as  the  statements  made  to  me  in  Buenos  Ayres  by  Mr.  Washburn,  to  which  I  now 
attach  less  credit— and  hence  my  mind  was  in  a  state  of  indecision  upon  the  subject. 
My  strongest  reason  for  believing'in  its  existence  was  my  disinclination  to  believe  that 
Lopez  would  willingly  exhibit  such  internal  weakness  at  a  time  Avhen  the  allies  were 
very  much  disheartened,  and  when  his  own  prospects  wexe  very  good.  It  seemed 
incredible  that  he  should  invent  and  publish  to  the  world  a  story  calculated  to  do  his 
own  cause  so  nmch  injury.  On  the  other  hand,  as  I  have  said,  Mr.  Washburn  assured 
me  that  he  was  satisfied  that  there  was  no  conspiracy ;  and  I  was  unable  to  make  up 


278  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

any  definite  opinion  on  the  subject  at  that  time,  not  wishing  to  doubt  my  predecessor 
in  a  matter  in  which  ho  appeared  so  positive.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Washburn's  correspond- 
ence with  the  government  of  Paraguay,  some  extracts  from  which  I  liave  submitted, 
could  not  be  reconciled  with  his  then  statement,  especially  as  it  had  not  been  possible 
for  him  to  obtain  any  new  iuformation. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  anybody,  outside  of  Paraguay,  who  had  been  in  Paraguay 
during  the  war,  who  believed  there  had  ever  been  any  conspiracy? — A.  I  do  not  know 
that  1  have  seen  more  than  one  person  who  fulfilled  the  conditions  of  your  question,  and 
that  one  was  Dr.  Stewart,  whose  testimony,  for  sufficient  reasons,  I  would  not  receive. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  from  Lopez  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  his  spies  ? — A.  No, 
sir. 

Q.  Have  you  heard,  in  this  correspondence,  the  threat  made  by  Lopez  that  he  would 
forcibly  take  Bliss  and  Masterman  from  Washburn's  house  ? — A.  I  am  not  aware  of  anj'- 
such  threat.  I  remember  a  statement  that  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  leave  the 
country. 

Q.  Then  you  read  the  letter  of  Benitez  to  Washburn  of  July  31,  186S  ? — A.  I  have, 
but  it  conveys  to  my  mind  no  other  imjiression  than  that  the  government  of  Paraguay 
would  follow  out  the  principles  of  international  law.  It  does  not  convey  the  impression 
to  me  that  they  would  take  Bliss  and  Masterman  from  Mr.  Washburn's  house. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  is  a  difference,  so  far  as  following  international  law  is  con- 
cerned, between  taking  them  from  the  house  and  taking  them  from  the  presence  of  the 
minister  just  outside  of  the  house? — A.  If  they  were  members  of  his  legation  I  do  not 
think  there  would  be  any  difference.  If  they  were  not,  in  good  faith,  members  of  his 
legation,  I  should  say  that  after  leaving  the  house  they  were  liable  to  axrest  as  any 
fugitive  would  be  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  legation.  The  Paraguayan  government 
evidently  belieA''ed  that  the  United  States  government  would  not  sustain  Mr.  Washburn 
in  his  claim  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  members  of  his  legation. 

Q.  In  a  dispute  that  may  arise  between  an  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States 
and  the  government  to  which  he  was  sent,  whose  statements  ought  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  to  receive  ? — A.  Clearly  that  of  the  minister  in  all  cases  which  can  influ- 
ence or  change  their  official  conduct. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  interview  with  the  mother  of  Lopez  or  with  his  sisters  ? — A.  No, 
sir. 

Q.  Did  Minister  Washburn  address  you  a  letter  at  Buenos  Ayres,  in  which  he 
requested  you  to  call  upon  the  mother  and  sisters  of  Lopez  and  convey  to  them  the 
regards  of  Mrs.  Washburn  ? — A.  Mr.  Washburn  intrusted  to  me  some  friendly  message, 
such  as  his  regards,  which  I  intended  to  deliver,  but  no  opportunity  offered  during  the 
short  time  I  was  in  Paraguay  to  visit  them  personally,  and  my  sudden  recall  prevented 
me  from  going  to  see  these  ladies  ;  they  lived  in  another  town. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  Lopez  having  children  by  any  other  woman  than  Mrs.  Lynch? — 
A.  I  have  stated  that  I  know  of  but  one.  I  might  add  that  I  think  I  heard  of  the  death 
of  a  daughter. 

Q.  Mr.  Washburn  desires  me  to  ask  whether  you  heard  of  a  monument,  thirty  feet 
high,  being  erected  to  that  daughter  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  said  you  have  learned,  from  correspondence  between  Mr.  Washburn 
and  the  Paraguayan  government,  that  Mr.  Washburn  had  consented  to  keep  Bliss  and 
Masterman  in  his  legation  as  prisoners.  Did  you  understand  from  that  that  they  were 
to  be  prisoners  with  their  OAvn  consent  or  involuntary  prisoners  ? — A.  I  did  not  under- 
stand that  the  offer  was  accepted,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  was  peremptorily  declined 
by  the  Paraguayan  government.  I  suppose  the  offer  was  made  to  keep  them  as  pris- 
oners whether  voluntary  or  involuntary. 

Q.  Mr.  Washburn  requests  that  you  give  your  opinion  as  to  the  motive  of  Lopez  in 
trying  to  connect  him  with  the  conspiracy  and  in  withholding  his  passports. — A.  My 
opinion  is  simply  this:  In  the  first  idace  it  may  be  that  President  Lopez  believed  Mr. 
Washbiu-n  was  guilty  of  conqdicity  in  the  conspiracy  ;  and  if  so,  that  Avould  be  one 
sufficient  motive.  If  the  ground  that  Mr.  Washburn  takes  is  true,  that  Lopez  knew 
he  was  not  implicated,  it  may  be  that  he  acted  through  personal  hostility  to  Mr. 
Washburn.  Mr.  Washburn  had  given  serious  cause  of  oflence  to  the  Paraguayau 
government  in  refusing  to  leave  the  city  of  Asuncion  after  its  evacuation,  and  after  it 
had  been  declared  a  military  x>ost,  a  refusal  which  I  think  should  have  necessitated  Mr. 
Washburn's  immediate  departure  from  the  country.  Now  how  far  Lopez,  who  is  a 
8usj)icious  man,  may  have  believed  in  his  complicity  is  impossible  for  me  to  say.  In 
regard  to  refusing  to  give  passports  I  do  not  know  Vhat  delay  Mr.  Washburn  refers 
to.  1  do  not  remember  the  length  of  time,  but  I  will  answer  frankly  that  I  did  think 
the  Paraguayan  government  were  decidedly  getting  the  better  of  Mr.  Washburn  in 
that  correspondence.  My  impression  was  that  Lopez  through  his  minister  was  playing 
upon  Mr.  Washburn's  fears,  and  thus  compelling  him  to  make  a  most  Inimiliatino- dis- 
play of  himself  and  take  a  course  which  neither  his  government  nor  his  best  friends  would 
approve,  and  that  for  these  reasons  Lopez  desii-ed  to  continue  the  correspondence  as 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  279 

long  as  he  could.  You  will  notice  that  he  never  refused  to  give  the  passports,  but 
simply  delayed  in  furnishing  them.  As  long  as  Mr.  Washburn  acted  upon  the  defensive 
and  undertook  to  explain  in  detail  any  charge,  he  was  placed  very  much  at  a  disad- 
vantage and  wliolly  forgot  his  position  as  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  it  was 
Lopez's  policy,  of  course,  to  continue  the  correspondence.  This  has  been  a  motive  that 
suggested  itself  to  me  in  accounting  for  the  delay  in  issuing  passports.  I  do  not  think 
they  were  refused  at  all,  but  simply  delayed. 

Q.  Did  you  regard  Mr.  Washburn's  house  as  the  legation  of  the  United  States  after 
his  departure?— A.  Necessarily  not ;  but  I  regarded  it  as  the  place  of  deposit  of  the 
archives  and  other  property  which  had  been  left  behind  by  Mr.  Washburn,  and  to 
that  extent  entitled  to  respect  and  protection. 

Q.  Did  you  take  possession  of  the  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  I  did,  by 
authority  of  the  owner  which  I  had  i>reviou8ly  obtained. 

Q.  What  became  of  the  property  left  behind  by  Mr.  Washburn?— A.  I  understood 
it  had  all  been  stolen  by  the  Brazilian  troops  before  my  arrival. 

By  Mr.  Swanx: 

Q.  Wlien  did  you  enter  in  the  Union  army  ? — A.  I  entered  in  1861. 

Q.  With  what  organization  were  you  connected? — A.  I  entered  as  captain  and 
aide-de-cami)  in  tlie  United  States  army. 

Q.  How  long  were  you  in  the  Union  army?— A.  I  served  until  the  close  of  the  war 
and  some  months  after. 

Q.  Were  you  connected  with  the  Irish  brigade?— A.  No,  sir;  not  during  the  war. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  I  became  colonel  of  the  C9th  regiment  of  New  York. 

Q.  You  rose  by  promotion  to  your  present  rank  ? — ^A.  I  did  to  the  rank  of  major 
general  by  brevet. 

Q.  What  were  the  prominent  engagements  in  which  you  appeared? — A.  I  was,  I 
think,  in  all  the  principal  engagements  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  from  the  first 
movement  from  Washington  up  to  the  crossing  of  the  James  River  for  the  siege  of 
Petersburg. 

Q.  Mow  long  after  you  retired  from  the  army  was  your  commission  as  minister  to 
Paraguay  conferred  upon  you? — A.  About  two  years  after. 

Q.  Do  you  know  through  whose  instrumentality  that  j)osition  was  given  you? — A. 
I  was  recommended  by  a  number  of  prominent  gentlemen  here  and  elsewhere  for 
appointment  as  minister  to  Mexico.  I  do  not  know  at  whose  suggestion  I  was 
appointed  as  minister  to  Paraguay.  The  first  notice  I  had  of  it  was  in  a  newspaper 
dispatch. 

Q.  How  long  were  vou  in  Paraguay  ? — A.  I  remained  from  December,  1868,  to  July, 
18(59. 

Q.  When  you  received  your  recall,  by  whom  was  the  order  made  ? — A.  I  was  recalled 
by  President  Grant.  It  was  during  the  connection  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburne  with  the 
State  Dci)artmeut,  and  the  recall  was  sent  by  him. 

Q.  Had  you  been  aware  of  any  dissatisfaction  with  your  public  course,  and  were 
you  surprised  when  you  learned  of  your  recall  ? — A.  I  was  very  much  surprised.  No 
dissatisfaction  with  my  public  course  had  beeii  expressed.  On  the  contrary,  the  dis- 
patches which  came  at  the  same  time  with  my  recall  conveyed  the  approval  of  the 
State  Department  of  my  conduct  in  Paraguay,  and  I  have  since  received  from  the 
department  a  very  strong  approval  of  my  latter  course  there.  * 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  From  the  time  you  went  there  till  you  came  away  what  communication  did  you 
have  with  the  government  of  the  United' States? — A.  None  whatever  after  going  into 
the  interior  up  to  the  time  of  my  recall.  All  my  communications  had  been  persistently 
interrupted  by  the  allies. 

Q.  Then  the  United  States  government  did  not  have  any  communication  from  you, 
and  nothing  to  approve  or  disapprove? — A.  Yes,  sir;  they  approved  my  course  in  regard 
to  Bliss  and  Masterman,  in  regard  to  which  they  had  full  information. 

Q.  By  whom  were  these  dispatches  of  approval  signed  ? — ^A.  The  first  by  iMr.  Seward, 
and  the  later  one  by  Mr.  Fish. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Fish  approve  of  your  conduct  in  regard  to  Bliss  and  Masterman? — A.  No, 
sir ;  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  that ;  that  had  all  been  disposed  of  by  previous  dis- 
patches, and  I  believe  it  is  not  customary  to  duplicate  approvals  unnecessarily.  I 
speak  of  transactions  about  the  time  of  my  leaving  Paraguay,  which  were  the  only 
matters  in  regard  to  which  I  had  to  take  olficial  action. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  During  your  residence  as  minister  to  the  Paraguayan  government,  how  many 
American  citizens  were  inhabiting  the  republic  of  Paraguay  ? — A.  Two,  as  far  as  I 
knew.    I  have  never  learned  of  any  others. 

Q.  What  diplomatic  intercourse  with  reference  to  the  settlement  of  any  question  was 
had  between  you  and  the  Paraguayan  government  as  minister  ? — A.  There  was  a  case 


280  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

of  reclamation  for  property  taken  for  tlio  use  of  tlie  army  in  Corrientes  whicli  is  not 
yet  finally  settled.  The  only  point,  other  than  I  have  named,  were  verbal  commmiica- 
tions  to  the  Paraguayan  President  in  regard  to  negotiations  for  peace;  but  as  a  good 
part  of  them  were  regarded  as  confidential  as  between  President  Lopez  and  myself, 
in  liiy  ciipacity  as  minister,  very  little  of  it  went  into  the  diplomatic  correspondence. 
1  also  liad  a  communication  subsequently  in  regard  to  the  question  as  to  the  allied 
prisoners.    There  was  a  long  controversy  about  that. 

Q.  In  this  matter  of  communicating  with  Lopez,  had  you  had  any  instractions  from 
the  home  government  ?— A.  I  never  had  any ;  1  acted  on  my  own  volition.  I  had  gen- 
eral instructions. 

Q.  Among  the  prisoners  in  whose  behalf  you  corresponded  with  Lopez,  were  there 
any  American  citizens  ?— A.  I  think  not ;  they  were  allied  soldiers. 

Q.  Was  there  any  matter  of  interest  to  your  government  requiring  your  attention 
at  any  time  while  you  were  minister  to  Paraguay,  and  during  your  residence  there  ? — 
A.  I  think  the  mere  presence  of  a  minister  tliere  was  important  to  this  government, 
.for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  this  cause  of  republican  independence  in  South  America, 
which,  whatever  may  be  said  for  or  against  Lopez,  he  certainly  represents;  and  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  to  our  government  certain  commercial  advantages  on  the  river  La 
Plata,  in  case  Lopez  was  successful  in  the  war.  There  was  little  that  touched  any 
individual  citizens  there. 

Q.  You  state  that  the  residence  of  a  minister  there  is  important,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  Paraguay  is  a  repiibllc ;  let  me  ask  you  whether  the  individual  subject  or  citizen 
of  Brazil  is  not  more  fully  protected  in  his  individual  rights  under  his  government  than 
the  citizen  of  the  republic  of  Paraguay  ?— A.  I  am  not  competent  to  pass  upon  this 
question,  because  I  cannot  state  what  independence  the  Brazilian  subject  enjoys,  except 
having  seen  "volunteers"  for  the  Brazilian  army,  Avho  had  come  from  the  interior  in 
chains  and  under  guard,  two  and  two,  to  be  sent  to  the  ariny.  The  Paraguayans  are  a 
very  peculiar  people.  They  talk  a  great  deal  about  liberty,  but  they  confound  liberty 
and  independence.  They  have  a  iiassionate  love  of  independence,  but,  as  far  as  personal 
liberty  is  concerned  there  is  very  little  of  it  in  Paraguay,  as  we  understand  it. 
They  'have  always  been  accustomed  to  an  arbitrary  sort  of  government,  with  which 
they  are  supposed  to  have  notlung  to  do  except  to  follow  their  own  avocations ;  but 
when  the  question  of  independence  of  a  foreign  nation  comes  up,  there  never  has 
been  a  people  who  have  shown  a  stronger  love  of  independence  than  the  Paraguayans, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  or  who  would  more  readily  die  to  preserve  it. 

Q.  You  say  that  you  have  ascertained  that  there  are  two  Americans  in  Paraguay; 
did  either  of  these' Americans  call  upon  you  in  any  official  capacity  to  act  in  their 
behalf;  and  if  so,  under  what  circumstances?— A.  Never  to  act  otHciaUy  in  their  behalf. 
They  called  upon  me  socially;  and  one  of  thein  mentioned  that  he  had  property  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  gOA'ernmcnt  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  and  which  he 
thought  constituted  just  ground  for  reclamation.  I  tohl  him  that  if  he  wanted  to 
present  the  claim  I  thought  the  time  was  inopportune;  that  he  had  better  wait  until 
the  close  of  the  war;  bat  that  1  would  call  the  attention  of  the  minister  to  the  subject, 
Avhich  I  did  in  a  personal  interview.  This  w^as  inmiediately  previous  to  my  leaving 
the  country. 

Q.  Please  state  more  fully  your  reasons  for  thinking  this  government  ought  to  have 
a  minister  in  Paraguay. — A.  As  I  have  already  stated,  I  think  that  I^opez  is  now  con- 
tending for  the  cause  of  republican  independence  in  South  America.  If  Brazil  suc- 
ceeds in  the  destruction  of  Paraguay,  the  desti'uction  of  the  Argentine  Republic  will 
follow,  as  that  of  Uruguay  as  an  independent  power  has  preceded,  and  the  entire  con- 
trol of  the  La  Plata  and  its  tribntarjes  will  tall  into  the  hands  of  Brazil;  and  the 
policy  of  Brazil  has  always  been  exclusive:  they  have  always  contended  against  the 
free  naA'igatiou  of  the  T^a  Plata  and  its  tributaries ;  and  when,  years  ago,  it  was  secured 
to  the  world  by  treaties  made  by  Paraguay  with  the  great  powers  of  the  woi-ld,  Brazil 
and  Buenos  Ayres  protested  against  the  treaties.  In  the  treaty  of  the  tiiple  alliance, 
moreover,  among  other  stipnlations  tliere  is  one,  that,  upon  the  destruction  of  Lojiez 
in  Paraguay,  the  La  Plata  and  its  tributaries  shall  be  free  for  the  fiags  of  the  allied 
nations,  and  such  other  riparian  powers  as  they  may  admit  to  such  privilege;  irom 
which  the  inference  may  be  drawn  that  it  is  not  to  be  free  for  other  governments. 
Brazil  has  neither  the  energy  nor  the  population  to  develop  that  country  nor  her  own; 
and  it  will  always  remain  just  as  the  northern  and  interior  provinces' of  the  empire 
remain  now,  undeveloped,  with  no  connnerce  whatever.  I  think,  on  the  contrary,  that 
if  Paraguay  retains  its  independence,  and  especially  through  the  indiieuce  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  United  States  can  develop  a  nuignificent  commerce  on  that  rivor.  I 
think  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  resources  of  Paraguay,  in  cotton,  sugar,  rice, 
tobacco,  rare  woods,  medicines,  marbles,  and  minerals,  far  surpass  those  of  all  the  other 
South  American  countries,  and  1  tliinii  the  ettect  of  our  continuing  a  minister  in  Para- 
guay would  be  to  secure  for  this  country  very  great  commercial  advantages,  as 
well  as  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  rex»ublican  sentiment  of  the  continent  of 
South  America,  and  also  tend  to  jireserve  our  i)restige  in  South  America.,  which  has  been 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  i28l 

greatly  impaired  by  tlie  withdrawal  of  our  minister  from  Paraguay;  a  fact  which,  not 
being  as  well  understood  elsewhere  as  it  is  by  many  people  here,  creates  the  belief  that 
in  this  great  crisis  through  which  the  southern  continent  is  passing,  the  United  States, 
which  ought  to  be  the  natural  protector  of  republics,  •  especially  against  an  empire 
based  on  human  slavcrj',  is  indifferent  or  even  hostile  in  sentiment  to  that  republic, 
which  is  making  one  of  the  most  heroic  fights  ever  witnessed  against  a  most  powerful 
but  unnatural  alliance.  In  comparison  with  these  considerations  I  regard  even  Mr. 
Washburn's  vindication  unimportant. 

Q.  How  do  you  understand  these  objects  can  be  effected  by  the  residence  of  an 
American  minister  in  Paraguay? — A.  The  allies  have  all  along  tried  to  alienate  the 
sympathies  of  foreign  nations,  and  especially  of  the  United  States,  from  Paraguay  and 
the  Paraguayan  cause.  They  worked  unceasingly  while  I  was  in  Paraguay  to  excite 
such  fears  for  my  personal  safety  as  would  induce  my  withdrawal.  The  withdrawal  of 
the  American  minister  leaves  Paraguay  perfectly  isolated,  without  any  means  whatever 
of  representing  its  cause  to  this  or  any  other  government.  It  remains  shut  out  com- 
pletely IVom  the  world  and  loses  the  moral  prestige  of  having  an  American  minister 
there ;  and  so  far  as  representations  to  other  nations  is  concerned,  the  Paraguayan  gov- 
ernment will  remain  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  trained  system  of  falsehood  of  the 
allies,  which  is  far  more  vigorous  than  their  arms. 

Q.  Do  you  understand  that  it  is  any  part  of  the  duty  of  an  American  minister  to  act 
as  a  missionary  for  the  sx)read  of  republicanism  ? — A.  No,  sir;  but  it  is  part  of  his  duty 
to  tell  the  truth.  When  this  war  commenced  the  United  States  was  represented  by  a 
minister  accredited  to  the  government  of  Paraguay.  The  war  is  not  concluded,  and  I 
see  no  reason  why,  during  the  struggle,  our  minister  should  be  withdrawn  from  one  of 
the  belligerents  and  not  irom  the  others,  thereby  creating  an  impression  among  those 
who  do  not  know  the  circumstances  of  the  withdrawal,  that  the  United  States  has 
abandoned  this  gallant  little  republic  which  is  lighting  its  battles  for  independence,  and 
that  our  sympathies  are  with  her  enemies. 

Q.  From  what  you  know,  do  you  regard  the  government  existing  in  Paraguay  as 
entitling  it  to  the  name  of  a  republic?— A.  Certainly.  It  has  an  elective  President; 
I  have  nothing  to  say  as  to  the  mode  by  which  he  is  elected;  it  is  not  the  province  of  a 
minister  to  investigate  that  subject;  in  my  judgm§nt  it  is  a  form  of  government 

i>eculiarly  adapted  to  the  Paraguayan  people,  and  under  any  other  form  of  government 
'.  think  these  x>eople  will,  at  least  for  a  time,  rapidly  degenerate. 

Q.  Then  the  only  reimblican  principle  you  have  discovered  in  that  government  is 
the  fact  that  the  president  is  elected? — A.  I  have  not  said  so. 

Q.  Will  you  state  how  that  election  occurs  ? — A.  I  do  not  know ;  I  know  that  he  is 
elected  by  a  Congress.  Ho  is  elected,  I  believe,  according  to  the  forms  of  their  consti- 
tution, and  it  is  their  affair  not  ours  if  he  is  not. 

Q.  That  Congress,  I  understand,  meets  once  in  ten  years,  for  the  purpose  of  electing 
a  president,  and  has  no  other  functions  to  perform ;  do  you  consider  that  act  as  suffi- 
cient to  constitute  a  republican  government  ?— A.  I  think  that  any  government  which 
is  maintaine<l  by  the  consent,  and  its  chief  magistracy  transmitted  by  the  vote,  of  the 
people  is  republican  in  form. 


Additional  Statement  of  Hon.  Charles  A.  Washburn 

Washington,  D.  C,  Novemler  15, 1869. 

Charles  A.  Washbukn  appeared  and  was  allowed  to  make  the  following  additional 
statement : 

When  I  gave  my  former  testimony  I  could  not  understand  or  explain  so  well  as  I  can 
now  the  origin  of  the  idea  in  Lopez's  mind  that  there  was  something  going  on  opposed 
to  his  orders.  1  did  not  believe  then,  nor  do  I  believe  now,  that  there  ever  was  any- 
thing like  a  conspiracy  there.  On  the  21st  of  February,  1868,  at  nightfall,  I  lirst  learned 
that  the  Brazilian  iron-clads  had  passed  above  Humaita,  and  I  supposed,  and  all  around 
me  supposed,  that  Lopez  was  completely  invested  in  his  position,  and  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  escape,  or  at  least  for  his  army  to  escape.  I  have  since  seen  a 
copy  of  a  letter  written  by  the  Vice-President,  Sanchez,  by  which  it  appears  that  the 
minister  (Berges)  of  foreign  affairs  had  received  notice  two  days  earlier  of  the  passage 
of  the  iron-clads,  and  it  appears  from  that  letter  that  when  they  learned  this  the  mili- 
tary commander  there  called  together  the  higher  officers  of  the  government  to  deliber- 
ate upon  what  they  should  do;  and  they  decided,  after  consultation,  that  though  they 
had  scarcely  anything  to  oppose  to  the  iron-clads  if  they  came  up  the  river,  yet  with 
such  force  as  they  had  they  must  make  the  attempt.  They  accordingly  put  the  little 
fort  which  they  had  to  oppose  to  them  in  as  good  a  position  as  possible.  On  the  23d 
or  24th  of  February,  two  iron-clads  approached,  and  we  all  supposed  that  the  day  of 
deliverance  had  come.    They  commenced  firing  upon  the  fort.    The  fort  had  nothing 


282  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

to  oppose  but  one  large  150-pounder,  which  was  very  badly  mounted,  and  which,  I 
learned,  could  not  be  depressed  sufficiently  to  strike  anywhere  near  the  irou-clads. 
They  had  a  few  old  and  small  pieces— two  or  three — which  they  lired  three  or  four 
times.  They  fired  the  big  gi>n  probably  twice,  and  found  that  her  shots  could  do  no 
damage.  The  iron-clads  lired  about  thirty-five  or  forty  times,  doing  no  damage  to  the 
fort  and  scarcely  any  to  the  town.  After  that  brave  display  they  turned  tail  and  ran 
away.  Lopez,  when  ho  learned  that  his  ministers  had  been  in  council  as  to  what  they 
shoTild  do,  immediately  summoned  Sauchez,  Berges,  and  some  others  to  his  headquarters 
at  Humaita.  Before  that  time,  his  brother-in-law,  Bedoya,  had  been  called  down  and 
was,  as  it  appears  from  this  letter,  in  very  bad  repute  with  the  President.  After  a 
time,  however,  when  Lopez  retreated  from  Humaita,  these  ministers  accompanied  him 
or  followed  him.  Sanchez  and  Berges  were  sent  to  Asuncion ;  but  it  appears  from  this 
letter  that  Bedoya,  being.pressed  to  confess  what  he  had  already  done— being  tortured, 
as  I  understand— he  began  to  accuse  others.  Benigno  Lopez  was  called  below.  I  think 
lie  was  called  below  even  before  Lopez  had  retreated  from  Humaita;  and  then  Bedoya 
in  his  torture  began  by  accusing  others.  Benigno  was  called,  and  in  his  torture  he  did 
the  same  thing,  and  gradually  all  the  principal  men  were  arrested  and  put  to  the  tor- 
ture, and  tortured  until  they  either  died  or  would  implicate  other  people,  so  that  the 
result  was,  all  the  best  people  in  Paraguay  were  linally  accused,  taken  to  headquarters, 
and  tortured  until  they  confessed  all  that  Lopez  required  of  them,  or  died  from  the 
effects  of  torture.    If  they  did  not  die  they  were  subsequently  executed. 

I  also  wish  to  state  something  concerning  the  origin  of  the  war,  as  I  was  present  in 
Asuncion  at  the  time  and  know  all  the  facts,  or  most  of  them.  Lopez,  when  he  began 
his  great  military  operations  early  in  the  year  1864,  had,  to  all  appearance,  no  idea  of 
making  war  upon  Brazil.  Most  of  the  articles  which  he  had  published  in  his 
Seminario,  of  a  warlike  character,  Avere  directed  against  the  Argentine  Republic.  It 
was  evident  that  he  wanted  to  make  war  against  somebody  for  the  niilitary  fame  it 
would  give  him,  as  well  as  to  enable  him  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  his  dominions. 
It  was  believed  by  all  foreigners,  and  such  Paraguayans  as  I  was  very  intimate  with,  that 
he  intended  to  have  himself  declared  Emperor.  It  is  also  believed  that  he  had  the 
expectation  or  the  hope  that  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  having  acknowledged  him  as 
Emperor  of  Paraguay,  would  give  him  one  of  his  daughters  for  an  Empress.  But  he 
learned  during  the  summer  that  tlie  Emperor  had  othcir  designs,  and  that  his  two 
daughters  were  to  be  married  to  European  princes.  Then  he  began  to  assail  Brazil 
through  his  newspaper,  and  threaten  to  interfere  with  the  military  operations  of 
Brazil  against  the  Bando  Oriental,  or  Uruguay,  and  after  more  or  less  correspondence 
with  the  Brazilian  government  through  its  minister  Vienna  di  Lima,  he  sent  a  note, 
written  by  Jos6  Berges — the  same  whom  he  afterwards  accused  as  a  conspirator,  tortured 
and  executed — his  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  in  which  he  intimated  vaguely  that  if  Brazil 
did  not  desist  from  her  coutemi)lated  operations,  Paraguay  would  be  at  liberty  to  take 
up  the  cause  of  Uruguay  in  defense  of  the  balance  of  power.  This  vague  intimation 
was  given  in  these  words:  "His  Excellency,  the  President  of  the  Republic,  has  ordered 
the  undersigned  to  declare  to  your  Excellency,  as  the  representative  of  his  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Brazil,  that  the  government  of  the  republic  of  Paraguay  will  consider  as 
infringing  on  the  equilibrium  of  the  states^  on  the  La  Plata,  any  occupation  by  the 
military  forces  of  Montevidean  territory  from  the  motives  named  in  the  ultimatum  of 
the  4th  instant,  sent  to  the  Oriental  government  by  the  special  minister  plenipotoitiary 
of  the  Emperor,  as  that  equilibrium  interests  Paraguay  as  a  guarantee  of  her  safety, 
peace,  and  prosperity ;  and  iliat  he^n'otesls  in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  such  an  act,  re- 
lieving himself  of  all  responsibilitg  as  to  the  results  of  ihis  declaration.''^ 

This  was  on  the  30th  of  August.  It  has  been  often  asserted  that  Lopez  had  notified 
Brazil  that  if  it  did  not  desist  it  would  be  an  act  of  war  against  Paraguay.  This  is  all 
the  notice  he  had  given,  and  nobody  in  Brazil  or  Buenos  Ayres  regarded  it  as  such  a 
notice.  That  Brazil  did  not  I'egard  it  as  such  a  notice  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  her 
packet  steamer  went  her  usual  trip  to  Paraguay  intending  to  pass  up  to  the  upper 
provinces  of  Matto  Grosso,  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  Nobody  in  Paraguay,  so 
far  as  I  knew,  had  any  suspicion  that  war  was  to  follow  because  of  that  declaration, 
and  Lopez  himself  did  not  intend  it  should  follow  until  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  that 
steamer.  And  I  was  informed  in  a  manner  that  leaves  no  room  for  doubt — indeed  I 
know — that  the  steamer  which  arrived  in  Asuncion  on  the  morning  of  the — th  of 
October,  18G4,  had  brought  letters  to  Lopez  as  to  a  friendly  i>ower,  and  one  of  those 
letters  gave  him  the  information  that  there  were  sonuj  arms  on  board  of  this  steamer, 
the  Marquez  de  Olinda,  and  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  money.  Lopez  Avas  then  at 
his  military  cami)  in  Cerra  Leon,  some  twelve  leagues  from  Asuncion,  the  capital.  The 
steamer  had  on  board  a  new  governor— -or  rather  president — for  the  upper  province  of 
Matto  Grosso,  and  some  other  oflicials  of  lesser  grade.  It  took  on  board  coal  and  fresh 
provisions,  and  about  one  o'clock  started  to  resume  its  trip.  Lopez  received  these 
letters  from  below  and  gave  orders  that  his  war  steamer,  the  Tacuari,  should  pursue 
the  Marques  de  Olinda  and  bring  her  back.  It  started  off  that  night,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  second  day  after,  the  two  steamers  were  anchored  in  front  of  Asuncion. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  283 

Tlie  new  governor  of  Malto  Grosso,  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Marquez  de  Olinda,  and 
all  the  other  Brazilians,  were  made  prisoners  and  were  kept  so  until  they  died  of  their 
sufferings  or  were  executed.  The  steamer  was  declared  a  prize  and  converted  into  a 
Paraguayan  war  steamer,  and  Brazil  had  no  notice  whatever  except  this  vague 
intimation  of  the  30th  of  August.  The  port  was  effectually  closed ;  nobody  could  leave 
Paraguay.  The  minister  could  not  leave;  no  means  were  offered  him,  and'he  applied  to 
me,  as  being  the  senior  or  dean  of  the  diplomatic  body  there,  to  intervene  and  obtain 
him  the  means  of  leaving  the  country.  I  did  so.  I  had  a  long  correspondence  with 
Berges,  Lopez's  minster,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  the  Brazilian  minister,  his  large  family, 
and  all  his  suite  were  to  be  kept  prisoners  in  Paraguay.  I  went  out  to  Lo])'ez's  camp 
and  had  a  long  interview  with  him.  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  understand  that  he  had 
commenced  the  war  according  to  the  laws  of  war;  that  I  did  not  miderstand  even  then 
that  war  had  begun.  But  he  said  it  had;  it  was  a  state  of  war.  I  told  him  then  that 
the  minister  had  an  undeniable  right  to  leave  the  country,  and  in  a  way  consistent 
with  the  comfort  and  dignity  of  a  minister.  He  told  me  that  he  could  leave  when  he 
pleased ;  he  had  his  passports.  I  told  him  he  could  not  leave,  because  no  vessels  were 
allowed  to  go  down  the  river.  Ho  said  he  could  go  by  laud.  I  told  him  that  with 
his  large  family  and  the  roads  being  imx^assable  from  there  to  Corrientes,  that  it  would 
be  next  to  an  impossibility,  that  it  would  be  at  gi-eat  risk  of  the  lives  of  the  ladies 
and  children  of  his  family,  and  that  if  he  did  not  allow  them  to  go,  I  should  be  com- 
pelh'd  to  make  my  protest  against  that  invasion  of  the  rights  of  le^fatiou,  and  if  my 
protest  was  not  respected,  I  should  then  ask  my  passports.  Lopez,  alter  a  great  deal  of 
wujgl'uHj  and  wriggling,  said  he  would  send  them  away  provided  that  he  would  give  a 
guarantee  both  to  him  and  to  the  United  States  government  through  me,  that  the 
vessel  that  went  to  take  him  should  be  permitted  to  return  unmolested.  I  accepted 
the  proposition,  and  returned  to  the  capital,  and  yet  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
additional  correspondence,  which  resulted,  however,  in  his  providing  a  steamer,  and 
Vienna  de  Lima  and  his  family  got  away.  Ho  believed  then  that  he  owed  his  escape 
entirely  to  me.  And  I  have  been  informed  since — ho  told  Mr.  Kirk,  our  minister  at 
Buenos  Ayres — that  he  was  satisfied  from  the  subsequent  developments  of  Lopez's 
character,  that  he  and  his  whole  family  owed  their  lives  to  my  interference,  and  yet 
for  this  service  I  have  never  received  any  recognition  or  acknowledgment  from  the 
Brazilian  government,  and  nothing  but  incivility  *^from  its  military  and  naval 
commanders. 

Now  as  atttsmpts  have  been  made  to  invalidate  the  testimony  of  the  memorialists  to 
Congress,  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  I  wish  to  put  in  the  statements  made  by  other 
parties  Avho  have  escaped  from  Paraguay  since  I  did.  There  is  the  statement  of  Mr. 
Alopzo  Taylor,  whom  I  knew  very  well  in  Asuncion — a  most  worthy  and  truthful 
man.  He  describes  his  sufferings,  his  arrest,  his  torture,  and  in  every  respect  his 
narrative  confiruis  that  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  It  was  stated  by  one  witness  before 
this  committee,  that  he  had  reason  to  believe,  or  had  been  told,  that  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  had  not  been  tortured.  Mr.  Taylor  in  his  declaration  staies  that  when  everybody 
Avas  being  tortured,  he  saw  Masterman  brought  in  with  his  face  bloody,  from  which  he 
inferred,  of  coui-se,  that  he  had  been  tortured.    [Statement  appended,  marked  A.] 

I  also  give  the  statement  as  made  by  Captain  Don  Adolfo  Saguier,  a  Paraguayan  officer, 
whose  testimony  is  similar  to  that  of  Mr.  Taylor,  and  in  all  xespects  confirms  it. 
[Statement  ajjpended,  marked  B.] 

Then  I  Avould  like  to  put  in  some  papers  for  what  they  are  worth,  which  were  taken 
from  Lopez's  camp  after  the  battle  of  Lomas  Valentinas,  December  27,  1868.  I  will 
state  that  the  evidence  I  have  that  they  were  taken  from  Lopez's  camp  is,  first,  the  faeo 
of  them,  and  second,  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Worthington  that  he  saw  th<i  original  of 
one  of  the  principal  papers  in  the  hands  of  the  Argentine  officials,  and  did  not  doubt 
it  was  what  it  purported  to  be.     [Appended,  marked  C] 

I  a;lso  wish  to  give  the  statement  of  Don  Matias  Goiburu  which  he  made  after  he  had 
escaped  from  Lopez.  He  was  one  of  the  fiscales  of  Lojjez  and  superintended  some  of 
his  tortures,  and  in  this  statement  he  tells  how  he  was  compelled  to  do  the  most 
atrocious  acts.  There  was  always  a  spy  standing  over  him  to  report  immediately  to 
Lopez  any  delinquency,  and  he  was  forced  from  fear  and  terror  to  do  the  most  terrible 
things,  knowing  that  if  he  hesitated  they  would  be  visited  upon  him.  [Appended, 
marked  D.] 

I  would  like  to  make  a  statement,  also,  in  reference  to  the  remarks  of  General 
McMahon  about  my  having  erred  in  continuing  the  correspondence  as  I  did.  I  will 
state  that  when  I  received  these  formidable  letters— after  several  persons  who  had  been 
in  my  legation  had  left  and  I  feared  had  gone  to  their  destruction— and  my  fears  I 
have  since  found  were  correct— Mr.  Bliss,  Mr.  Masterman,  and  myself,  debated  very 
anxiously  as  to  the  course  we  should  pursue  when  I  was  implicated.  I  proposed  that 
I  should  send  back  that  letter  and  refuse  to  continue  any  such  correspondence. 
They  said— and  I  was  very  much  of  their  opinion— that  such  an  act  on  my  part 
would  insure  their  immediate  seizure,  and  I  considered,  after  much  reflection,  that  it 
was  my  duty  to  forget  to  a  certain  extent  the  dignity  of  my  position  and  prolong  the 


284  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATIOJT. 

correspondence,  until  a  gnnhoat  should  come  to  our  rescue ;  that  I  should  answer 
those  letters,  and  make  very  long  answers  that  would  take  him  some  time  fco  answer — 
so  long  that  Lopez  conkl  not  complain  that  I  did  not  answer.  His  letters  were 
immensely  long,  and  therefore  I  wrote  those  letters  and  did  jirolong  the  correspondence 
until  the  Wtisp  arrived ;  and  if  you  will  notice  the  last  long  letter  signed  by  Caminos, 
you  will  observe  and  be  surprised  at  its  inconsequential  ending.  That  letter,  as  I  have 
every  reason  to  believe  from  its  intrinsic  character,  was  written  before  the  Wasp  had 
arrived,  with  the  intention  of  seizing  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  denouncing  them. 
It  was  a  long  recapitulation  of  what  purported  to  be  declarations  from  his  minister  of 
foreign  afl'airs,  Berges,  from  his  two  brothers,  from  his  chief  justice,  and  from  Carreras 
and  Rodriguez— not  a  word  of  truth  in  any  of  them.  He  prepared  his  letter,  I  am 
fully  persuaded,  intending  to  say  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  be  taken  im- 
mediately, and  before  he  got  ready  to  send  it  the  Wasp  came  up  and  he  didn't  send  it. 
If  he  had  taken  them  I  was  well  aAvaro  that  he  would  have  them  tortured  and  that 
they  would  make  declarations  and  he  would  send  what  x>urported  to  be  their  declar- 
ation— of  a  similar  character  to  those  that  had  been  made  by  Benigno  Lopez,  Vincenzo, 
Berges,  his  chief  jnstice,  and  all  the  others— and  after  that  I  should  be  advised  that  they 
had  evidence  that  the  conspiracy  was  still  going  ou  or  something  to  that  effect,  and  I 
should  have  been  taken.  That  is  the  opinion,  I  believe,  of  all  the  people  who  were  in  ' 
Paraguay  at  the  time.  I  have  been  informed  by  two  or  three  that  I  have  since  seen,  that 
they  were  expecting  to  see  me  every  day  brought  there  as  a  prisoner  to  headquarters. 
General  McMahon  may  know  better  about  this  than  I  do ;  but  if  Lopez  played  upon 
my  fears,  then  why  did  he  send  that  letter  of  accusation  against  me — that  last  one  ? 
I  will  say,  moreover,  that  we  were  in  daily  and  hourly  expectation  that  the  house 
would  be  entered  and  Bliss  and  Masterman  taken  away.  They  were  in  such  ex- 
pectation of  it  that  each  had  a  little  carpet-bag  ready  with  certain  things  in  it  sucii 
as  a  comb  and  a  little  change  of  linen,  &c.,  expecting  to  have  the  police  euter  and  take 
them  away  suddenly,  and  hoped  they  could  pick  up  that  satchel  and  carry  it  with  them ; 
and  I  was  persuaded,  and  am  jiersuaded,  that  Lopez  was  ou  the  point  of  searching  my 
house;  I  had  a  great  many  manuscri pts  there  that  I  had  written  myself,  and  I  was 
afraid  he  would  get  hold  of  them,  and  if  he  had,  neither  they  nor  I  would  ever  have  left 
Paraguay.  They  will  be  published  if  I  ever  get  time  to  complete  my  book.  They 
were  what  I  had  written  myself  of  his  government  and  character.  For  some  time  I 
Lad  a  fire  in  the  oven  of  my  kitchen  with  instructions  to  my  wife  on  the  ax>proach  of 
the  police  to  rush  into  the  kitchen  and  put  them  into  the  fire.  Now  I  might  have 
acted  without  sufiicient  cause,  but  I  had  been  in  Paraguay  longer  than  General 
McMahon  had,  and  I  know  the  truth  a  great  deal  better  than  he  does. 

I  will  pass  now  to  the  time  when  I  left  the  legation.  General  McMahon  says,  in  his 
testimony,  that  after  I  left  the  legation  Bliss  and  Masterman  followed.  I  had  sent  my 
wife,  children,  and  servants  ahead,  as  uiy  wife  was  particularly  anxious  not  to  see  or 
be  present  at  the  scene  of  their  arrest,  as  we  were  satisfied  they  would  be  arrested. 
We  were  satisfied,  all  of  us,  (Bliss  and  Masterman,  particularly,  were  satisfied,)  that  the 
less  we  did  to  enrage  Lopez  the  better  it  would  be,  for  we  feared,  until  the  last  moment, 
that  I  should  not  get  away.  I  feared  and  apprehended  1  should  be  stopi)ed  there  alter 
I  got  aboard  of  his  little  steamer,  particularly  for  this  reason  :  Masterman  had  some 
property,  all  he  had  in  the  woiid,  amounting  to  some  two  thousand  dollars  or  more, 
which  he  had  made  over  to  me;  made  a  pa])er,  saying:  "  In  consequence  of  the  great 
kindness  you  have  shown  me,  I  hereby  make  you  a  present  of  all  my  property  I  have 
got  in  Paraguay."  I  took  that  paper,  though  I  told  him  I  would  rather  put  a  hundred 
I)ound8  to  his  credit  than  venture  to  take  them,  yet  I  would  take  them.  I  sent  them 
aboard  the  steamer.  They  were  four  days  aboard  the  steamer  before  I  was  permitted 
to  embark,  and  nearly  all  my  own  baggage  was  ou  board.  I  apprehended  that  Lopez 
would  wish  to  detain  that,  and  would  detain  it — that  property  of  Masterman's — and 
make  it  a  pretext  for  detaining  me,  saying  I  was  carrying  away  the  property  of  con- 
spirators, and  the  evidence  of  the  conspiracy,  or  something  of  that  kind.  But  I  took 
it  nevertheless,  and  we  started  to  leave  the  house.  The  two  consuls,  Italian  and  French, 
were  there  to  accompany  me  doAvn  to  the  boat,  and  I  wanted  them  for  witnesses, 
though  Mr.  Cuberville  told  me,  the  day  of  my  departure,  that  he  was  apprehensive  oj 
being  arrested  at  any  moment.  "I  didn't  know  but  what  I  might  have  fetters  on  my 
ankles,  and  be  in  prison  before  night,"  he  said.  We  started.  I  got  to  the  front  door, 
and  I  happened  to  think  my  servant  had  left  my  hat  box,  and  I  returned  and  picked 
up  my  hat  box  myself,  and  came  back.  We  walked  along  the  corridor  about  half  way, 
when  Masterman,  who  is  a  little  fool  and  of  immense  conceit,  i>roposed  to  deliver  him- 
self up.  The  police  in  front  had  gathered  around,  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty,  when 
Masterman  proposed  to  deliver  himself  up.  It  was  a  largo  house  with  a  corridor  in  front. 
We  had  got  about  half  way  from  the  door  to  the  corner,  along  the  corridor,  when  Mas- 
terman says:  ''If  they  are  going  to  take  us  they  may  just  as  well  do  it  here,"  and  was 
going  to  deliver  himself  into  their  hands.  I  said:  "No;  don't  deliver  yourself  up; 
make  them  take  you."  I  was  angry,  and  I  was  frightened  at  the  stupidity  of  the  fellow, 
and  says  I :  "  Come  along  and  make  them  take  you."    We  got  to  the  coruer  of  the  house ; 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  285 

I  was  a  little  ahead  of  the  two  consuls;  one  was  at  my  right,  not  a  foot  in  my  rear,  and 
Bliss  and  Masterman  were  in  my  rear,  probably  not  four  or  five  feet  from  me.  Just  as 
quick  as  I  stepped  down  they  rushed  in  and  grabbed  Bliss  and  Masterman  ;  there  were 
twenty  or  thirty  of  them.  I  stepped  along,  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  across  the 
street,  and  turned  around.  Masterman  stopped  a  little,  and  raised  his  hat  and  said : 
"Good-bye,  Mr.  Washburn;  don't  forget  us."  I  sung  out :  '•  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  for 
you."  I  knew  these  men  did  not  understand  a  word  I  said  ;  if  they  had  I  would  not  havo 
said  it.  Bliss,  in  the  meanwhile,  was  just  being  pushed  along,  and  they  were  taken 
off,  and  that  is  the  last  I  saw  of  them. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Did  you  think  that  was  violating  the  flag  f— A.  Well,  I  told  Lopez,  as  soon  as  I 
got  under  the  flag  and  beyond  his  power,  that  that  was  as  gross  a  violation  of  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  as  though  they  had  entered  my  house  and  taken  them.  I  am  yet 
of  that  opinion.  Now  I  will  speak  of  the  condition  of  the  mother  and  sisters  of  Lopez, 
whom  General  McMahon  spoke  of  as  being  so  kindly  treated  by  her  beloved  son,  and 
state  what  I  know.  I  was  the  only  person,  I  think,  for  months,  that  dared  to  go  near 
her  house  without  the  permission  of  her  bio;,  brutal  sou.  I  have  been  there,  and  she 
and  her  daughter  Raphaella,  whose  husband  Lopez  tortured  until  he  died  under  torture, 
have  told  me  they  were  kept  prisoners  in  their  house ;  that  nobody  dared  to  go  near 
them ;  that  their  son  Venancio  could  not  come  without  permission  of  his  big  brother ; 
neither  could  their  medical  attendant.  They  were  worse  off',  they  said,  than  anybody 
else.  They  said  they  hoped  I  would  never  leave  the  country ;  that  I  would  probably 
be  able  to  give  protection  at  the  last  moment,  and  it  was  as  clear  as  the  sun  at  noon- 
day that  they  wore  hopin^;  for  deliverance  at  the  hands  of  the  allies.  They  had  more 
confidence  in  me  than  in  their  blood  relative,  a  great  deal.  I  told  them  I  would  do  the 
best  I  could  to  remain;  that  it  was  very  unpleasant,  and  I  wanted  to  get  away,  but  I 
hoped  in  the  final  catastrophe  I  might  be  of  service,  and  I  would  try  and  »tay.  I  staid 
until  the  Wasp  came,  and  I  knew  if  I  had  asked  for  passports  before  this  order  for  the 
evacuation  of  the  town  had  come,  that  Lopez  would  not  have  given  them  to  me. 

Now  I  Avill  speak  about  my  dispatches.  General  McMahon  says  he  does  not  think 
Lopez  would  have  stopped  my  dispatches.  I  know  ho  did.  I  know  from  the  use  he 
made  of  the  contents  of  them  in  letters  to  me.  I  did  not  suppose  it  at  the  time.  There 
were  some  tilings  alluded  to  that  I  did  not  know  how  he  could  get  hold  of,  but  when  I 

fot  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  found  my  dispatches  had  not  got  through,  I  understood  it  all. 
know  Lopez  stx)pped  my  dispatches. 

General  McMahon  says  that  Lopez  is  an  elective  president — by  the  will  of  the  people. 
I  wjis  in  I'jiiaguay  at  the  time  he  was  elected,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  it  was  done. 

In  each  district  there  is  a  chief  of  police  and  a  judge.  They  are  appointed  by  Lopez, 
and  they  constitute  the  government  in  each  district.  They  were  appointed  before  his 
election,  by  his  father,  but  he  being  the  military  commander  under  his  father,  he  had 
had  pretty  nuich  the  control  of  the  government  before  his  father  died ;  and  it  was  some 
months,  1  do  not  remember  how  long,  that  he  was  vice-president,  with  absolute  power, 
before  this  so-called  election  took  place.  He  sent  out  for  such  men  as  ho  wanted  to 
come  in — to  be  sent  in  as  delegates  to  this  conorcss.  And  if  any  man  was  sent  in  as  a 
delegate  who  didn't  suit  him,  he  would  send  hmi  back  about  his  business.  Some  men 
that  were  nominated  were  returned  back,  I  know.  He  then  had  a  great  military  force 
about  his  congress. 

Q.  Who  appointed  these  congressmen  ? — A.  Lopez  himself;  he  appointed  everything. 
Ho  sent  out  there  and  told  them  who  to  send  in.  A  great  many  of  the  judges  and  the 
people  have  no  voice  whatever. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  that  they  did  not  go  through  the  forms  ? — A.  I  do. 

Q.  No  election  was  held  ? — A.  No,  nothing  of  the  kind ;  orders  were  sent  out  who 
should  be  elected. 

Q.  What  does  the  constitution  require  ? — A.  Nothing  that  I  remember.  The  consti- 
tntion  has  no  more  binding  force  than  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  There  is  no  election. 
The  men  that  Lopez  wants  are  sent  in. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  Why,  then,  doesn't  he  do  this  directly  ?— A.  It  is  an  illusion  that  he  wants  to 
keep  up. 

Q.  Then  the  constitution  must  require  their  appointment  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  it  is  harely 
;possible  that  the  farce  of  an  election  is  gone  through  with ;  but  the  people  would  vote 
for  just  the  person  Lopez  would  designate,  and  if  any  man  didn't  he  would  be  taken 
and  j)ut  in  prison  immediately. 

By  Mr.  Swanx  : 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say,  from  your  own  knowledge,  that  no  notice  was  given  of 

the  election,  and  no  poi)ular  election  was  held  which  resulted  in  the  elevation  of  Lopez 

to  the  presidency? — A.  According  to  my  recollection  the  notice  was  given  that  the 

president  was  to  be  elected,  and  congress  was  to  be  called ;  but  he  sent  out  and  desig- 


286  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

nated  the  people  who  were  to  compose  that  congress.  I  know  that  of  my  own  knowl- 
edge ;  that  is,  I  am  as  sure  of  it  as  I  ara  that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  took  place.  These 
men  who  had  been  designated  for  the  congress  came  in,  and  the  palace  where  they  met 
waa  surrounded  by  soldiers ;  and  one  unfortunate  man  by  the  name  of  Varela,  the 
richest  man  in  Paraguay  for  the  time,  when  the  congress  met,  of  which  Lopez  himseli 
was  president — one  man  got  up  and  said  that  he  had  read  in  the  constitution  that  the 
government  of  Paraguay  was  not  to  bo  the  hereditary  property  of  any  family ;  it  Avas 
not  to  be  the  heritage  of  any  family ;  and  though  he  had  great  admiration  for  the 
ilkistrious  Francisco  Solano  Lopez,  and  thought  the  country  owed  him  a  great  deal, 
yet,  with  that  proviso  in  the  constitution,  he  did  not  see  how  he  could  support  him. 
Another  man  got  up  and  answered  his  objections. 

Q.  Do  you  understand  that  there  is  anything  in  the  constitution  of  Paraguay  which 
rendered  him  ineligible  to  office  ? — A.  I  do  not.  I  think  the  answers  given  were  valid 
enough.  This  man  was  a  clever  man,  by  the  way — Vasquez.  His  answer  was  to  the 
effect  that  though  the  constitution  did  so  provide,  the  meaning  of  if  was  that  no 
father  should  bequeath  the  government  to  his  son  ;  but  that  the  people  still  had  the 
right  to  elect  whoever  they  saw  fit.  Varela  expressed  himself  satisfied.  The  vote  was 
taken.  There  was  a  great  quantity  of  troops  with  bayonets  about  the  palace.  Lopez 
was  declared  unanimously  elected.  Varela  was  immediately  arrested  and  never  saw 
daylight  again,  and  his  property  confiscated.  He  was  the  richest  man  in  Paraguay. 
He  was  put  in  prison,  and  I  suppose  he  had  the  vote  of  most  of  the  others.  That  was 
the  way  Lopez  was  elected,  and  that  is  the  kind  of  republicanism  that  exists  there.  I 
was  there  at  the  time,  and  am  perfectly  conversant  with  all  the  facts. 

Q.  Was  there  any  announcement  of  the  fact,  by  proclamation  or  otherwise,  that  an 
election  had  been  held,  and  that  Lopez  had  been  unanimously  elected  iiresident  ? — A. 
Yes,  sir ;  I  think  so ;  it  was  published  in  the  paper  in  some  form  or  other. 

I  also  wish  to  say  this:  tlilit  among  the  other  atrocities  of  Lopez,  it  seems  as  though 
it  had  been  His  object  to  bring  upon  himself  the  curse  which  is  found  in  these  words: 
"  The  eye  that  mocketh  its  father,  and  scorncth  to  obey  its  mother,  the  ravens  of  the 
valley  shall  pick  it  out,  and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it."  He  arrested  all  the  confi- 
dential friends  of  his  father  and  mother  ;  lie  took  this  Padre  Mais,  who  had  been  the 
confessor  of  the  two,  a  priest  who  has  since  become  the  head  of  his  inquisitors  by  the 
most  blasphemous  document  which  he  published,  likening  Lopez  to  Jesus  Christ,  or 
even  putting  him  above  him  ;  he  took  all  these  men  and  arrested  them  and  put  them 
in  prison  ;  a  great  many  of  them  he  killed. 

I  also  wish  to  state  that  I  find,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  that  everybody  in  Paraguay  that 
knew  Lopez  Avell — was  there  before  the  war  and  through  the  war — are  every  one  my 
friends.  I  had  not  an  enemy  in  Paraguay,  except  Lopez,  Mrs.  Lynch,  and,  perhaps, 
Masterma.n,  whose  life  I  saved ;  and  if  iVerc  to  go  back  there  I  should  bo  welcomed  by- 
all  the  survivors.  I  will  read  from  an  English  nowsj)aper,  the  Plymouth  Western  News, 
the  rei3ort  of  Dr.  TurnbuU,  who  gives  an  account  of  the  condition  of  the  English  who 
have  escaped,  I  think,  since  General  McMahon  left :  "  All  the  foreigners  who  have 
now  escaped  confirm  the  worst  that  has  been  said  of  the  frightful  atrocities  of  this 
merciless  tyrant,  Lopez  ;  and  speak  of  the  terrible  state  of  suspense  they  have  lived  in 
for  months,  nay,  for  years,  past.  To  those  who  have  taken  any  interest  in  this  war  it 
will  suflice  to  say  that  they,  one  and  all,  8]5eak  in  favor  of  Mr.  Washburn,  the  United 
States  minister,  and  condemn  his  successor,  General  McMahon." 

Appendix  A. 

My  name  is  Alonzo  Taylor.  I  was  born  in  Chelsea,  and  I  am  a  stonemason  and  builder 
by  trade.  In  November,  1858,  I  made  an  engagement,  through  Messrs.  Bly  th,  of  Lime- 
house,  to  serve  Lopez  in  Paraguay,  for  a  period  of  three  years,  and  teach  the  natives 
my  trade.  I  am  a  married  man,  but  I  thought  I  woukl  go  alone  and  see  what  the 
country  was  like ;  and  in  1861  my  wife  and  my  children  came  out  to  me,  and  we  lived 
in  a  house  near  the  Aduana.  *  *  *  * 

Although  I  was  disgusted  by  this  time  (1867)  Avith  the  war,  and  the  change  in  the 
country  consequent  thereon,  still  I  did  not  see  my  Avay  clear,  or  how  I  was  to  get  my 
wife  and  children  out  of  the  country,  for  Lopez  never  gave  us  the  option  of  leaving"^; 
so  I  made  a  contract  for  another  year.  Many  Englishmen  in  the  employment  of  the 
government  refused  to  make  fresh  contracts,"  and  I  Avish  I  had  acted  in  the  same 
manner.  *  *  *  ir  *  * 

On  the  21st  of  July,  1868,  after  working  hard  at  the  soap  Avorks  at  Luque,  I  returned 
to  my  house  at  ten  o'clock  at  night.  Shortly  afterward  a  cavalry  soldier  knocked, 
and  told  me  through  the  door  tliat  I  Avas  ordered  into  the  capital  by  the  minister  of 
war  and  marine,  but  he  could  not  tell  me  why.  But  I  knew  it  was  useless  to  resist,  so 
I  mounted  my  horse  and  went  with  the  soklier,  avIio,  Avhen  we  passed  the  miuisterio, 
told  me  that  he  had  orders  to  conduct  me  to  the  captain  of  the  port ;  so  avo  tode  on  to 
the  river  bank,  AVhere  I  found  a  crowd  of  men.  I  dismounted,  and  was  immediately, 
despite  my  remonstrances,  i^ut  in  irons,  and  x>laced  with  eight  or  nine  other  prisoners 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  287 

nntil  the  morning,  and  then  we  were  put  on  board  the  Salto  de  Guayra  steamer. 
Mrs.  Lyuoli  and  lier  eldest  sou,  Frauci.sco,  came  on  board  with  some  officers  about 
eleven,  and  then  we  started  down  the  river.  As  she  left  the  steamer  Mrs.  Lynch  looked, 
but  she  took  no  apparent  notice  of  me,  although  she  used  to  be  very  kind  to  me,  and 
my  daughter  was  often  in  her  house.  I  had  asked  an  officer  who  was  on  board,  and 
used  to  be  very  intimate  with  me,  if  ho  would  let  me  speak  to  her,  but  he  said  that 
being  a  prisoner  I  could  speak  to  no  one,  much  less  to  her.  He  abused  me,  and  seemed 
to  delight  in  my  misfortune. 

At  this  time  President  Lopez  had  his  headquarters  on  the  Tebicuari,  a  large  river 
which  runs  into  the  Paraguay.  We  got  there  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  dis- 
embarked, and  had  to  march  to  the  camp,  a  distance  of  six  miles,  in  irons,  and  it  was 
then  our  sufferings  commenced.  Our  party  consisted  of  au  old  man  named  Sortera,  (he 
was  very  ill,  and  was  not  in  irons,  because  he  was  unable  to  walk  ;  he  was  the  father 
of  the  a<Jo  captain  of  the  port;)  two  Orientales,  six  Italians,  a  Corrieutino,  three  Span- 
iards, one  Paraguayan,  and  myself;  eleven  in  all.  With  the  exception  of  two,  all 
wore  one  set  of  irons,  and  some  two — thick  bars  and  rings  weighing  from  twenty  to 
thirty  pounds.  A  six-mile  walk  in  I'araguay,  at  any  time,  would  try  a  good  pedestrian, 
but  with  heavy  fetters  on  both  ankles,  in  which  one  could  only  slowly  shufile  along,  was 
dreadful  work.  Besides  that,  we  had  to  carry  two  of  our  sick  companions,  old  Sortera 
and  au  Italian.  They  were  put  iu  hammocks,  and  carried  slung  on  a  pole.  We  had  a 
strong  guard  with  us,  aiul  they  accelerated  our  march  by  au  unsparing  use  of  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  llo<5ged  those  who  lagged  behind  with  thongs  ot  raw  hide. 

That  dreadful  journey  made  a  stronger  impression  on  me  than  anything  I  sufiered 
afterward,  for  it  was  all  new  to  me,  and  I  was  in  robust  health.  Afterward,  when  I 
was  reduced  in  liealth  and  strength,  I  became  stolid  and  listless,  and  sufiered  much 
less,  both  morally  and  physically. 

After  hours  of  incessant  toil  wo  arrived  in  San  Fernando,  a  place  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten in  the  history  of  Paraguay,  for  it  was  there  that  nearly  all  the  victims  of  Lope25 
perished,  and  under  tortures,  too,  inllicted  with  liendish  ingenuity. 

Daily  I  saw  men  tortured  in  the  caj)o  de  xiniguatjana,  of  which  more  hereafter;  others, 
and  women,  Hogged,  many  of  them  to  death,  or  shot  or  bayoneted  in  the  most  cruel 
way,  during  the  mouths  of  July,  August,  and  September,  all  of  them  charged  with 
treason  and  rebellion,  but  quite  innocent  of  those  crimes.  More  than  seven  hundied 
of  them  were  slaughtered  altogether. 

On  arriving  there  I  saw  Mr.  Stark,  a  kind  old  gentleman  and  a  British  merchant. 
He  had  resided  in  Asuncion  many  years,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  aud  respected.  He 
looked  very  ill  and  dejected.  I  was  not  allowed  to  speak  to  him,  but  I  saw  him  flogged 
and  often  treated  very  bnitally  in  other  ways.  He  was  shot,  with  a  batch  of  other 
prisoners,  about  the  beginning  of  September.  John  Watts,  another  Englishman,  who 
was  chief  engineer  of  one  of  the  gunboats,  and  Manlovo,  au  American,  were  shot  on 
the  same  day.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  only  two  Englishmen  were  shot  by  Lopez, 
the  other,  Mr.  Oliver,  died  from  starvation  and  exposure,  as  did  one  of  my  companions 
the  day  after  our  arrival. 

Ohl  Sortera  held  out  through  months  of  starvation  and  suffering,  but  died  eventually 
at  Villeta  of  ague. 

At  San  Fernando  were  hundreds  of  other  prisoners  in  the  same  deplorable  condition 
as  ourselves,  but  as  we  were  not  allowed  to  speak  to  each  other,  we  could  not  compare 
notes,  and  it  waa  only  after  my  release  that  I  learned  that  they  were  all  charged  with 
treason. 

Our  so-called  prison  was  only  a  piece  of  ground  about  twenty  yards  square,  staked 
out,  and  with  the  sky  for  a  roof.  The  mode  of  securing  us  was  equally  simple,  but 
dreadfully  painful.  To  one  of  the  stakes  a  hide  rope  was  made  fast ;  prisoner  No.  1 
lay  down  ou  his  l)ack  and  loops  were  knotted  l^ist  around  both  ankles;  then  No.  2  lay 
down  two  yards  oft"  and  was  tied  to  the  same  rope.  This  was  repeated  until  the  row 
was  full ;  then  another  was  commenced  in  the  same  way,  and  so  ou.  The  ends  of  the 
ropes  were  secured  to  other  stakes,  and  they  were  stretched  by  the  full  strength  of  two 
or  three  men  uutil  they  were  as  taut  as  harp-strings.  We  suliered  terribly ;  my  ankles 
were  soon  covered  with  sores,  aud  almost  dislocated  by  the  strain  ou  them.  In  each 
prison  si)ace  lay  about  fifty  men.  This  mode  of  securing  prisoners  is  called  ^'el  cepo  de 
lazo,"  or  rope  stocks.  Thus  Ave  lay  ni«^ht  and  day,  with  the  exceptiou  of  a  short  time 
in  the  morning,  when  we  were  marched  into  the  Avoods  nndev  a  strong  guard.  Sometimes 
those  who  tied  us  up  were  more  merciful  than  others,  and  did  not  strain  the  rope  so 
tight,  but  frequently  the  agony  was  dreadful  beyond  expression. 

A  chain  of  sentries  surrounded  us,  and  used  to  kick  aud  thrash  us  as  they  pleased. 
They  had  orders  to  shoot  or  bayonet  any  who  tried  to  escape.  A  request  but  for  a  little 
water  was  often  answered  by  a  severe  tlogging. 

There  we  lay  exposed  to  the  biirning  '^sun,  to  the  rain  and  storm,  and  almost  mad- 
dened by  the  biting  and  crawling  of  the  tliousand  insect  plagues  of  the  tropics,  with 
very  little  food,  and  that  only  the  ofial  of  the  beasts  killed  for  the  troops.  We  got  no 
salt  and  no  tobacco,  which  was  the  greatest  privation  of  all. 


288  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Of  the  prisoners  many  wore  taken  ont  to  bo  examin'^d  or  tortured,  others  to  be  shot. 
I  never  saw  any  one  undergoing  the  torture,  for  it  was  always  intiicted  behind  the 
bushes  or  in  the  huts  of  the  judpces. 

I  saw  an  Argentine  officer  taken  away  one  day,  and  when  he  returned  the  whole  of 
his  body  was  raw.  The  next  morning,  when  wc  were  loosened,  I  pointed  to  his  back, 
but  did  not  speak  ;  ho  let  his  head  fall  on  his  breast,  and  with  a  stick  wrote  in  the 
sand  one  hundred.  From  that  I  gathered  ho  had  received  a  hundred"  lashes  with  a 
cow-hide,  or  else  with  one  of  the  creeping  plants  (I  think  they  call  them  lianas)  which 
grew  in  plenty  on  the  trees  around  us.  That  afternoon  he  was  sent  for  again,  and 
w^hen  he  came  back  he  wrote  two  hundred.    The  next  day  ho  was  shot. 

The  prisoners  were  of  all  nationalities  and  of  all  grades  and  positions,  but  with  the 
heat,  wear  *and  tear,  the  rain  and  wind,  they  were  soon  all  alike,  nearly  nalted.  And 
our  guards  used  to  offer  us  i)ieces  of  bread  or  a  few  spikes  of  maize  for  our  clothes, 
and,  suffering  from  hunger  as  we  did,  we  were  glad  to  purchase  a  day's  life  at  the  price 
of  a  coat  or  a  shirt.  Amongst  them  were  many  women,  some  of  them  belonging  to  the 
best  families  in  the  country  ;  some  quite  old  and  ^ray-headed,  otliers  young  and  pretty, 
especially  Dolores  Eecaldfe,  a  very  tall  and  beautitul  girl,  and  Josefa  Eequelme,  a  hand- 
some woman,  with  very  fine  eyes.  They  suffered  much,  poor  creatures,  though  they . 
had  little  A-shaped  straw  huts  to  shelter  them,  as  did  some  few  of  the  other  prisoners 
of  the  highest  class,  and  used  to  weep  j)iteously  over  their  miserable  late.         *        * 

For  my  part  I  do  not  believe  that  there  Avas  any  conspiracy  at  all,  unless  on  the  part 
of  the  President  iiimself  and  some  of  his  tools  to  rob  foreigners  of  their  money.  *     * 

The  next  day  Major  Serrano  came  again  and  asked  me  if  I  had  considered  the  matter, 
and  if  I  would  confess  all  I  knew.  I  replied  that  I  knew  nothing,  and  requested  that 
I  might  be  confronted  with  my  so-called  accomplices. 

Serrano  became  furious,  and  at  once  ordered  the  officer  of  the  guard  to  put  me  into 
the  uruguayana.  It  is  said  this  torture  was  invented  in  the  days  of  Bolivar,  the  South 
American  liberator,  and  hence  its  old  name  of  "  cepo  boliviano,"  changed  by  Lopez  to 
"  cepo  Uruguayana"  after  the  surrender  of  Estigarriljia  there  in  1865. 

The  torture  is  as  follows,  and  this  is  how  I  suffered  it :  I  sat  on  the  ground  with  my 
knees  up ;  my  legs  were  first  tied  tightly  together,  and  then  my  hands  behind  me  with  the 
palms  outward.  A  musket  was  then  fastened  under  my  knees  ;  six  more  of  them,  tied 
together  in  a  bundle,  were  then  x)ut  on  my  shoulders',  and  they  were  looped  together 
with  hide  ropes  at  one  end ;  they  tlien  made  a  running  loop  on  the  other  side  from  the 
lower  musket  to  the  other,  and  two  soldiers  hauling  on  the  end  of  it  forced  my  face 
down  to  my  knees  and  secured  it  so. 

The  effect  was  as  follows :  First  the  feet  went  to  sleep,  then  a  tingling  commenced 
in  the  toes,  gradually  extending  to  the  knees,  and  the  same  in  the  hands  and  arms,  and 
increased  until  the  agony  was  xmbearable.  My  tongue  swelled  up,  and  I  thought  that 
my  jaws  would  have  been  displaced;  I  lost  all  feeling  in  one  side  of  my  face  for  a  fort- 
night afterwards.  The  suffering  was  dreadful ;  I  should  certainly  have  confessed  if  I 
had  had  anything  to  confess,  and  I  have  no  doubt  many  would  acknowledge  or  invent 
anything  to  escape  bearing  the  horrible  agony  of  this  torment.  I  remained  two  hours 
as  I  have  described,  and  I  considered  myself  fortunate  in  escaping  tlien,  for  many  were 
put  in  the  uruguayana  twice,  and  others  six  times,  and  with  eight  muskets  on  the  nape 
of  the  neck. 

Seuora  Martinez  was  fortui'ed  six  times  in  this  horrible  way,  besides  being  flogged 
and  beaten  with  sticks  until  she  had  not  an  inch  of  skiii  free  from  wounds. 

At  the  expiration  of  t\yo  hours  I  was  released ;  Serrano  came  to  me  and  asked  if  I 
would  now  acknowledge  who  was  to  be  the  new  President.  I  was  unable  to  speak, 
and  he  went  on  to  say  that  I  had  only  been  kept  in  the  cqjo  a  short  time  owing  to  the 
clemency  of  his  excellency  Marshal  Lopez,  and  that  if  I  did  not  then  divulge  it  I  should 
have  three  sets  of  irons  put  upon  me,  eight  muskets  in  place  of  six,  and  kept  in  nmch 
longer.  I  was  so  utterly  exhausted  and  so  faint  that  at  the  time  his  threats  made  no 
impression  on  me.  Afterward  I  was  taken  back  to  the  guardia,  and  as  a  great  favor 
I  was  not  tied  down  that  night. 

The  next  day,  July  2,5th,  Serrano  again  called  me  up,  and  asked  me  who  authorized 
me  to  mine  the  railway  bridge  at  Ibicuy,  a  rivulet  about  three  miles  out  of  Asuncion. 
I  replied  that  I  had  never  heard  of  the  bridge  being  mined,  and  that  I  knew  nothing 
of  svicli  falsehoods. 

On  the  26th  Serrano  came  again,  accompanied  by  an  officer  named  Aveiros.  The 
latter  asked  me  what  masonic  grade  I  had.  I  replied  that  I  was  not  a  Mason,  but  that 
on  one  occasion  I  went  to  the  house  of  an  Italian  named  Tnbo,  who  was  endeavoring 
to  establish  a  lodge  on  false  pretenses  and  mere  moonshine. 

Aveiros  said,  ''Do  you  know  that  we  have  Tnbo  here?"  "No;  how  should  I?" 
Serrano  said,  "  Wo  will  have  you  face  to  face ; "  and  Tnbo  was  brought  to  the  hut.  The 
examination  was  conducted  by  a  young  Paraguayan  lawyer,  who  had  been  some  years 
in  Eughmd,  named  Centurion.  He  asked  me,  pointing  'to  Tubo,  "  Do  you  know  that 
man  ?  Do  you  know  that  he  hates  you  ?"  He  repeated  the  words,  "Do  you  know  that 
he  hates  you  ?  "  in  English,  as  I  did  not  understand  it  when  said  in  Spanish.    I  said,  "  I 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTiaATION.  289 

wish  to  explain  in  English,  as  you  (Centurion)  understand  it  perfectly."  He  said 
"  There  is  no  need  to  grant  your  request,  as  you  speak  both  Spanish  and  Guarani 
sufficiently  well."  I  said  that  I  certainly  ought  to  hate  Tubo,  for  he  had  got  a  great 
deal  of  money  out  of  me  on  false  pretenses,  and  had  cheated  me  in  the  masonic 
business. 

Tubo  then  said  that  I  had  signed  a  paper  consenting  to  form  one  of  his  masonic 
society.  This  I  denied,  and  then  Centurion  asked  Tubo  if  I  had  signed  such  a  paper. 
Tubo  hesitated,  and  said,  "  I  think  he  did."  Centurion  said  angrily,  "  Your  thinking  is 
of  no  use ;  did  or  did  not  Alonzo  Taylor  sign  the  paper?"  ** 

Tubo  became  more  embarrassed, 'and  could  give  no  answer,  so  I  told  them  that  the 
whole  affair  was  an  imposition.  Ho  was  dismissed  and  I  never  saw  him  again,  and  heard 
that  he  was  shot. 

After  Tubo  left,  Centurion  questioned  mo  about  my  countrymen,  and  why  some  of 
them  would  not  sign  fresh  contracts.  I  replied  in  Spanish,  "  Cacla  liomhre  ticne  su  asiento, 
y  cada  persona  conocc  ans  intereses,"  (that  is,  every  man  knows  liis  own  interests  best.j 
Serrano  and  Aveiros  together :  "  No,  no,  Alonzo,  that  won't  do.  You  know  why  they 
will  not  renew  their  contracts."  I  replied,  "  I  do  not,  but  I  do  know  that  we  English- 
men are  heartily  tired  of  the  war,  and  the  reason  why  we  went  to  the  American  lega- 
tion was,  because  there  being  no  English  consul  in  Asuncion  we  thought  that  we  mighL 
get  protection  there  until  wo  could  leave  for  England.  My  other  object  in  going  there 
was  in  order  that  Mrs.  Taylor,  who  was  near  her  confinement,  might  have  the  beneiit 
of  Mr.  Mastemian's  assistance,  as  there  was  no  other  medical  man  in  Asuncion  ;  besides, 
I  knew  Mr.  Masterman." 

Centurion:  "Indeed!  then  it  is  your  opinion  that  the  'niggers'  will  take  the  town, 
and  that  you  may  be  able  to  serve  them." 

I  replied,  "No;  I  have  always  been  faithful  to  his  excellency,  and  we  have  all  dono 
our  duty,  but  are  sick  of  the  war  and  want  to  leave  the  country." 

Serrano:  "You  were  once  a  good  servant,  Alonzo,  but  for  some  months  you  have 
behaved  very  badly." 

I  was  then  taken  back  to  the  guardia  and  put  in  the  lashings  as  usual,  T^ith  strict 
orders  to  speak  to  no  one. 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  describe  the  miseries  of  our  daily  life  in  San  Fernando, 
one  unvarying  round  of  jjrivations,  fresh  prison(>rs,  x>u»i«hments,  and  executions.  Not 
a  day  passed  but  some  of  us  were  taken  out  to  be  beaten,  tortured,  or  shot.  The  cries 
of  those  being  flogged  were  heart-rending.  Two  Orientiles  I  saw  flogged  to  death ; 
and  when  young  Capdavilla  was  shot  he  was  black  and  blue  from  head  to  foot  from  the 
blows  inflicted  on  him. 

There  Avere  several  ladies  among  the  prisoners ;  they  were  flogged  in  the  huts,  but 
we  could  hear  their  cries, 

Some  few  of  us  were  lucky  enough  to  get  a  piece  of  hide  to  lie  on  at  night  and  make 
a  shelter  of  by  day.  Only  those  who  have  lived  in  a  tropical  country  can  understand 
how  trying  it  Is  to'lie  in  the  burning  sun  unsheltered. 

We  had  very  little  food,  and  that  chiefly  oflal ;  when  it  rained,  which  it  did  very 
often,  we  got  none  whatever ;  I  was  always  hungry.  *  *  * 

I  am  sure  I  am  below  tlie  mark  in  stating  that  three  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  were 
shot  during  our  stay  at  San  Fernando. 

The  tirst  execution  I  have  any  record  of  occurred  on  the  4th  of  August,  when  about 
forty-five  were  shot.  Amongst  them  the  two  Susinis,  and  another  Italian  named 
Reb'audi.  Those  who  could  not  walk  were  taken  in  carts,  the  others  marched  down 
two  by  two  in  irons.  Then  a  volley  and  a  few  straggling  shots  gave  us  food  for  medi- 
tation. If  the  victims  had  good  clothes  on  we  saw  the  guard  and  the  lower  grade  of 
officers  come  back  wearing  them. 

The  exposure  to  wet  we  suflered  and  want  of  food  brought  on  rheumatism,  ague, 
and  dysentery,  of  which  many  died.  .Indeed,  it  seems  almost  a  miracle  to  me  that  any 
survived  such  i)rivations. 

I  cannot  recollect  the  date  when  the  army  commenced  their  retreat  to  Villeta,  but  it 
was  in  September,  but  I  shall  never  forget  what  we  suffered  on  the  way. 

Before  starting  our  irons  were  taken  off,  but  we  carried  them  with  us,  and  we  were 
allowed  to  talk  together  on  the  march;  at  night  we  were  put  in  the  cepo  de  Jazo  as 
usual.  I  counted  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  prisoners,  fourteen  of  them  foreigners, 
the  rest  Paraguayans.  Among  the  former  I  remember  Sefior  Cauturo,  an  Argentine 
and  a  great  friend  of  Stark's  ;  Fiilger,  a  German  watchmaker;  Harmaun,  also  German, 
and  married  to  a  Paraguayan;  Lieutenant  Romero,  an  Argentine ;  Captain  Fidanza, 
Italian;  Leite-Per«ira,  Portuguese;  Segundo  Bello,  Argentine;  Batolom6  Quintara, 
Argentine.  Among  the  latter  were  four  ladies,  Dona  Juliana  Martinez,  wife  of  Colonel 
Martinez,  who,  after  the  evacuation  of  Humait4,  surrendered  to  the  enemy  with  his  live 
hundred  men,  reduced  to  skeletons  by  fatigue  and  want  of  food;  Dona  Dolores  Recalde ; 
the  Seuoritas  de  Egusquiza,  two  aged  syjinster  ladies,  sisters  of  Egusquiza,  Ibrmerly 
Lopez's  agent  in  Buenos  Ayres.  Two  bullock-carts  were  dragged  with  us,  supposed  to 
ooutain  the  sisters  of  Lopez. 

19  P  I 


290  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

"We  finisliod  our  jonnioy  of  one  hundred  miles,  in  spite  of  tlio  difficnllics  of  tlio  road 
and  our  exhausted  condition,  in  sevcni  days;  I  nicau  as  many  of  us  as  survived. 
Sefiora  M;.f».iiez  walked  the  wiiole distance,  uKIu^iu;!!  licr  body  was  covered  with 
wounds,  hea  face  blaclcened  and  distorted,  asid  willi  a  rawphico  on  the  back  of  her  neck 
the  size  of  the  palm  of  my  hand;  ior  (his  poor  lady  had  been  put  six  times  in  the 
«r«^M«^i/anrt,  as  I  have  said.  She  was,  until  her  arrest,  most  intimate  with  Madame 
Lynch;  bnt  she  was  then  selfishly  aban(h)ned  by  her  once  affectionate  friend,  and  left 
to  liiT  dreadful  fate.  When  I  first  saw  her  she  was  an  extremely  pretty  young-  woman, 
and  had  reached  but  her  twenty-fourth  year  when  executed.  She  often  spoke  to  nio 
on  the  march,  for  comi)aniouship  in  misfortune  makes  us  all  eqmil  and  confidential,  and 
DoQa  Juliana  told  me  all  her  sorrows.  She  was  very  anxious  to  know  if  a  largci  black 
mark  she  had  over  one  of  her  eyes  would  disappear,  or  if  it  would  disfigure  her  for 
life.  The  latter  was  the  case ;  for  when  I  saw  her  led  out  to  execution  on  the  16 th 
or  17tli  of  December  the  mark  was  still  there.  Her  only  crime  being  the  fact  that  she 
was  the  wife  of  a  gallant  ofiflcer,  who  had  been  abandoned  by  Lojyez,  and  was  compelled 
to  surrender  through  starvation ! 

We  got  very  little  food  on  the  road ;  for  it  was  only  when  we  had  to  get  out  the  way," 
to  let  the  troops  pass,  that  we  could  find  time  enough  to  cook  the  wretched  meat  they 
gave  US. 

I  saw  two  old  men  stuck  fast  in  the  mire,  and  left  there  to  die  of  starvation  or  to  be 
devoured  by  the  vultures,  which  were  already  flying  around  them. 

We  arrived  at  Villeta  early  in  September,  and  there  we  were  placed,  as  before,  in  the 
open  air  and  in  the  stocks.  One  day  I  saw  Mr.  Masterman  brought  in  as  a  prisoner  in 
irons,  and  a  man  named  Bliss,  an  American,  Avith  him ;  but  they  did  not  long  remain 
in  the  same  guardia.  I  did  not  dare  to  speak  to  him  ;  and  I  saw  him  one  day  vritli  hia 
fiice  bloody,  so  I  suppose  he  had  been  tortured. 

Soon  afterward  Mr.  Treuenfeld,  the  German  telegraph  engineer,  v/as  brought  in  a 
prisoner.  He  did  not  recognize  me ;  but  at  night  we  lay  near  each  other,  and  he  said, 
"  I  shall  have  plenty  to  tell  you  about  Washburn  (the  American  minisl:er)  and  the 
English  gunboats:  but  I  cannot  do  so  now,  for  I  am  not  allowed  to  talk." 

On  the  IGth  or  17th  of  December,  Col.  Marco,  formerly  chief  of  police,  rode  up  to  the 
guardia  with  several  other  officers,  and  he  read  the  following  names  from  a  piece  of 
paper. 

Sosa,  (a  priest.) 

Juliana  Martinez.  (Poor  lady !  she  could  scarcely  stand,  she  was  so  emaciated  and 
weak.)  J 

Dolores  Recaldti,  (a  tall  and  once  a  very  beautiful  girl.)  ; 

Luisa  Egusrpiiza.  (This  poor  old  lady  must  have  been  sixty  years  of  age,  with  thin; 
grey  hair,  and  a  very  benignant  and  venerable  look.  Her  sister  had  already  died,, 
alone  in  her  wretched  hut.) 

Beuigno  Lopez,  (brother  of  the  ju'esident.) 

Jos6  Berges,  (formerly  minister  for  foreign  affairs.) 

Bogado,  (dean  of  the  Cathedral  of  Asuncion.) 

Colonel  Allen,  (one  of  the  commanders  at  Humaita.  He  had  lost  an  eye  in  trying  tO; 
commit  suicide.) 

Simon  Fidanza,  (an  Italian  merchant  captain,  who  sold  his  ship  to  Lopez,  and  wa 
not  afterward  allowed  to  leave  the  country.) 

Leite-Pereira,  (Portuguese  consul.) 

Each  ansv/ered  to  his  or  her  name  by  wallcing  forward  and  standing  in  front,  until 
line  had  been  formed  and  the  list  gone  through;  then  they  were  marched  oft*  with 
strong  guard  in  front  and  rear.  The  sad  procession  was  closed  by  three  priests  carry 
ing  cliairs,  v/ho  would  confess  the  condemed  at  the  place  of  execution.  We  never  sa^ 
them  again.  At  the  exiiiration  of  about  an  hour  a  volley  was  heard,  then  a  droppinj 
shot,  and  all  was  over.  The  guard  came  back,  one  old  soldier  wearing  Captaii 
Fidanza's  surtout,  and  the  officer  the  uniform  'coat  of  Leite-Pereira,  with  its  gil 
buttons. 

Perhaps  some  of  these  men  may  have  deserved  death.  Captain  Fidanza  was  said  to  havi 
denounced  the  rest ;  but  that  was  after  he  had  beeu  tortured,  and  he  soon  became  insane 
Bnt  surely  there  can  be  no  excuse  for  such  a  revolting  crime  as  shooting  defeuceles 
and  innocent  women  for  the  fsiults,  real  or  preteiuled,  of  their  husbands,  brothers,  am 
lovers.  Whether  there  was  conspiracy,  time  will  show;  but  if  the  so-called  couspirj 
tors  were  convicted  on  no  better  evidence  than  that  on  which  I  was  kept  a  prisoner  fo: 
live  months,  they  nrust  be  regarded  only  as  victims  and  martyrs.  The  truth  will  on 
some  day,  and  then  President  Lopez  will  take  his  proper  place  in  history,  as  a  hero  o. 
a  fiend. 

On  the  21st  of  December  we  were  released  from  the  stocks,  as  usual,  at  6.30,  but  a 
once  tied  down  again,  because  the  Brazilians  had  got  our  range,  and  shell  were  flying 
over  and  close  to  us,  and  the  Paraguayans  hoped  to  see  us  thus  got  rid  of.  But  I  f el 
no  fear,  and  was  fjuite  resigned;  ibr  tlu;  shocking  misery  I  had  suffered  for  five  montiji 
had  blunted,  indeed,  nearly  obliterated,  all  feelings,  moral  and  physical. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  291 

Four  days  afterward  Lopez  and  ^Irs.  Lynch  rode  through  the  guardia,  with 
several  otlicers,  and  I  think  she  diftw  his  attention  to  us.  We  were  ordered  to  stand 
in  a  row,  and  he  came  up  to  us,  an:l  asked,  ''Are  you  all  prisoners?"  We  replied, 
'•  Yes,"  and  then  Mr.  von  Treuenfeld  appealed  to  his  excellency,  who  asked  him  wliy 
he  was  there.  Mr.  Treueufeld  said  he  did  not  know,  and  the  President  told  him  he 
■was  at  liberty,  and  might  retire.  I  then  approached,  and  said  I  should  be  very  grateful 
for  the  same  mercy.  Lopez  asked  me  who  I  was,  and  aifected  great  surprise  when  he 
heard  my  name,  and  said,  "  What  do  you  do  here  ?  You  are  at  liberty."  Then  the 
other  prisoners,  ten  in  number,  came  up  and  received  the  same  answer.  We  remained 
with  the  officer,  but  without  a  guard,  until  the  27th  of  December,  when,  at  live  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  heavy  ftriug  commenced,  round  shot  and  shell  flew  among  us,  and 
shortly  afterward  we  were  charged  by  Brazilian  cavalry.  I  was  slightly  wounded  by 
a  rilie-ball  in  the  shoulder,  but  succeeded  in  escaping  to  the  woods,  accompanied  by  two 
Argentinti  gentlemen.  But  many  of  the  prisoners  were  two  weak  to  move,  and  they 
were  all  killed. 

Later  in  the  day  we  fell  into  the  hands  of  some  Brazilian  soldiers,  who  took  us  before 
the  Marquis  do  Caxias.    He  questioned  me,  and  told  mo  to  go  where  I  pleased.    I  said 

I  was  two  weak  to  walk,  and  one  of  his  officers.  Colonel  G ,  who  had  been  a 

medical  man,  was  kind  enough  to  take  care  of  me.  I  cannot  express  how  much  I  owe 
to  him. 

I  was  a  miserable  object,  reduced  to  a  skeleton,  and  enfeebled  to  the  last  degree. 
When  I  was  at  Luqu&,  I  weighed  one  hundred  aiul  seventy-eight  pounds ;  and  when 
I  went  on  board  the  gunboat  "Cracker,"  only  ninety-eight  i)ounds. 

After  recruiting  my  strength  for  four  days  at  Lomas,  I  left  on  horseback  for 
Asuncion.  I  sullerred  terribly  on  the  road ;  for  I  liad  S(;arcely  any  flesh  on  my  bones, 
and  had  not  strengtli  enough  to  keep  myself  in  tlie  sndille. 

There  I  arrived  at  last,  but  so  ill  that  I  could  not  speak  for  some  days;  but  another 
Brazilian  oflicer  was  very  kind  to  me,  and  also  Major  Htzmaurice,  an  English  officer 
in  the  Argentine  service. 

My  wife  and  children  I  have  not  yet  seen ;  but  the  French  consul  told  me  that  they 
were  in  the  cordillcras,  alive  and  well.  I  am  daily  getting  stronger  and  gaining 
flesh,  but  I  look  like  a  man  just  recovering  from  yellow  fever;  and  as  I  dictate  this  to 
Mr.  Shaw  my  memory  sometimes  seems  to  leave  me,  I  cannot  flx  my  attention ;  but  I 
hope  I  shall  soon  recover  my  health,  both  of  mind  and  body. 

Buenos  Aykes,  January  20, 1869. 

Appendix  B. 

Captain  Don  Adolfo  Saguier  has  furnished  us  with  the  following  details  relating  to 
the  acts  of  barbarity  perpetrated  by  Lopez. 

He  (Loi»ez)  caused  the  prisoners  to  receive  five  hundred,  a  thousand,  and  even  two 
thousand  lashes  before  shooting  them. 

Dr.  Carraras  was  flogged  thus  most  barbarously.  Captain  Saguier,  who  was  placed 
within  sight  of  Dr.  Carreras,  and,  like  him,  in  fetters  for  five  months,  saw  the  punish- 
ment inflicted,  and  speaks  of  his  slmeks,  wrung  from  him  by  the  blows  inflicted  with 
a  hide  rope  and  with  sticks. 

Barges  was  also  flogged  before  being  shot.  Don  Benigno  Lopez  (the  President's 
younger  brother)  before  execution  was  almost  cut  to  pieces.  Captain  Saguier  saw  it 
done,  and  knows  the  executioner  who  flogged  him,  he  is  named  (Major)  Aveiros,  and 
was  formerly  a  secretary  in  the  internal  revenue  office. 

The  Marquis  de  Caxias  holds  as  prisoner  a  captain  of  cavalry,  named  Matios  Goigurii. 
It  was  ho  who  commanded  at  the  execution  of  Benigno  Lopez,  General  Barrios,  the 
Bishop,  Dean  Bogado,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Martinez,  Dona  Mercedes  Egusquiza,  Dona 
Dolores  Recaldc,  and  others,  whose  names  he  does  not  remember. 

This  took  place  on  the  21st  of  December,  18C9,  and  their  execution  was  witnessed, 
by  order  of  Lopez,  by  his  two  sisters,  Inoceucia,  wife  of  General  Barrios,  and  Rafaela, 
widow  of  Don  Saturnino  Bedoya,  (who  had  been  put  to  death,  as  Lopez  had  directed, 
by  the  prolonged  infliction  of  the  torture  called  the  ^^  cepo  iirngmyana,")  and  his 
brother  Venaucio.  They  were,  after  the  execution  was  over,  shut  up  in  a  large  bullock 
cart  and  sent  away,  but  he  does  not  know  whither. 

The  greater  number  of  the  prisoners  suffered  tortures  of  all  kinds  before  being  mado 
away  with,  such  as  the  cepo  uruguayana,  flogging,  and  hunger.  Many  of  those  unhappy 
men,  who  had  been  put  to  the  torture,  died,  sometimes  five  or  six  a  day,  from  the  agony 
or  from  starvation. 


292  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 


Appendix  C. 
Barbarous  order  about  desertion. 
"  Long  live  the  republic  of  Paraguay  1 

"Camp  in  Paso  de  la  Patrta,  Marcli  25,  1866. 

"  By  order  of  his  excellency  the  marshal  president  of  the  roi)ublic,  and  coramander-in 
chief  of  its  armies,  the  following  i^unishments  are  iu  force : 

"  For  all  those  who  fall  asleep  on  guard : 

"  1.  The  officer  to  be  arrested,  and  reported  to  his  excellency. 

"2.  The  sergeant  to  receive  fifty  lashes  standing. 

"  3.  The  corporals  to  receive  forty  lashes.  ' 

"  4.  Privates  to  receive  twenty-five  lashes  each. 

"  In  case  of  desertion  of  a  soldier  when  detached  from  his  company : 

"  1.  The  rank  and  file  next  to  him  on  each  side  to  receive  twenty-five  lashes. 

"2.  The  ofiicer  in  charge  of  the  company  in  which  a  desertion  takes  place,  to  he 
arrested  and  reported  to  the  snprerae  government. 

'*3.  The  sergeant  to  receive  fifty  lashes,  and  do  duty  in  his  company  for  one  month 
as  common  soldier  and  one  month  as  corporal ;  at  the  expiration  of  these  two  months 
to  be  reinstated  to  his  former  rank  of  sergeant. 

"4.  The  corporals  to  receive  forty  lashes  in  circle,  and  do  duty  in  their  companies  as 
common  soldiers  for  two  months,  after  which  to  be  reinstated  to  their  former  rank  of 
corporal. 

"  This  order  is  applicable  to  troops  or  detachments  told  off  from  their  respective 
companies  for  any  work  or  employment  under  the  charge  of  their  respective  ofticers. 

''F.  I.  Eesquin." 

DOCUMENTS   EXPLAINING   THE  DEPOPULATION   OF  PARAGUAY. — WOMEN  DRIVEN  ABOUT 

IN  HERDS. 

"Long  Live  the  republic  of  Paraguay. 

"Camp  in  Pikysyry,  Decemher  18,  1868. 
<'  To  Captain  Bernardo  Amarilla  : 

"  By  supreme  order  I  dispatch  to  your  quarters,  under  charge  of  Ensign  Ignacio 
Eomero,  and  thirty  armed  men,  nine  hundred  women,  who  are  to  proceed  in  the 
manner  to  the  Cerro  Aruai,  thence  to  Paraguari  and  Caacup6,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Cordillera,  with  instructions  to  the  commandant  of  the  department  of  Caacupd  to 
distribute  them  in  the  furthest  districts  of  that  part  of  the  Cordillera,  where  they  may 
be  able  to  sow  beans,  andaices,  &c.  For  this  purpose  you  will  forward  this  order  to 
the  commandants  of  Paraguari  and  Caacup6. 

"  May  God  preserve  you  many  years. 

"F.  I.  EESQUIN." 

"Long  live  the  republic  of  Paraguay. 

"  To  the  captain  commanding  tlie  detachment  of  Ynquity,  and  the  commandants  of  Paraguari 

and  Caacupe : 
"  By  supreme  order  I  dispatch  another  batch  of  six  hundred  and  forty  women 
belonging  to  Villeta,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  belonging  to  different  districts,  in 
order  that,  as  on  a  previous  occasion,  they  may  be  safely  escorted  by  thirty  cavalry 
soldiers,  well  armed,  under  charge  of  an  officer,  from  Paso  Yuquity  to  the  Cerro  Aruai 
and  Paraguari ;  and  if  there  should  be  no  available  forces  at  either  of  these  points,  as 
far  as  the  district  of  Caacup6,  with  instructions  to  the  commandant  of  the  latter  place 
to  distribute  them,  as  soon  as  they  arrive,  through  the  other  central  districts  of  that 
Cordillera,  and  see  that  they  be  usefully  employed  in  agriculture  or  other  occupations 
by  which  they  may  provide  for  their  ovm  sustenance ;  for  this  purpose  they  are  to  be 
allowed  whatever  assistance  may  be  at  hand. 

"F.  I.  EESQUm." 

horrible. — SHOOTING  FOR  CONVERSING  AND  FLOGGING  FOR  LISTENING. 

Deposition  of  Private  Candido  Ayala,  of  the  grenadier  company  of  the  3d  battalion. 
"Long  live  the  Paraguayan  republic. 

"  Camp  in  San  Fernando,  April  4, 1868. 
"  Deponent  states  that  being  last  night  round  a  camp  fire,  with  other  soldiers  of  his 
company,  he  was  relating  to  them  the  sayings  and  offers  of  the  enemy,  w^hich  he  heard 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  293 

■svhen  doing  duty  in  the  vanguard,  under  tlie  orders  of  Major  Benite  Rolan,  whenevei 
they  came  within  sight  of  eacli  other.  On  one  occasion  some  of  the  enemy  said,  '  Come 
among  us ;  throw  away  your  ponchos  of  hide ;  here  we  live  well,  and  you  shall  want 
nothing;  forget  your  president,  that  old  hig-bellied  Indian.'  At  this  moment  the  com- 
manding officer,  who  was  near,  overheard  these  words,  and  immediately  rebuked  him, 
saying,  ^Be  silent ;  who  has  authorized  you  to  refer  the  words  of  those  wretches,  and 
what  can  they  say  or  impute  to  our  illustrious  marshal,  who  is  the  handsomest  and 
most  graceful  sovereign  in  all  the  American  Continent  ? '  Deponent  was  then  asked 
by  said  officer  what  induced  him  to  refer  such  things,  which  were  nothing  but  injurious 
personal  attacks  upon  our  lord  president ;  and  he  said  that  he  repeated  what  he  had 
heard  without  any  evil  thought,  not  knowing  that  he  was  incurring  blame. 

"  The  undersigned  ordered  deponent  to  be  put  into  irons  and  unprisoned  in  the  guard- 
house, where  he  at  present  lies,  and  reports  the  circumstance  to  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  division. 

"JULIAN  D.  GODOY." 

"  Camp  m  Tebicuary,  April  4, 1868. 
"  By  order  of  his  excellency  the  Marshal  President  of  the  republic  and  commander- 
in-chief  of  its  armies,  the  accused.  Private  Candido  Ayala,  third  battalion,  is  sentenced 
to  be  shot,  and  each  of  the  soldiers  of  his  company  who  listened  to  his  conversation 
are  to  receive  fifty  lashes.  The  execution  of  this  sentence  is  intrusted  to  the  major 
commanding  said  corps,  who,  in  reporting  its  duo  Tultillment,  will  state  the  names  of 
those  who  have  been  Hogged. 

"F.  I.  EESQUIN." 

"Camp  ts  San  Fernajsdo,  A^ril  4, 1868. 

"  In  compliance  with  the  above  supreme  order,  which  I  have  received  with  due 
respect,  I  ordered  sentence  of  death  on  Private  Candido  Ayala,  third  battalion,  for  the 
cause  above  stated,  to  bo  carried  out  this  very  day ;  also,  that  fifty  lashes  should  be 
applied  to  Sergeant  Faustino  Sanabria,  Corporals  josd  Figieredo,  Bias  Giminez,  and 
Privates  Baltazar  Medina,  Matilde  Pino,  Tomas  Duarte,  Cecilio  Maciel,  and  Canuto 
Galeano,  who  all  were  listening  when  Ayala  was  speaking  so  irreverently.  Private 
Canuto  Galeano  was,  by  mistake  of  the  corporal,  punished  with  only  forty-nine  lashes, 
and  I  ordered  the  number  to  be  completed  to  fifty,  which  being  done,  he  turned  around, 
as  if  oflendod,  asking  to  bo  punisjied  more,  if  the  number  was  not  yet  completed,  for 
which  display  of  pride  I  had  him  punished  with  twenty-five  lashes  more,  and  placed 
in  the  stocks. 

"  All  of  which  I  respectfully  beg  to  report  to  you. 

"  JULIAN  NICANOR  GODOY." 

Appendix  D. 

[Translation.] 
Skiiement  of  Don  Matias  Goihuru. 

At  the  headquarters  of  the  Argentine  army  in  Trinidad,  February  12,  1869,  his  excel- 
lency the  commander-in-chief  having  ordered  that  his  secretary  shall  take  some  state- 
ments, according  to  the  tenor  of  the  note  which  heads  this  document,  I  caused  Don 
Matias  Goibuni  to  appear  before  me,  who,  having  first  taken  an  oath,  I  interrogated 
in  the  following  manner : 

Questioned  as  to  his  native  country  and  employment,  replied  that  he  is  a  Paraguayan ; 
that  he  has  been  a  captain  in  the  army  of  Lopez;  that  at  present  he  is  adjutant  of  these 
headquarters. 

Questioned  when  and  in  what  manner  he  left  the  service  of  Lopez,  replied  that  he 
left  the  army  of  Lopez  on  the  27th  of  December;  that  he  did  so  voluntarily,  availing 
himself  of  the  confusion  of  the  battle  which  had  already  be^un. 

Questioned  concerning  the  treatment  which  the  prisoners  of  war  received  from  Lopez, 
and  ordered  to  state  in  particular  what  he  knew  upon  the  subject,  specifying,  if  pos- 
sible, some  cases,  replied  that  he  can  answer  with  full  knowledge,  but  that  he  has  to 
begin  from  the  3d  of  November,  1857,  because  he  is  ignorant  of  what  happened  before 
that  date.  He  does  not  mean  to  say,  however,  but  that,  by  public  notoriety,  he  knew 
that  prisoners  had  been  treated  with  cruelty  before  that  time ;  though  in  the  reply  to  that 
question  he  will  say  that  the  treatment  which  prisoners  received,  except  in  a  very  few 
cases,  was  cruel  and  most  atrociously  barbarous  ;  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  witnessed 
what  those  wretches  suffered  in  order  to  reveal  it ;  that  in  the  battle  of  the  3d  of  No- 
vember, in  Tuyuti,  there  were  taken  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  prisoners,  of 
whom  more  than  one  hundred  were  staked  out  and  whipped  with  cords,  and  forty-five 
were  shot ;  that  in  order  to  consummate  this  cruelty  a  mutiny  in  the  encampment  was 


294  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

inventod  by  a  man  called  tho  Viscount  of  Porto  Alegre ;  that  the  person  who  did  not 
declare  all  that  was  demanded  of  him  by  the  prosecuting  attorney,  was  invariably  staked 
out  and  flogged  until  the  confession  which  was  demanded  was  obtained ;  that  the 
beginning  of  this  arose  in  the  flight  of  one  of  the  prisoners,  a  Brazilian  negro,  who  was 
taken  as  he  was  leaving  the  entrenchment,  and  who,  beiug  interrogated  and  tormented, 
said  that  he  was  trying  to  escape  in  search  of  food,  since  he  was  dying  of  hunger. 
After  new  and  horrible  chastisements  he  declared  that  he  was  going  away  in  order  to 
bring  the  Viscount  of  Porto  Alegre,  that  he  might  conduct  a  movement  that  was  going 
to  break  out  among  his  companions,  with  tho  object  of  forcing  tho  guard  that  kept 
watch  over  them,  kiU  them,  and  start  for  the  Brazilian  encampment,  on  the  route 
toward  which  they  were  to  be  protected  by  the  said  viscount;  that  he  knows  this, 
because  he,  the  deponent,  was  charged  with  the  custody  of  those  wretches;  that  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  with  cruel  grief  of  his  own  heart,  he  has  been  obliged  to  be 
present  at,  and  even  to  superintend,  chastisements  which  are  reprobated  by  humanity 
and  civilization ;  that  of  these  same  persons  many  died — some  from  misery,  others  on 
account  of  the  scourging  which  they  suffered,  and  many  being  shot  on  different  occa- 
sions ;  that  the  deponent  believes  that  the  fortune  of  the  former  was  preferable  to  that 
of  the  latter,  because  they  at  least  gave  up  their  life  to  the  tyrant  without  having 
suffered  the  horrible  martyrdom  of  those  who,  at  a  later  time,  the  companions  of  their 
misfortune,  were  victims ;  that  Lopez  had  established  such  barbarous  responsibility, 
that  the  offense  of  one  had  to  be  expiated  by  the  blood  of  his  companions  ;  that  at  the 
time  of  which  he  is  speaking  the  officers  among  the  prisoners  of  war  enjoyed  a  relative 
liberty;  that  in  consequence  of  a  Brazilian  captain,  named  Correa,  having  escaped, 
(who  was  apprehended  the  day  after  his  disappearance,)  all  the  officers  were  put  in 
strict  imprisonment,  with  heavy  bars  and  fetters,  and  placed  on  half  rations ;  and  that 
after  prolonged  suffering  three  of  these  wretches  died  of  misery,  and  above  all  of 
hunger. 

Questioned:  What  was  the  treatment  which  prisoners  of  war  received  after  the 
period  you  have  mentioned  ?  Also,  do  you  know  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Don  Gaspar 
Campos,  or  any  other  officers,  and  state  what  was  their  end  ?  State  also  whatever  you 
know  which  is  not  relative  to  this  question.  Replied:  The  treatment  received  by 
prisoners  in  the  periods  later  than  that  which  is  before  mentioned,  became  every  day 
more  and  more  cruel  and  barbarous;  and  as  the  position  of  Lope^  became  greatly 
difficult,  he  multiplied  chastisements  and  diminished  tho  food  of  tho  prisoners,  and 
loaded  them  with  every  species  of  suffering ;  that,  from  the  time  Lopez  abandoned 
Huraaita,  the  officers  who  were  in  charge  of  the  prisoners  had  orders  to  shoot  everyone 
who  became  tired  out  in  the  marches ;  and  that  ho  knows  that  in  the  marches  made 
from  San  Fernando  to  Lomas,  there  were  shot  or  lanced  many  who  had  the  misfortune 
not  to  be  able  to  walk,  and  Aveighed  down  by  misery,  suffering,  and  disease;  that  iji 
later  times  every  person  who  deserted  to  the  Paraguayans,  or  was  taken  jirisoner, 
whether  officer  or  soldier,  was  flogged  until  he  declared  whatever  was  demanded  of 
him;  and  that  many  have  died  through  the  effect  of  the  scourge  with  which  they 
suffered,  others  having  been  shot  afterward ;  that  he  kiuiw  the  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Don  Gaspar  Campos ;  that  he  knows  that  he  arrived  at  Villeta ;  that  when  he  saw  him 
last  he  was  very  much  attenuated,  and  he  has  heard  it  said  that  he  died  of  misery 
lately;  that  he  knows  that  Lieutenant  Morillo,  of  the  Argentine  artillery,  was  put  to 
death  by  lancing ;  that  many  others  were  also  sacriticed  whoso  names  and  the  circum- 
stances of  their  death  he  does  not  know. 

Questioned  concerning  the  executions  ordered  by  Lopez ;  to  state  the  case,  names,  the 
circumstances  of  nationality  and  sex;  replied  that  ho  knows  perfectly  that  Miguel 
Elorduy,  Florencio  Uribe,  Jos6  Elorduy,  Bernardo  Artaza,  Miguel  Elorduy,  (sobrino,) 
Lucio  Echavarrioste,  Ignacio  Galarraga,  Francisco  Lotera,  Martin  Madrenas,  Eujenio 
M.  Aguirre,  Francisco  Vidal  y  su  yerno,  Enrique  Eeiua,  Pelayo  Azcona  6  Isidro  Marti- 
nez, lo  mismo  que  Inocencio  Gregorio,  all  Spaniards,  died  in  the  camp  of  Lopez,  the 
chief  part  of  them  in  consequence  of  tortures  received,  or  from  misery;  also,  fusilados, 
Lucio  Echavarrioste,  Francisco  Lotera,  Francisco  Vidal,  Enrique  Reiiia  <^  Isidro  Marti- 
nez, who  died  by  being  lanced,  because  they  were  unable  to  continue  their  march ;  and 
Gustavo  Hamann,  Emilio  Neuman,  N.  Hoffman,  CtXrlos  Urrich,  all  Germans,  died  by  tho 
same  inhuman  treatment  by  the  order  of  Lopez ;  and  the  English  subject,  Guillermo 
Stark,  shared  the  same  fate.  And  in  the  same  manner  Lassere  y  los  hermanos,  Dnprat 
y  su  hijo,  Valet,  Anglade  y  su  hijo,  y  los  italianos  Nicolus  Troya,  Antonio  Susini,  Ejirio 
Terreo,  Antonio  Rebaudi,  NicoMs  Susini,  Agustiu  Piaggio,  Simon  Fidanz,  Pio  Pozzoli  y 
N.  Ravizza,  asi  como  E.  Tube  y  H.  Grille,  Que  fusilo  jX  los  bolivianos  doctor  Tristan  Roca, 
doctor  N.  Vaca,  doctor  N.  Gutierrez  y  varies  otros.  Que  hizo  ma  tar  it  los  Portuguese  Can- 
dido  Vasconcellos,  Am^rico  Varela,  Antonio  Vasconcellos,  Corrsia  Madruga,  all  French- 
men, were  put  to  death,  and  A^arious  others  whose  names  have  escaped  his  memory.  Also 
the  Orientales  Antonio  Nin  Reyes,  doctor  Antonio  do  las  Carreras,  Francisco  Rodriguez 
Laracha,  Federico  Anavitarte,  N.  Caravia,  Ooronel  Laguna  y  muchos  otros,  y  con  los 
argentinos,  Coronel  Lotera,  Coronel  Virasoro,  Cdsar  Gondra,  Coronel  Martinez,'Sargento 
Mayor  Lucero,  Capitan  Goaycochea,  Coronel  Telmo  Lopez,  Capitan  Garay,  Enrique 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  295 

Garcia,  Desiderio  Arias,  N.  Barrasa,  Mayor  Carranza,  Aureliano  Capdevila,  Sinforos  o 
Ciiceres  6  hijo,  N.  Gauna,  Jos6  Cateiira,  Ramon  Capdevila,  N.  Palacios,  Ventura  Gutier- 
rez y  Corio  lano  Marquez,  were  put  to  death  by  order  of  Lopez.  That  besides  these  there 
were  many  others  of  the  nationalities  referred  to  whose  names  he  does  not  k*iow ;  and 
besides  those  almost  all  the  prisoners  of  war  of  the  allied  army  have  perished  ;  that  he 
knows  of  these  facts  because  he  himself  has  been  the  prosecuting  attorney  of  various  trials, 
and  that  he  states  that  these  prosecuting  attorneys  proceeded  under  the  iron  pressure 
of  Lopez  ;  that  they  had  always  at  their  side  special  inspectors,  who  gave  them  the 
orders  upon  which  they  were  to  act. 

Questioned  what  has  become  of  the  property,  both  real  estate  and  movable,  of  those 
victims;  replied  that  he  has  heard  that  they  have  been  seized  by  order  of  Lopez;  that 
he  cannot  give  the  details,  because  he  and  otiier  prosecuting  attorneys  were  only  allowed 
to  participate  in  the  trial  of  the  cases,  and  always  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
Lopez ;  that  the  only  thing  which  he  can  state  is  that  the  money  and  the  property 
which  those  accused  persons  had  with  them  was  taken  away  from  them,  and  was  never 
retiuned  to  them,  or  to  their  relatives. 

Questioned  concerning  the  tortures  and  the  shootings  of  his  own  countrymen  and 
women,  ordered  by  Lopez,  and  ordered  to  state  what  he  knows  upon  the  subject,  re- 
plied that,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  Lopez  has  sacrificed  the  best  and  most  decent 
portion  of  the  population  of  Paraguay  ;  that  on  some  occasions  he  formalized  a  trial 
from  which  there  resulted  whatever  he  wished  ;  but  that,  almost  universally,  he  flogged 
and  shot  the  notable  persons  without  form  of  trial ;  that  out  of  his  own  family  he  shot 
his  brother  Benigno,  and  his  two  brothers-in-law.  Barrios  and  Bedoya ;  and,  finally, 
that  this  monster  is  exterminating,  or  would  have  exterminated,  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Paragmiy  if  he  had  time  to  do  it ;  that  he  has  notes,  and,  if  called  upon  again  to  give 
a  statement,  he  can  give  a  detailed  sjjecification  of  the  facts,  whose  bloody  cruelty  will 
appal. 

At  this  stage  of  the  examination  it  was  determined  to  suspend  this  deposition,  with 
the  charge  of  following  it  up  later  if  it  should  be  necessary.    Having  read  the  state- 
ut  to  the  deponent,  he  confirmed  and  ratified  it,  and  signed  it  with  myself. 

ISIATLVS  GOYBURtJ. 

xVuGUSTiN  MAitiS'O,  Secretary. 


Testimony  of  Vice-Admiral  B.  B.  Porter,  TJ,  S.  N, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  November  23, 1869. 

Vice- Admiral  D.  D.  Porter  sworn  and  examined. 
ByMr.  Swann: 

Question.  Please  state  what  is  the  practice  of  the  Navy  Department  in  regard  to 
giving  instructions  to  officers  in  conmiand  of  sciuadrons  abroiwl ;  whether  or  not  a  naval 
officer  in  charge  of  an  important  station  like  Brazil  is  furnished  with  instructions  from 
the  Navy  Department  when  he  is  sent  out  there. — Answer.  They  most  always  go  with 
special  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  when  special  instructions  are 
not  given  them  the  officers  whom  they  relieve  are  directed  to  turn  over  to  them  the 
instructions  they  have  heretofore  received,  and  they  are  to  be  governed  by  those  instruc- 
tions.   That  is  the  custom  in  all  cases. 

Q.  Where  an  admiral  goes  out  in  that  way,  and  unforeseen  contingencies  arise  which 
make  it  necessary  for  him  to  act  upon  his  own  judgment,  is  he  authorized  by  the  de- 
partment to  exercise  his  best  judgment  in  any  course  that  he  may  think  it  necessary 
to  pursue,  or  is  he  to  defer  to  the  opinion  or  wishes  of  the  diplomatic  agent  of  the  gov- 
ernment at  the  station  where  he  may  be  ? — A.  I  think  the  instructions  require  an  officer 
to  refer  all  cases,  where  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  what  action  he  should  take,  to  the  head 
of  the  department,  and  not  to  take  any  action  himself  that  may  jeopardize  the  peace 
of  the  nation. 

Q.  They  are  not  authorized  to  break  a  blockade,  or  force  the  military  lines?— A.  No, 
sir;  not  without  specific  instructions,  and  we  have  rules  and  regulations  which  state 
how  an  officer  shall  act  in  cases  of  that  kind.  They  are  called  the  '*  Regulations  of  the 
Navy,"  and  I  will  furnish  the  committee  with  a  copy  of  them.  The  new  regulations, 
which  have  been  or  are  about  being  issued,  direct  that  an  officer  in  command  of  a 
squadron,  when  called  upon  by  a  minister  abroad  to  do  anything  that  might  involve 
the  peace  of  the  nation,  may  disregard  any  such  advice,  and  is  not  to  be  governed  by 
it  unless  he  has  instructions  from  his  department.  The  officers  are  not  encouraged  to 
take  such  action,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  avoid  it  as  much  as  possible.  The  old  in- 
structions are  not  very  full  on  that  point,  but  instructions  have  been  given  to  officers 
to  refer  all  such  matters  to  the  Navy  Department,  and  from  that  department  they  are 
taken  to  the  StateCepartment.    We  look  upon  it  that  a  minister  is  sent  abroad  to  pre- 


296  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION, 

serve  peace,  and  not  to  make  war;  and  naval  officers,  having  so  much  intercourse  with 
the  world,  consider  that  they  are,  perhaps,  as  well  informed  about  diplomatic  matters 
as  persons  who  have  juat  entered  upon  their  diplomatic  duties  for  the  lirst  time.  Now 
in  England  it  is  diftcrent.  There  persons  are  educated  for  the  diplomatic  profession, 
and  a  British  naval  officer,  in  many  cases,  is  put  under  the  orders  of  the  minister.  But 
in  case  we  had  any  difficulty  with  a  foreiga  power  the  Navy  Department  would  instruct 
the  admiral  at  that  point  to  co-operate  with  the  minister  in  that  particular  case,  hut  in 
no  other  case. 

Q.  How  has  that  system  worked  heretofore?  Do  you  know  of  any  serious  collision 
having  occurred  in  consequence  of  it,  between  the  naval  commanders  and  the  diplo- 
matic agents  of  the  government? — A.  I  do  not  recollect  any  having  occurred  except 
this  present  case  in  Paraguay. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  in  the  event  of  a  collision  or  a  difference  of  opinion 
between  the  diplomatic  a^ent  and  the  naval  officer,  under  these  instructions  the  naval 
officer  is  allowed  a  wise  discretion? — A.  He  is  to  exercise  his  own  judgment;  responsi- 
ble, of  course,  to  the  head  of  his  department.  If  he  were  to  follow  the  advice  of  a 
minister  or  consul,  and  involve  the  coimtry  in  a  difficulty,  he  would  be  held  responsible 
and  be  tried  by  court-martial ;  the  plea  of  their  having  advised  him  to  take  such  a 
course  would  not  relieve  him  from  his  responsibility.  If  I  was  in  command  of  a  squad- 
ron I  should  look  to  the  head  of  the  department  for  instructions  upon  all  doubtful 
points.  If  ministers  abroad  and  admirals  were  allowed  to  -put  their  heads  together  and 
involve  the  country  in  a  war,  we  might  be  in  wars  all  the  time.  But  the  Navy  and 
State  Departments  have  wisely  kept  these  matters  in  their  own  hands,  and  under  their 
control.  The  Navy  Department  is  naturally  subject  to  the  State  Department,  for  the 
Secretary  of  State  is  always  supposed  to  be  acting  under  direct  orders  from  the  Presi- 
dent. When  the  Secretary  of  State  wants  anything  done  by  the  Navy  Department,  it 
is  not  necessary  for  him  to  say,  "It  is  by  order  of  the  President,"  but  it  is  done  in- 
stantly. If  he  says,  "  I  want  a  vessel  in  New  York  at  a  certain  time  for  a  certain  pur- 
pose," it  is  done  without  further  question.  This  has  been  done  within  the  last  ten  days. 
The  Secretary  of  State  says :  "  I  want  a  ship  at  a  certain  txne ;  can  it  be  got  ready  ?" 
"  Yes," — or  two  or  three  ships,  as  the  case  may  be.  It  is  tendered  to  him  at  once.  It  is 
supposed  to  be  an  order  from  the  President ;  therefore  every  order  that  the  Navy  De- 
partment gives  an  officer  of  the  navy  abroad  is  supposed  to  emanate  from  the  State 
Department.  Now,  when  Admiral  Poor  went  down  to  Havana  to  take  command  of  the 
squadron  there,  he  did  not  get  the  views  of  the  Navy  Department,  but  he  went  to  the 
State  Department,  and  there  received  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  when 
he  came  back  to  the  Navy  Department  his  orders  were  written  out.  I  wrote  them  out 
myself,  exactly  how  he  was  to  act  in  all  this  matter,  and  he  is  not  called  upon  in  any 
case  to  co-operate  with  the  consul  in  Cuba,  who  has  partly  ministerial  powers,  and  this 
is  so  in  all  cases.    That  is  about  as  good  an  idea  as  I  can  give  you. 

By  Mr.  Wilklnson  : 

Q.  Suppose  an  accredited  minister  of  the  United  States,  acting  under  instructions 
from  the  State  Department,  should  call  upon  an  admiral  in  command  of  a  squadron  to 
aid  him  in  the  discharge  of  a  certain  duty  in  relation  to  which  the  instructions  of  the 
Navy  Department  to  the  admiral  were  silent ;  what  would  be  his  duty  ? — A.  He  could 
not  do  it  unless  the  Secretary  of  State  sent  those  instructions  through  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  Here  is  a  case  in  point.  The  President  directed  that  all  those  persons  who 
had  gone  from  the  South,  after  the  war,  into  Brazil,  and  were  there  in  a  destitute  con- 
dition, should  be  sent  home  by  vessels  of  war.  The  Secretary  of  State  transmitted 
that  order  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the  thing  was  done,  except  in  one  instance, 
where  an  officer  declined  taking  these  men  on  board  his  vessel  at  the  request  of  the 
minister  or  consul,  as  he  had  received  no  instructions  from  the  admiral  commanding; 
and  the  department  held  him  blameless  because  the  instructions  had  not  been  sent  to 
him. 

Q.  Where  a  squadron  is  stationed  near  a  foreign  court  at  which  we  have  an  accredited 
minister,  is  the  officer  in  command  intrusted  with  any  diplomatic  powers? — A.  None 
whatever.  He  cannot  have  any  diplomatic  powers  except  by  express  authority  from 
the  Navy  Department  or  the  President.  The  only  authority  given  to  a  naval  officer  is 
authority  to  exercise  consular  powers  in  the  absence  of  a  consul;  not  diplomatic 
powers. 

Q.  What  is  the  purpose  intended  by  keeping  our  squadron  at  Eio,  for  instance,  on 
the  La  Plata  ? — A.  For  the  protection  of  American  citizens  and  sailors  more  for  moral 
effect  than  anything  else  I  suppose,  and  to  have  some  object  for  keeping  the  navy  up. 

Q.  Suppose  a  minister  calls  upon  the  navy  to  protect  the  rights  of  an  American 
citizen  who  had  been  wrongfully  imprisoned  ? — A.  Well,  the  admiral  would  have  to  be 
the  judge  of  the  matter.  He  would  have  to  exercise  his  judgment,  because  if  he  did 
anything  to  involve  the  country  in  a  war' he  would  have  to  take  the  responsibility  and 
might  be  punished  for  it.  He  would  have  to  get  some  instructions  from  the  Navy 
Department.    The  admiral  would  probably  argue  this  way:  "WeH,  this  thing  can- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  297 

not  be  hurt  hy  a  little  delay,  and  by  being  premature  I  may  commit  some  rash  act  and 
involve  the  country  in  a  war,  and  they  will  not  thank  me  for  that,  for  people  never 
thank  anybody  for  getting  them  into  a  war."  I  think  soldiers  and  sailors  know 
pretty  much  what  the  result  of  wars  are,  and  are  less  apt  to  ran  into  them  than  other 
people. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say,  from  your  recollection,  that  this  system  has  worked 
well  heretofore — that  is,  the  independent  relations  of  these  officers;  and  that  yon  do 
not  know  or  cannot  recall  any  difficulty  of  a  serious  character  arising  from  it,  except 
in  this  case  ?— A.  This  is  the  only  case  that  I  recollect  where  any  serious  trouble  has 
arisen.  I  have  myself  been  at  a  great  many  stations  where  ministers  have  resided, 
and  I  never  knew  any  of  them  attempt  to  exercise  any  authority  over  a  squadron  or 
the  admiral  commanding  the  squadron  who  had  instructions  from  his  department. 
And  there  is  less  reason  for  any  misunderstanding  between  them  now  than  foimerly, 
since  the  establishment  of  mail  steamers  throughout  the  world  and  the  increased 
facilities  for  communication  by  mail  or  telegraph.  We  now  can  hear  from  Brazil 
in  twenty  days,  and  a  reply  can  be  received  in  forty  days.  And  I  think  an  officer  would 
prefer  waiting  much  longer  than  that,  rather  than  run  any  risk  in  involving  the 
country  in  a  war. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Admiral  Godon  went  out  there  with  these  general 
instructions  such  as  you  say  the  Navy  Department  usually  gives  oncers  in  command  of 
squadrons? — A.  I  suppose  so;  and  to  receive  from  his  predecessor  his  previous 
instructions,  and  to  conform  to  the  general  orders  given  to  commanders,  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  navy.  Ho  was  not  sent  out  there  for  any  special  purpose  other  than 
to  afibrd  jprotection  to  American  citizens,  and  to  show  the  nag  at  various  points. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Admiral  Godon's  official  record  ? — A.  Very  well ;  I  have 
known  him  ever  since  I  was  a  boy. 

Q.  What  is  his  standing  in  the  navy? — A.  His  standing  is  very  high  as  an  officer — 
as  an  able  man.  He  is  a  great  talker.  He  is  really  one  of  the  cleverest  men  in  the 
navy — I  mean  professionally  and  iu  point  of  intelligence.  He  is  also  well  read  in  the 
law. 

Q.  You  consider  him  an  efficient  officer? — A.  Yes,  sir;  in  every  way,  and  as  effi- 
cient in  diplomatic  duties  as  perhaps  any  ofhcer  in  the  navy. 

Q.  It  was  stated  by  General  Webb  that  there  was  a  rumor — I  think  he  said — in  the 
squadron,  that  Admiral  Godon  had  a  softening  of  the  brain.  He  did  not  indicate  any 
specific  act  which  induced  him  to  believe  that  report,  still  he  did  believe  it,  he  says.  I 
want  to  know  from  you  whether  there  has  been  anything  in  his  official  relations  with 
th(;  department,  or  within  your  knowledge,  that  induces  you  to  believe  that  the 
admiral  has  lost  his  balance? — A.  No,  nothing  at  all;  nothing  in  the  department.  I 
have  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  him  in  the  last  six  months.  He  was  under  my  com- 
mand in  the  North  Atlantic  Squadron  during  the  operations  on  that  coast,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  most  efficient  officers  I  had.  He  is  now  in  charge  of  this  Spanish  gunboat 
business.  We  put  the  matter  under  his  special  charge  because  of  his  intelligence,  and 
because  we  thought  hira  well  calculated  for  that  duty.  The  Secretary  of  State  said  he 
was  worried  about  the  matter  and  I  told  him  he  need  not  feel  so  about  it ;  that  we  had 
great  confidence  in  Godon,  and  that  he  would  act  according  to  his  best  judgment,  and 
Avould  see  that  the  gunboats  didn't  get  away.  He  said  the  President  considered  it  a 
matter  of  great  importance.  "Well,"  said  I,  " so  do  I,  and  therefore  leave  it  to  Godon, 
because  I  have  great  confidence  in  his  judgment; "  and  we  haven't  said  a  word  to  him 
since  about  it.  He  appears  fliglity,  and  yet  he  is  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of  mind — I 
expect  as  much  as  any  man  in  the  navy. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  or  not,  upon  his  return  from  Eio,  the  Navy  Department 
approved  of  his  conduct  and  sustained  him  in  his  action? — A.  I  am  quite  satisfied  it 
did  and  the  State  Department  also.  And  since  then  he  has  been  detailed  for  this  deli- 
cate duty,  and  put  in  command  of  one  of  our  most  important  navy  yards.  That  doesn't 
look  as  if  he  had  softening  of  the  brain. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Admiral  Davis  ? — A.  Very  well. 

Q.  What  has  been  his  record  ? — A.  He  is  a  very  fine  officer.  He  has  commanded  one 
of  our  largest  squadrons,  that  of  Brazil.  He  commanded  very  handsomely  during  the 
war  on  the  Mississippi,  and  was  promoted  to  the  grade  of  rear-admiral  for  his  gallantry 
during  the  war.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  education  and  scientific  attainments,  and,  pro- 
fessionally, I  expect  he  is  up  to  any  officer  in  the  navy. 

Q.  What  is  his  present  duty  and  position  ? — A.  About  the  time  he  came  home,  the 
President  had  become  very  much  interested  in  the  subject  of  a  ship-canal  across  the 
isthmus  of  Panama,  and  as  Admiral  Davis  had  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  that 
subject,  he  was  put  on  duty  to  get  the  information  the  government  wanted.  He  is 
now  engaged  in  getting  up  that  information,  and  we  are  about  fitting  out  a  vessel  to 
go  there  and  commence  the  surveys ;  and  it  is  on  the  information  of  Admiral  Davis 
that  the  department  will  act.  •  This  shows  the  confidence  the  department  has  in  him  as 
an  experienced  officer  and  a  man  of  intelligence.    He  is  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 


298  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

attainments.  He  is  connected  with  a  good  many  scientific  colleges  in  the  United 
States.  He  has  been  in  charge  of  our  Naval  Observatory  and  Nautical  Almanac.  He  has 
ahvays  been  an  important  man  on  the  coast  survey,  and  the  best  descrix)tion  of  the 
coast  survey  ever  published  Avas  written  by  him. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  his  conduct  in  Paraguay  was  approved  by  your  depart- 
ment ? — A.  I  think  that  is  the  feeling  there.  We  are  all  satisfied  he  was  perfectly  right. 
Mr.  Washburn,  when  he  came  home,  read  me  some  papers  and  said  that  Admiral  Davis 
should  be  ordered  homo  immediately ;  but  I  told  him  I  did  not  know  what  the  Secre- 
tary's views  were  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Borie  was  out  of  town  at  the  time,  and  he  asked 
me  if  I  would  repeat  what  ho  had  said.  Well,  I  didn't  tell  Mr.  Borie  what  my  opinions 
were  on  the  subject ;  but  he  read  the  paper,  looked  it  over,  and  said,  *'  It  strikes  me  that 
it  is  very  singular  that  an  officer  should  be  recalled  in  this  way  without  hearing  his  side 
of  the  case."  He  asked  me  then  about  Admiral  Davis,  and  I  told  him  all  I  knew  of  this 
case,  and  that  I  felt  satisfied  whatever  he  had  done  was  done  from  the  best  of  motives. 
I  got  a  letter  from  him  afterward,  stating  exactly  all  that  occurred  there.  He  didn't 
know  then  that  the  ship  would  be  ordered  home,  and  she  was  not  ordered  home  for  the 
l>urpose  of  bringing  him  before  this  committee — they  had  not  asked  for  it  at  that  time — 
but  in  consequence  of  the  law  of  Congress  which  prevents  our  sending  a  ship  out  to 
relieve  another  vessel  untii  that  vessel  has  reached  home. 

Q.  He  was  not  recalled? — A.  No,  because  the  department  felt  that  throughout  this 
matter  he  had  carried  out  his  instructions  thoi'oughly,  and  had  perhaps  prevented 
involving  this  connH-y  in  a  war  with  Paraguay.  We  felt  that  if  we  had  a  ^^ar  with 
Paraguay  that  notwithstanding  our  ten  guns  to  their  one,  we  should  come  out  of  it 
very  much  humiliated ;  because  we  would  be  in  ju'etty  much  the  same  condition  as 
Brazil  is  now — chasing  Lopez  forever  and  never  catching  him.  We  sent  an  expedition 
out  there  some  years  ago,  and  if  the  Paraguayans  had  been  at  all  combative  they 
would  have  whipped  it  all  to  i)ieces. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  be  a  cause  of  war  for  an  American  admiral  to  demand  the 
right  of  going  through  a  blockade  established  by  a  nation  with  whom  we  are  at  i)eace, 
for  the  purpose  of  conveying  a  minister  to  his  post  of  duty ;  as,  for  instance,  take  this 
Paraguayan  case,  where  our  government  had  friendly  relations  with  both  parties,  the 
allies  and  Paraguay  ? — A.  No.    I  think  the  admiral  would  have  the  right  to  demand. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 
Q.  But  if  the  demand  was  refused  ? — A.  Then  I  should  go,  anyhow. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Being  responsible  to  the  head  of  your  department? — A.  Yes  sir.    It  must  be, 
however,  for  some  good  reason.    If  I  had  a  minister  on  board  and  was  ordered  to  take 
the  minister  to  that  place,  I  would  take  him  there  and  obey  my  orders. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  What  would  you  do  in  the  absence  of  any  express  orders  ? — A.  I  shonld  go.  That 
is  the  courtesy  always  extended  to  a  minister.  When  a  vessel  goes  up  that  way  it  is 
not  even  necessary  for  the  commanding  officer  to  give  his  word  of  honor  not  to  give  or 
receive  information  on  either  side;  because  no  honorable  man  would  repeat  anything 
that  he  heard  or  tell  what  he  saw,  nor  i)ermit  his  crew  to.  He  would  not  allow  his 
crew  to  have  any  communication  with  the  shore,  so  that  they  could  obtain  no  informa- 
tion detrimental  to  the  other  party.  If  he  did  allow  them,  lie  would  be  responsible  to 
his  government.  That  ought  always  to  bo  his  rule  of  conduct.  During  the  war,  when- 
ever an  English  vessel  wanted  to  communicate  with  their  representative  in  the  con- 
federacy, they  were  never  refused  permission.  I  think  they  could  have  demanded  to 
go.  They  always  asked  permission,  and  it  was  never  refused,  and  they  frequently 
went  on  very  foolish  errands. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 
Q.  Suppose  you  knew  that  by  breaking  a  blockade  it  wonld  be  viewed  and  treated 
as  a  casus  belli;  suppose  you  had  the  minister  on  board  going  to  Asuncion,  his  place  of 
destination,  would  you  have  broken  that  blockade  upon  your  own  responsibility  with- 
out si)ecific  instructions  from  your  government  ?— A.  Not  where  I  thought  it  was  a 
casus  MIL  I  do  not  regard  that  as  a  casus  MIL  If  I  had  said,  "  I  shall  have  to  go  ui> ; 
I  am  bound  by  my  instructions  to  go ;"  if  they  fired  into  me,  they  would  be  the  aggres- 
sors, not  I. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  K  you  had  been  in  command  of  the  South  Atlantic  squadron  and  Minister  Wash- 
burn had  api)lied  to  you  to  transport  him  to  Asuncion — to  the  court  to  which  ho  was 
accredited— would  you  have  furnished  such  transportation  and  taken  him  through  what 
the  allies  called  their  blockade  of  the  Parana  River,  whether  they  protested  or  not 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  299 

against  the  act  ?— A.  "Well,  that  requires  some  consicleration.  I  should  take  time  to 
deliberate  over  it,  and  I  should  look  into  the  necessity  of  Mr.  Washburn's  going.  If  it 
was  a  case  of  necessity,  and  there  were  sufficient  instructions  from  the  government  or 
department  to  guide  me,  I  should  do  so.  But  I  would  not  do  it  on  the  minister's 
request  simply,  if  I  thought  it  was  going  to  involve  the  country  in  a  war. 

Q.  Supi>ose,  however,  the  minister  showed  you  instructions  from  the  Stat«  Depart- 
ment ordering  him  to  his  post  of  duty  ;  would  you  regard  that  as  sufficient  ?— A.  No,  I 
would  not,  unless  there  was  some  very  important  reason  assigned  ;  then  I  might  do  it. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  the  allies  had  the  right  to  draw  military  lines  aud'refuse  to 
the  United  States  the  privilege  of  sending  their  minister  through  those  lines  to  his 
destination  ?— A.  They  hail  the  right,  because  they  had  the  force  ;  but  I  do  not  think  it 
was  an  act  of  courtesy.  I  think  it  is  showing  a  want  of  courtesy  to  prevent  a  minister 
or  consul  going  to  a  foreign  country  under  those  circumstances. 

Q.  Theu,  if  you  had  h  force  superior  to  theirs  you  would  go  through,  claiming  the 
right  to  do  so  ? — A.  Well,  I  think  nations  have  generally  done  that,  because  these  people, 
if  you  had  tlie  larger  Ibrce,  would  hardly  risk  having  their  army  and  navy  destroyed  on  a 
point  of  etiquette.  But  when  the  opposing  party  has  the  greatest  power,  an  officer  has 
to  be  very  careful  in  a  case  of  that  kind,  and  to  consider  and  look  at  his  instructions. 
You  must  recollect  that  the  "  Wasp"  had  but  one  gun,  and  it  seems  like  a  piece  of  pre- 
sumption for  a  little  blockade- runner  to  present  herself  before  a  largo  fleet  and  demand 
a  passage,  with  nothing  to  back  her. 

Q.  In  this  case,  Uruguay,  Paraguay,  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  Brazil,  were  all  at 
peace  with  the  United  States.  We  desired  to  send  our  minister  to  Asuncion.  The  al- 
lies said  ''No,  you  cani>ot  go  through,  because,  if  you  do,  you  will  interfere  with  our 
blockade."  Of  course  you  do  not  acknowledge  their  right  to  prevent  our  minister  going 
there  ? — A.  No,  I  think  they  ought  to  have  allowed  it ;  I  think  it  was  a  want  of  courtesy 
on  their  part,  and  it  is  very  unusual.  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  blockade  in  my  life, 
and  of  various  kinds.  I  have  seen  it  in  the  Archipelago,  and  in  tliat  same  river,  in 
Mexico,  and  upon  our  own  coast,  and  I  have  a  i)retty  good  idea  of  what  it  is. 

By  Mr.  Swanx  : 

Q.  Still,  you  state  that  in  all  probability  you  would  have  disregarded  that  claim,  or 
the  right  which  they  claimed  to  interpose  obstacles  in  your  way,  and  would  have  been 
governed  by  your  position  there  and  the  strength  you  had  to  back  you  ? — A.  Unless  I 
had  the  force,  I  would  not  have  attempted  to  break  the  blockade ;  because  all  I  shonld 
have  got  for  my  pains  would  have  been  a  severe  whipping,  and  my  government  might 
have  tried  me  for  it  by  court-martial ;  though  if  I  had  been  successful  they  might  sup- 
port me.  I  do  not  think,  however,  that  the  government  would  support  any  man  who 
would  attempt  to  break  a  blockade  with  a  very  small  force. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Suppose  application  had  been  made  to  the  allies  for  permission  to  take  Mr.  Wash- 
hui'u  up  to  Asuncion,  and  they  had  refused  permission,  and  that  refusal  had  been  re- 
I»orted  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  had  returned  the  answer  to 
our  minister  at  Brazil'that  it  was  an  unfriendly  act,  and  for  him  to  repeat  the  demand 
to  go  through  ;  and  that  in  that  event  the  admiral  had  been  ai)plied  to  for  aid  ;  what 
was  his  duty  in  that  case? — A.  He  could  not  do  anything  without  instructions  from 
the  Secretery  of  the  Navy.  The  Secretary  of  State,  in  such  a  case  as  you  have  cited, 
would  have  applied  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Nav}'  to  give  instructions,  by  order  of  the 
President.  To  act  under  these  circumstances,  would  be  to  make  war ;  and  as  there  had 
been  sufficient  time  for  the  government  to  be  notified  of  these  difficulties,  it  would  be 
I)resumed  that  at  the  same  time  the  minister  was  ordered  to  repeat  his  demand  there 
would  be  opportunities  of  sending  orders  to  the  commander  of  the  squadron ;  and  I  do 
not  think  the  Secretary  of  State  would  expect  an  officer  under  those  circumstances  to 
force  the  minister  through  the  lines  without  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Q.  That  being  the  case,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  wise  to  have  some  system  adopted 
by  which  there  siiould  be  unity  of  action,  in  cases  of  this  kind,  between  the  different 
departments  of  the  government  ?— A.  No  ;  I  think  it  had  better  be  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  government.  I  do  not  think  the  government  would  like  to  give  up  their  authority 
either,  because  then  we  would  put  the  act  of  making  war  in  the  hands  of  the  admiral 
and  the  minister,  a  thing  which  at  present  Congress  keeps  in  its  own  hands.  I  think 
if  I  had  been  the  admiral  under  these  circumstances,  as  the  matter  had  gone  so  far  it 
would  not  do  any  harm  to  wait  a  little  longer,  I  would  have  written  to  the  Navy  De- 
partment for  specific  instructions.  If  any  difficulty  grew  out  of  my  action,  the  whole 
responsibility  wonld  come  upon  me.  The  minister  has  no  responsibility  in  the  matter ; 
it  is  the  man  who  orders  the  gun  to  be  fired. 

Q.  The  minister  is  the  mouth-piece  of  the  State  Department  ?— A.  Yes  ;  but  he  does 
not  deliver  any  orders  from  the  Navy  Department.  The  Secretary  of  State  cannot 
issue  any  order  to  a  naval  officer,  unless  it  comes  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


300  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you,Hhen,  whether  our  diplomatic  officers  can  gain  any  assistance 
from  our  navy  at  foreign  stations,  upon  application  under  instructions  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  or  whether  they  must  wait  six  mouths  or  a  year  to  get  news  from  home  ?— 
A.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  there  is  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  assistance  ;  but  in  a  case 
where  there  is  danger  of  involving  the  country  in  a  war,  there  would  be  a  disagree- 
ment, because  a  naval  officer  has  to  be  very  careful  how  he  acts. 

Q.  Suppose  that  upon  such  application,  the  commanding  officer  should  detail  a  ves- 
sel for  the  purpose,  and  that  vessel  went  up  as  far  as  it  could,  and  then  asked  permis- 
sion to  go  through,  and  it  was  refused ;  of  course,  a  small  vessel  like  the  Wasp  would 
not  commence  a  light  there,  but  would  go  back  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  go  back  and  report  the 
circumstances  to  the  department. 

Q.  Now,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  the  admiral's  duty  to  make  the  attempt  to  go 
through,  to  go  up  there  and  ask  permission  to  go  through  ? — A.  Yes,  sir ;  that  I  think 
is  his  duty.    Then  the  responsibility  of  the  refusal  rests  upon  the  opposing  party. 

By  Air.  SWANN : 
Q.  And  then,  in  all  probability,  the  Secretary  of  State  would  confer  with  the  Navy 
Department,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  would  order  a  squadron  sufficient  to  force 
the  lines,  in  case  it  was  deemed  advisable  f — ^A.  Yes,  sir ;  a  naval  officer  is  a  mere  ma- 
chine after  all,  not  to  act  on  his  own  responsibility,  as  an  army  officer  is.  It  would 
not  do  for  the  Secretary  of  State  to  issue  an  order  to  an  officer  in  the  army  any  more 
than  to  an  officer  in  the  navy ;  and  the  fact  of  a  minister's  merely  i^assing  the  word  to 
an  officer  of  the  navy  is  no  authority  for  him  to  act,  any  more  than  it  would  be  for  an 
officer  of  the  army.  It  is  a  very  small  thing  that  is  required  in  such  a  case.  The  Sec- 
retary of  State  has  only  to  write  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  say,  ^'  Please  give 
the  following  instructions  to  the  officer  in  command  of  such  a  squadron,"  and  it  is  done. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 
Q.  So,  in  your  judgment,  you  do  not  think  any  legislation  is  required  on  this  sub- 
ject?— A.  I  do  not  think  any  legislation  required.    It  works  well  now,  and  a  change 
might  make  many  difficulties.    I  think  it  is  a  good  plan  to  let  well  enough  alone. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Do  you  think  our  government  as  efficient  in  protecting  its  citizens  abroad  as  the 
English  government  is,  for  instance  ? — A.  I  think  American  citizens  abroad  receive  good 
protection  from  their  government,  but  our  government  does  not  go  at  it  as  vigorously 
as  the  English  government.  We  have  more  friends  among  other  nations  than  the 
English  have.  Our  naval  officers  conciliate  them,  and  we  stand  better  with  them 
abroad  than  any  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  from  the  simple  fact  that  we  mind  our 
own  business,  and  do  not  meddle  with  their  affairs.  Whenever  any  complaint  is  made 
by  an  American  citizen,  our  consul,  or  the  naval  officer  performinc:  consular  duties,  calls 
on  the  government  and  requests  that  the  injustice  be  abated,  and  it  is  always  done. 
We  have  interfered  frequently  in  the  case  of  British  and  French  subjects,  and  have 
always  been  successful  in  getting  them  out  of  their  troubles.  I  think  our  citizens 
abroad  get  as  much  protection  as  those  of  any  nation ;  the  only  trouble  is,  we  have  but 
forty-odd  vessels  in  commission,  mounting  about  two  hundred  guns,  to  do  all  our  police 
duty  all  over  the  world.  That  is,  we  have  got  one  gun-boat  of  six  hundred  tons  to 
protect  every  sixty  thousand  tons  of  our  commerce— in  that  ratio  ;  while  the  British 
government  has  three  hundred  and  seventy-odd  vessels  in  commission  at  this  present 
time,  and  the  French  three  hundred  and  sixty-nine  thousand  tons ;  I  do  not  know  how 
many  vessels.  They  are  able  to  give  much  better  protection  than  we,  because  of  their 
superior  number  of  vessels.  The  British  and  the  French  also  give  as  much  protection 
to  Americans  abroad  as  we  do. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : " 
Q.  But  you  do  not  think  we  are  suffering  to  the  extent  that  it  would  require  a  larger 
number  of  vessels  in  commission  to  give  the  necessary  protection  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  not  at 
all.  We  have  had  but  three  complaints  from  the  State  Department  this  year.  Some 
missionaries  on  the  SowWi  Pacific  Mauds  applied  for  protection,  and  a  gun-boat  was 
sent  there.  We  do  not  find  that  there  is  any  lack  of  protection,  and  I  think  this  is  as 
much  in  courtesy  to  our  flag  as  fear  of  our  force. 

By  Mr.  Ortii  : 

Q.  What  is  the  annual  expense  of  keeping  a  first-rate  man-of-war  in  commission  ? — ■ 
A.  We  do  not  keep  a  first-rate  man-of-war  in  commission.  Suj)pose  you  say  an  ordi- 
nary ;  well,  it  costs  about  $150,000  a  year. 

Q.  For  instance,  take  the  Guerriere. — A.  She  costs,  properly  managed,  about  $150,000 
a  year,-  including  officers'  and  men's  pay,  and  everything;  and  if  they  do  not  burn  coal, 
each  vessel  saves  $100,000  a  year. 

Q.  If  she  used  coal,  the  expense  would  be  $250,000  a  year  ?— A.  Yes,  sir. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  301 

By  Mr.  SWANX : 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Captain  Ramsay  ?— A.  I  am.  He  was  under  my  command 
during  the  whole  war. 

Q.  What  is  your  estimate  of  him  as  an  officer?— A.  It  is  very  high.  He  is  one  of  the 
cleverest  young  officers  in  the  navy  ;  a  brave  and  gallant  man.  He  has  been  in  a  good 
many  fights  under  my  direction  and  orders,  and  is  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intel- 
ligence. 

Q.  In  what  capacity  did  he  serve  wifti  you  in  the  South  ?— A.  First  in  command  of  a 
vessel,  and  then  in  command  of  a  division  of  twenty -five  or  thirty  vessels. 

Q.  You  have  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  reliable  and  intelligent  officer?— A.  Yes, 
sir ;  ho  has  that  reputation  in  the  navy  and  out  of  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Surgeon  Duvall?— A.  I  do. 

Q.  What  is  his  standing  in  the  navy  ?— A.  Well,  it  is  very  hard  to  say.  I  have 
known  him  a  long  while,  and  never  knew  anything  against  him.  Personally  we  have 
always  been  the  best  of  friends,  and  on  several  occasions  I  have  fought  his  battles  for 
him ;  but  latterly  ho  seems  to  have  got  into  bad  odor  in  the  navy.  I  do  not  know 
really  whether  nil  the  things  I  have  heard  about  him  are  tnie  or  not.  He  was  tried 
by  court-martial,  when  Commodore  Owen  commanded  tlie  Ironsides  during  th6  war, 
for  bringing  improper  charges  against  his  commander-in-chief,  and  it  was  said  that  he 
kept  a  book  of  notes  detailing  the  conversations  bf  officers.  Those  were  the  charges. 
He  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  reprimanded  and  punished  in  some  other  way ;  but 
the  sentence  was  never  carried  out.  Wlicther  he  deserved  it  or  not  I  do  not  know.  I 
tried  to  get  hold  of  the  papers  not  long  ago  to  see  what  the  case  was,  so  as  to  keep 
myself  informed  in  the  dqiartment ;  but  the  papers  had  been  abstracted,  and  I  could 
Dot  find  out  the  merits  oi  the  case,  and  nobody  seemed  to  know  anything  about  it. 
All  I  know  about  it  is  from  hearsay.  He  came  to  the  department  sora^etime  ago  when 
he  came  home,  and  there  was  a  difficulty  between  Admiral  Davis  and  himself,  and  I 
thouglit  the  best  plan  was  to  recommend  the  Secretary  to  hush  it  up ;  and  as  Doctor 
Duvall  withdrew  a  very  offensive  letter  he  wrote  about  the  admiral,  we  gave  him  a 
hospital,  and  he  is  there  now,  quiet  and  happy.  I  do  not  know  anything  more  about 
him  than  that.  I  have  heard  a  good  deal,  but  do  not  tliiuk  it  is  worth  repeating. 
Personally  my  relations  with  him  have  been  pleasant,  and  he  seems  to  be  a  harmless 
man ;  but  these  stories  got  around  about  him,  and  everybody  agrees  on  one  point — that 
is,  about  his  creating  difficulties. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  You  say  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Davis,  in  going  to  the  relief  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  has  been  approved  by  the  Navy  Department  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  that  since  your  connection  with  the  department  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  It  came 
before  Secretary  Boiie,  and  ho  said  he  could  not  see  anything  to  disapprove  of. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  see  the  correspondence  between  Admiral  Davis  and  Lopez  ? — A.  No, 
sir ;  the  only  thing  I  have  read  in  relation  to  this  matter  is  the  papers  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Washburn. 

Q.  You  have  not  reatl  the  official  correspondence  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  call  your  attention  to  the  letter  of  Admiral  Davis  to  Lopez,  dated  December 
3,  1868.    Will  you  please  read  it?— A.  I  have  seen  that  before. 

Q.  Do  you  regard  that  as  a  proper  position  for  the  admiral  to  take  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ?— A.  That  letter,  from  all  I  can  hear,  does  not  exactly  explain  all  the 
circumstances.  I  got  that  impression  from  the  officers  who  were  there  at  the  time. 
Admiral  Davis  had  an  idea  that  the  lives  of  these  men  were  in  danger,  and  his  idea 
was  to  save  them  if  possible.  I  suppose  that  is  the  reason.  I  do  not  think  that  is  the 
letter  I  would  write  Kiyself  on  an  occasion  of  that  kind.  That  letter  contains  a 
demand  for  the  unconditional  surrender  of  these  men.  If  they  had  refused  to  deliver 
them.  Admiral  Davis  must  have  made  war ;  but  he  had  no  intention  of  making  war 
with  the  Wasp. 

Q.  The  next  letter  that  Admiral  Davis  wrote  to  Lopez  is  dated  December  4,  1868. 
Please  read  it. 

(The  witness  read  the  letter  referred  to  as  published  in  Ex.  Doc.  79,  H.  R.,  fortieth 
Congress,  third  session.) 

A.  1  would  not  consider  that  a  demand  but  a  request. 

Q.  The  admiral  says  in  his  testimony  that  he  anticipated  the  instructions  of  the 
Navy  Department.    Do  you  recollect  those  instructions  ?— A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  After  writing  that  first  letter  the  admiral  had  a  personal  interview  with  Lopez, 
and  after  that  personal  interview  this  second  letter  was  written.    Thereupon  Lopez, 
through  his  minister,  sends  to  the  admiral  the  following  letter. 
.      (Letter  of  Palacias  to  Davis,  dated  December  5, 1868,  as  published  in  same  document, 
shown  witness.) 

Q.  To  which  Admiral  Davis  replied  as  follows : 

(Letter  of  Davis  to  Lopez,  dated  December  5,  1868,  as  published  in  same  document, 
shown  to  and  read  by  witness.) 


302  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

A.  I  understand  from  that  that  he  takes  these  men  unconditionally.  He  did  not 
refuse,  but  he  says  it  is  not  his  business  to  offer  terms;  so  I  do  not  see  how  he  can 
compromise  himself  there.  He  also  leaves  it  to  the  govcrumeut  of  Paraguay  to  ex- 
plain to  our  government  the  condition  on  which  they  held  these  prisoners. 

Q.  What  do  you  regard  as  being  the  duty  of  a  naval  officer  who  is  sent  to  a  foreign 
nation  to  demand  the  release  of  two  persons  who  are  imprisoned  by  that  nation,  those 
persons  having  been  members  of  the  American  legation  ;  do  you  regard  it  as  his  duty 
to  make  an  absolute  demand  for  an  unconditional  release  ? — A.  If  he  is  so  instructed 
he  must  do  it. 

Q.  In  this  case,  though,  Admiral  Davis  said  he  anticipated  the  instructions  of  the 
Navy  Department  in  going  up  there  to  demand  their  release.  Would  you  have  re- 
garded any  naval  officer  as  being  justified  in  entering  into  terms  with  regard  to  their 
surrender,  such  as  are  foresliadowed  in  this  correspondence  ? — A.  Well,  it  depends  upon 
whether  he  wants  to  save  the  lives  of  these  people  or  not.  From  what  I  have  heard  of 
the  character  of  Lopez  I  should  suppose  Adnural  Davis  was  justified  in  getting  posses- 
sion of  these  men  upon  almost  any  terms.  That  seems  to  have  been  his  object,  to  save 
their  lives,  because  they  were  under  the  impression  that  Lopez  would  not  hesitate  to 
hang  them  ;  therefore  he  did  not  care  so  much  about  the  terms,  but  left  the  govern- 
ment to  settle  that  afterward. 

Q.  You  Avould  then  excuse  the  naval  officer  up  to  the  point  of  his  getting  these  men 
on  board  of  his  vessel  ?— A.  Yes,  sir;  I  would  excuse  the  officer  in  a  case  of  humanity 
being  a  little  civil,  when  it  does  no  harm. 

Q.  How,  then,  would  you  treat  these  men  after  they  had  reached  your  vessel  and 
were  beyond  the  power  of  Lopez  ? — A.  I  should  treat  them  kindly. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  them  as  prisoners  of  war? — A.  Well,  that  depends  upon  the 
terms  upon  which  I  htwl  accepted  them.  That  depends  upon  what  these  men  had 
really  done.  They  might  be  murderers,  but  I  would  try  to  save  their  lives,  or  crimi- 
nals, and  1  would  try  to  save  their  lives. 

Q.  After  saving  their  lives  would  you  continue  to  hold  them  imder  surveillance  f — A. 
Nothing  more  than  to  keep  them  from  going  on  shore.  1  would  treat  them  kindly  in 
every  way.    I  do  not  see  the  necessity  for  anything  else. 

Q.  If  you  had  been  in  command  of  the  Wasp  the  night  these  men  were  brought 
there  would  you  have  ordered  them  under  charge  of  an  officer  ? — A.  If  they  were  state 
prisoners  I  might  have  done  so. 

Q.  Would  you  have  received  them  as  state  prisoners  ? — A.  When  a  man  sees  himself 
in  a  condition  to  save  their  lives,  if  he  went  away  from  there  after  having  had  it  in 
his  power  to  get  them,  ui^on  any  termsj  and  they  should  afterward  be  hung,  he  would 
he  in  a  bad  way. 

Q.  But  after  you  had  saved  their  lives,  after  you  had  got  them  on  board  your  vessel, 
would  you,  oat  of  any  respect  to  Lopez,  treat  them  as  prisoners  ? — A.  That  would  de- 
pend upon  what  promise  I  had  made  to  him.  If  I  made  a  promise  to  him  I  would  con- 
form to  it.  The  whole  act,  as  I  understand  it,  was  to  save  these  men's  lives,  and  he 
pledges  himself  here  to  deliver  them  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  as  pris- 
oners, to  be  treated  by  the  government.  Under  these  circumstances  he  is  resi)onsiblo 
that  these  men  are  delivered  to  the  government,  as  he  has  i)ledged  his  word. 

Q.  If  you,  then,  had  made  a  pledge  to  Lopez  that  you  would  receive  these  men  as 
prisoners  of  war,  to  hold  them  as  such  and  deliver  them  to  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, would  you  have  brought  them  home  or  discharged  them  at  Kio  ? — A.  I  should 
have  brought  them  home.  1  should  have  done  exactly  what  I  promised  to  do,  but 
treated  them  kindly.  I  do  not  see  any  necessity  for  harshness,  but  I  should  look  out 
and  see  they  were  reported  to  the  government. 

Q.  Suppose  you  were  instructed  by  the  Navy  Department  to  go  to  Lopez  and  demand 
the  surrender  of  two  members  of  the  American  leg.ition,  would  you  under  any  circum- 
stances, except  simply  for  the  salvation  of  their  lives,  receive  them  as  criminals? — 
A.  No,  I  would  not. 

Q.  Then  having  received  them  as  criminals  simply  for  that  purpose,  would  you  for 
one  moment  treat  them  as  criminals  after  they  were  in  your  power  ?—x\..  1  would  not 
treat  them  as  criminals.  If  I  had  taken  them  to  save  their  lives,  I  would  treat  them 
"with  every  kindness. 

Q.  Suppose  you  found  it  necessary  to  make  a  promise  to  Lopez,  in  order  to  get  pos- 
.  session  of  them  and  save  their  lives,  regarding  him  as  an  outlaw,  would  you  hold 
any  faith  with  such  a  man  as  that?— A.  Yes  ;  that  would  not  justify  me  in'telling  a 
falsehood.  As  I  had  made  a  promise  to  him  I  would  keep  it.  Besides,  these  men 
ought  to  be  satisfivtd  to  submit  to  some  inconvenience  for  the  sake  of  having  their  lives 
saved,  and  it  might  happen  that  this  kind  of  a  thing  would  occur  again,  and  he  would 
say,  "  You  foiled  to  keep  faith  with  me  last  time,  and  I  will  not  trust  you  again." 
Therefore,  whatever  my  promise  was  I  should  religiously  keep  it. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  Where  there  was  a  controversy  between  the  American  minister  and  a  represent- 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  303 

ative  of  a  foreign  goveniment,  as  in  this  case  between  Mr.  Wasliburn  and  Lopez,  and 
Lopez  wished  to  fnrnish  proof  against  him  by  the  admissions  of  prisoners,  would  you 
aid  him  in  furnishing  such  proof  f — A.  No,  sir ;  and  I  would  not  accept  it,  either. 

Q.  Admiral  Davis,  at  the  request  of  Lopez,  as  it  appears  in  evidence,  sent  Captain 
Ramsay  and  Captain  Kirkland  into  the  country  where  these  men  were  imprisoned,  to 
listen  to  their  confessions  against  Mr.  Washbum,  and  for  no  other  purpose.  Would 
you  have  done  that  ? — A.  Well,  that  was  a  part  of  the  policy  to  save  these  men's  lives, 
which  is  the  idea  I  have  in  my  mind.  I  have  heard  the  officers  say  they  were  willing 
to  amuse  Lopez  for  the  purpose  of  saving  these  men's  lives,  and  I  suppose  it  was  the 
only  way  they  could  do  it.  It  is  a  common  thing  for  us  abroad  when  sailors  are 
arrested — for  men  belonging  to  ships  are  amenable  to  the  laws  of  a  foreign  country 
while  th#y^  are  there — for  our  officers  to  go  to  the  courts  and  listen  to  the  evidence,  for 
the  puq)08e  of  satisfyiug  themselves  about  the  case ;  and  I  suppose  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  would  bo  ameuable  to  the  laws  there. 

Q.  You  do  not  understand  that  members  of  a  legation  are  subject  to  the  laws  of  a 
foreign  country  ? — A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  understand  that.    They  were  not  amenable. 

By  Mr.  OiiTii : 

Q.  Then  knowing;  the  character  of  these  persons,  and  that  they  were  not  amenable  to 
the  civil  or  other  laws  of  Paraguay,  which  is  an  established  fact,  would  you  have  con- 
sented to  receive  charges  aud  evidence  against  them,  and  against  Mr.  Washburn  from 
Lopez,  and  brought  it  home  aud  lodged  it  in  the  State  Department? — A.  I  think  I 
would  not  have  objected  to  sending  tlie  officers  up  for  the  purpose  of  saviu^  these 
men's  lives ;  but  I  should  not  have  cared  about  taking  any  further  notice  of  the  charges. 

Q.  When  received  on  board,  knowing  they  had  beeu  arrested  as  members  of  Mr. 
Washburn's  legation,  would  you  Lave  placed  them  mider  any  surveillance  whatever  on. 
board  your  vessel  ? — A.  Yes,  I  would  regard  my  promise,  an<l  keep  faith  with  them.  I 
look  upon  Lopez,  however,  as  a  kind  of  savage.  That  is  my  idea  of  him,  and  also  of  the 
people  of  that  country.  You  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  dealing  with  civilized  people, 
and,  therefore,  that  is  the  excuse  in  this  case. 

Q.  Sui)pose  you  had  made  that  promise  to  a  civilized  and  enlightened  nation? — A. 
I  would  keep  it  under  all  circumstances. 

Q.  Would  you  keep  a  promise  extorted  from  you  ? — A.  Yes,  I  would.  I*would  have 
no  right  to  make  it  unless  I  intended  to  keep  it,  unless  it  would  do  harm,  aud  nothing 
but  personal  inconvenience  came  out  of  this,  that  I  know  of. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 

Q.  Doesn't  it  <lo  harm  where  the  news  is  spread  abroad  that  the  American  flag  had  been 
dishonored  and  insulted,  and  members  of  the  American  legation  taken  from  under  the 
protection  of  the  tl«g,  for  an  American  man-of-war  to  come  down  with  these  men,  and 
run  through  the  Argentine  Confederation  up  to  Brazil,  and  have  an  American  admiral 
holding  these  men  as  prisoners  on  board  his  vessel  ? — A.  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
other  paities  knew  anything  about  it.  But  it  would  do  more  harm  to  have  it  said  that 
an  American  admiral  had  pledged  his  word  aud  then  broken  it. 

Q.  Do  you  think  an  American  admiral  ought  to  have  made  such  a  promise,  even  to 
save  the  lives  of  these  two  men  ? — A.  Yes,  I  do.  I  would  stretch  a  little  to  save  a  man's 
life.  A  uum  would  not  be  justitied  on  a  little  matter  of  conscience  of  that  kind  to  allow 
foreigners  or  American  citizens  to  have  their  throats  cut,  merely  because  he  didn't 
want  to  tell  a  stoiy. 

Q.  Suppose  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  arrested,  and  been  rescued  in  the  same  way, 
and  you  had  been  in  command  there,  would  you  have  brought  him  down  in  the  same 
way  .^— A.  I  should  have  asked  Mr.  Washburn  what  he  would  like  to  do.  If  Mr.  Wash- 
burn wanted  to  risk  his  life,  he  could  say  himself  what  terms  ho  would  save  it  on  ;  and 
if  he  advised  me  not  to  receive  him  except  unconditionally,  I  would  do  so ;  but,  if  he 
left  it  to  me  to  save  his  life,  I  would  e;et  him  out  aud  settle  that  matter  afterward. 


Testimony  of  William  Hunter. 

W^ASHiNGTON,  Novemlev  25,  1869. 
WiLLLVM  Hunter,  Second  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  sworn  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  Oeth  : 

Question.  How  long  have  you  been  connected  with  the  State  Department  ?— An- 
swer. Forty-one  years. 

Q.  You  have  heard  the  testimony  of  Admiral  Porter  with  regard  to  questions  of 
conflict  between  the  naval  officers  and  the  representatives  of  the  government  in  the 
dii>lomatic  service.    Please  state  to  the  committee  what  you  know  of  such  conflicts 


304  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

having  arisen  since  your  connection  with  the  State  Department. — A.  There  have  heen 
numerous  oceasiona  where  thoy  have  or  mij^ht  have  arisen  if  they  had  not  been  over- 
ruled by  the  Department  of  State.  Under  our  government,  the  President,  being  the 
commander  of  botli  the  army  and  the  navy,  gives  liis  orders  to  tlie  navy  tlirough  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  no  diplomatic  representative  is  supposed  or  allowed  to 
have  any  control  over  a  naval  officer,  without  specific  instructions  from  the  Navy  De- 
partment, at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  authorized  by  the  President  to 
make  that  request  or  to  direct  it. 

Q.  Has  the  State  Department  ever  found  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  Navy 
Department  to  accede  to  their  wishes  ? — A.  Never.  In  matters  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  induce  the  State  Department  to  make  requisitions  on  the  Navy,  tliey  are 
always  considered  imperative.  The  Secretary  of  ih'e  Navy  would  never  refilse  to  give 
an  order  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  by  direction  of  the  President.  Our  dip- 
lomatic agents  going  abroad,  knowing  that  under  our  system  of  government  the  civil 
department  has  theoretically  the  control  of  the  military  and  naval  departments,  think  it 
very  hard,  especially  in  these  remote  countries,  that  the  naval  officers  will  not  take  their 
advice,  at  least;  but  the  naval  ofhcers  are  men,  generally,  who  have  been  abroad  a 
great  deal,  and,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,,  they  have  studied,  generally,  the  questions 
that  will  arise,  and  their  natural  sense  of  acuteness  is  sharpened  by  a  sense  of  respon- 
sibility, and  they  are  right  in  not  assuming  any  responsibility  except  when  they  are 
authorized  by  the  President  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  do  so. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  of  any  instance  in  which  the  Secretary  of  State  has  given  orders 
to  naval  officers  except  through  the  intervention  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ? — A. 
No,  sir ;  he  has  no  right  to  do  it.  The  President  would  not  allow  it.  No  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  could  hold  his  commission  for  a  day  if  that  were  done. 

■  Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  instance  in  the  records  of  the  State  Department  where  a 
minister  has  complained  to  the  State  Department  of  want  of  co-operation  on  the  part 
of  the  navy,  aside  from  this  case  now  under  consideration  ? — A.  I  cannot  say  that  I 
know  of  any  such  instance.  There  may  have  been  allusions  made,  but  no  formal 
complaints. 

Q.  From  your  knowledge  of  the  operations  of  the  State  Department  in  this  respect, 
do  you  thin]^  any  further  legislation  is  necessary  ? — A.  I  do  not.  I  do  not  think  any 
legislation  whatever  is  necessary,  provided  each  department  discharges  its  own  duty. 
When  questions  of  great  difficulty  and  delicacy  occur  abroad  in  which  the  co-operation 
of  the  navy  may  become  necessary,  thej''  should  be  considered  very  deliberately.  They 
are  generally  considered  here  in  Cabinet,  and  if  the  co-operation  of  the  navy  is  deter- 
mined upon,  it  is  with  the  understanding  of  the  entire  administration. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  instance  in  which  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  ever  refused 
to  comply  with  a  request  of  the  State  Department  ? — A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know  that  I 
do.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  Secretary  of  State  in  making  such  a  request  has 
acted  under  the  direction  of  the  President.  I  have  been  at  Cabinet  meetings  myself 
where  these  things  were  discussed  very  often. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  In  all  instances  where  instructions  are  given  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  as  a  me- 
dium of  communicating  with  the  navy,. he  has  acquiesced?— A.  Certainly.  Tliese  in- 
structions are  given  by  order  of  the  President,  and  of  course  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
carries  them  out. 

Q.  General  McMahon  went  out  with  specific  instructions  from  the  State  Department, 
did  he  not,  when  he  went  upon  his  mission  to  Paraguay  ? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  his  conduct  during  his  connection  with  Paraguayan  affairs 
was  approved  by  the  State  Department? — A.  I  do  not  know  that  there  has  been  any- 
thing written  formally  approving  it.  General  McMahon's  dispatches  were  intercepted, 
and  did  not  in  ftict  reach  us  until  after  his  return.  They  have  been  well  read  and  con- 
sidered, but  I  do  not  know  that  any  formal  action  has  been  taken  upon  them,  or  any 
formal  approval  addressed  to  him. 

Q.  Has  objection  been  made  to  his  course  while  there?— A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of. 
I  have  no  reason  to  believe  any  such  objection  has  been  made.  I  should  have  known 
it  if  it  had  been  made  in  writing.  I  do  not  know  what  the  Secretary  of  State  might 
have  said  to  him  in  conversation.    The  correspondence  generally  passes  under  my  eye. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  ground  upon  which  General  McMahon  was  recalled  from  his 
mission?— A.  I  do  not,  except  upon  the  general  idea  that  a  minister  was  no  longer 
necessary  in  that  country.    No  successor  has  been  appointed. 

Q.  He  was  not  recalled  in  consequence  of  any  objection  made  to  his  official  course? — 
A.  No,  sir;  no  objection  could  have  been  made  because  we  were  unable  to  communicate 
with  him.  Indeed  we  were  very  anxious  personally  and  officially  to  know  what  had 
become  of  him. 

Q.  What  Avas  the  cause  of  that  anxiety? — A.  From  the  course  of  events  in  Paraguay 
previously,  and  the  character  of  Lopez,  so  far  as  it  was  known  to  us. 

By  Mr.  Wilkinson  : 
Q.  WTiat  was  that  character,  so  far  as  the  department  had  any  information?— A.  That 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  305 

he  was  a  man  very  apt  to  carry  out  liis  owu  opinions  \\-aatever  the  results  mi(>-lit  be  to 
the  individual ;  that  he  would  not  hesitate  to  take  the  life  of  anybody  to  cany  out  his 
pLrposes. 

Q.  Was  General  Webb  recalled  from  his  mission  to  Brazil  ?— A.  I  think  he  asked  leave 
to  come  home,  and  that  he  then  resigned  his  position  there. 

Q.  Was  that  at  the  request  of  the  department  ?— A.  No ;  I  do  not  think  it  was  at  the 
request  of  the  department,  but  I  am  afraid  the  Brazilian  government  would  have  been 
very  apt  to  have  requested  it. 

Q.  Would  the  dcpartuKjnt  liave  done  it  at  the  request  of  the  Brazilian  government  ?— 
A.  Certainly  ;  they  never  fail  to  do  that  when  so  requested. 

By  Mr.  Orth  : 

Q.  I  notice  in  a  letter  of  instructions  from  Mr.  Seward  to  General  McMahon,  dated 
{September  2,  1868,  the  following  language:  "  You  will  be  expected  to  show  these 
instructions  to  Mr.  W(;bb,  to  Mr.  Worthington,  and  to  the  rear-admiral."  What  was 
the  olyect  of  that  clause  in  his  instructions  ?— A.  I  presume  the  object  was  to  give 
these  gentlemen  information  in  regard  to  the  views  of  the  government  respecting  Mr. 
McMahon's  mission  at  that  time.  This  is  very  often  done  in  such  cases.  It  is  desirable 
that  all  the  high  officers  of  the  government  with  whom  he  may  come  in  contact  may 
know  what  his  instructions  are. 

Q.  Was  your  department  at  the  time  of  the  date  of  this  letter,  September  2,  1868,  in 
possession  of  information  respecting  the  conduct  of  Lopez  toward  our  minister  and 
the  arrest  of  two  members  of  liis  legation? — A.  I  could  not  tell  that  without  referring 
to  the  original  dispatches  to  see  when  they  were  received. 

Q.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  arrested  on  the  10th  of  Se]>tember.  These  instructions 
were  dated  the  2d  of  September,  so  that  one  of  tho  objects  of  the  department  in  request- 
ing McMahon  to  call  upon  Webb  and  Worthington  could  not  have  been  in  consequence 
of  a  knowh'dge  of  these  facts.  Was  it  not  to  ascertain  what  information  they  might 
have  of  Paraguayan  affairs,  which  the  dei)artment  here  did  not  have,  and  to  take  the 
views  of  these  ministers  ? — A.  Not  to  be  governed  by  their  views,  certainly.  It  might 
have  been  to  take  their  opinions  and  to  ohtain  possession  of  such  facts  and  information 
as  they  mi"fht  have. 

Q.  And  n'om  these  facts  and  opinions  was  he  to  be  governed  in  his  own  course  ? — A. 
Not  unless  there  were  specilic  instructions  to  that  eftect.  He  was  to  act  upon  his  own 
responsibility,  attaching  such  weight  and  importance  to  these  facts  and  opinions  as 
they  seemed  to  deserve. 

Q.  Let  me  ask  you  whether,  when  you  received  dispatches  from  Mr.  Washburn,  set- 
ting forth  what  had  occurred  at  Asuncion,  with  regard  to  his  own  withdrawal  and  the 
arrest  of  two  members  of  his  legation,  that  fact  did  not  enter  into  consideration  in  the 
recall  of  Mr.  Washburn  ? — A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  its  being  talked  of  in  the  State  Department  at  any  time  ? — A.  I 
do  not.    The  recall  took  place  when  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburne  was  Secretary  of  State. 

By  Mr.  Swann  : 

Q.  How  long  was  Mr.  Washburne  at  the  head  of  the  State  Department  ? — A.  I  think 
not  more  than  four  or  live  weeks,  and  i^erhaps  not  that  long. 

Q.  After  he  came  into  the  State  Department  how  long  was  it  before  McMahon  was 
removed  ?— A.  A  very  short  time.  It  was  done  x>romi)tly  after  he  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  Secretary  of  State. 

Department  of  State, 

Washington,  November  24,  1869. 
Sir  :  I  take  this  occasion  to  correct  the  answer  which  I  gave  to  the  question  asked 
me  by  the  committee  yesterday,  as  to  whether  General  McMahon's  course  in  Paraguay 
liad  been  officially  approved.  My  reply,  I  believe,  was,  that  I  was  not  aware  that  it 
had  been,  and  that  if  such  approval  had  been  given,  I  would  be  likely  to  know  it. 
Having  occasion  this  morning,  however,  to  draw  a  letter  acknowledgiug  the  receipt  of 
one  from  the  general,  I  thought  the  opportunity  a  suitable  one  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  his  official  dispatches.  A  sentence  to  that  eftect  was  consequently  added  to 
the  draught.  When,  however,  I  turned  to  the  draught  of  our  previous  communications  to 
the  general,  I  found  that  under  date  the  2d  of  September  last,  the  receipt  of  his  dis- 
patches was  officially  acknowledged,  and  his  course  was  approved.  The  draught  of  this 
letter  is  in  my  own  handwriting,  and  it  Avas  written  by  order  of  the  Secretarj*of  State. 
The  fact  of  its  having  been  written  at  all  had  yesterday  entirely  faded  from  my 
memory. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

W.  HUNTEE, 
Second  Assistant  Seci'etary. 
Hon.  GoDLOVE  S.  Ortii, 

Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  JVashington. 

20  P.  I 


306  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION". 

Additional  statement  of  Porter  C.  Bliss. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Decemher  3, 1869. 

Mr.  Porter  C.  Bliss  appeared  and  made  the  following  additional  statemeait : 

In  reference  to  tlie  statements  made  by  General  McMalion  in  his  testimony  in  regard 
to  the  published  list  of  the  names  of  the  victims  of  Lopez,  I  wish  to  state  that  his  re- 
marks refer  only  to  the  unofficial  list  which  he  saw  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  not  to  the 
original  document  which  was  captured  from  the  carriage  of  Lopez  on  the  27th  of  De- 
cember, 1868.  General  McMahon  has  not  designated  the  name  of  a  single  person  found 
in  the  original  document  who  was  not  executed  or  did  not  die  a  so-called  natural 
death  as  stated  therein.  Not  a  single  exception  has  been  proved  in  that  official  list, 
which  comprises  the  names  of  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  individuals.  The  two  or 
*three  persons  mentioned  by  General  McMahon,  such  as  the  vice-president,  Sanchez, 
Colonel  Venancio  Lopez,  one  of  the  brothers  of  the  President,  and  the  minister  of  war, 
Caminos,  have  never  figured  in  any  official  list,  and  have  only  been  reported  in  a  vague 
manner  through  the  newspapers  of  South  America  as  having  been  among  the  victims. 
But  in  the  list  submitted  by  the  State  Department  and  in  the  list  which  is  found  in  the 
pamphlet  published  by  the  government  of  Buenos  Ayres,  they  are  correctly  given ;  and 
General  McMahon  has  not  established  the  case  of  a  single  exception  of  persons  men- 
tioned in  those  lists. 

I  wish  to  state  further  that  I  can  give  my  personal  testimony  to  the  exactness  of  a 
great  portion  of  them.  The  executions  which  took  place  during  the  three  months  of 
my  imprisonment  are  narrated  in  detail  in  these  lists,  and  in  many  cases  I  can  remem- 
ber positively  that  they  did  occur  upon  the  dates  given.  My  own  discharge  from  im- 
prisonment is  mentioned  with  the  correct  date.  The  death  of  the  colored  servant  of 
Mr.  Washburn,  who  died  three  days  after  his  arrest,  is  correctly  given.  The  execution 
of  Carreras  and  hosts  of  others  of  my  friends,  scattered  all  along  from  August  to  De- 
cember, in  every  case  are  given  correctly,  according  to  the  best  of  my  recollection.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  detect  any  incorrectness,  and  consequently  have  every  reason  to 
believe  the  list  is  entirely  correct. 

In  reference  also  to  the  statement  of  General  McMahon  concerning  the  right  of 
asylum  as  exercised  by  Mr.  Washburn,  I  wish  to  state  that  Mr.  Washburn  never  exer- 
cised the  right  of  asylum  in  the  sense  in  which  that  expression  is  used  by  writers  upon 
the  law  of  nations.  Mr.  Washburn  never  exercised  that  right  as  against  the  Paraguayan 
government,  unless  possibly  the  case  of  Pereira  might  be  so  considered.  But  in  all  the 
other  cases  (which  amount  to  forty)  it  was  simply  a  hospitality  extended  to  them 
against  a  possibility  of  suffering  from  the  enemy.  All  the  persons  Avho  are  accused  by 
name  of  being  criminals,  Eodriguez,  Carreras,  Mr.  Masterman,  and  myself,  had  been  re- 
siding for  many  months  in  the  legation  before  there  was  any  suspicion  on  the  part  of 
any  of  us  of  there  being  any  charge  of  conspiracy.  Consequently  it  is  not  a  case  of 
right  of  asylum. 

In  regard  to  the  proposition  which  Mr.  Washburn  made  at  one  time  to  send  Mr. 
Masterman  and  myself  as  prisoners  for  trial  to  the  United  States,  and  which  has  been 
incorrectly  represented  in  the  statements  of  other  parties,  the  facts  are  as  follows : 
In  the  treatises  upon  international  law  which  were  accessible  to  Mr.  Washburn  and 
ourselves  in  Paraguay,  which  were  Wheaton,  Vattel,  I  think  Putfendoif,  and  two  or 
three  others,  it  was  stated,  in  what  was  to  us  a  satisfactory  manner,  that  the  proper 
course  to  be  pursued,  when  members  of  a  legation  in  a  foreign  country  were  accused  of 
a  grave  crime,  was,  if  the  head  of  that  legation  possesses  himself  judicial  functions  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  his  own  government,  to  proceed  to  take  cognizance  of  the  charge. 
If  he  does  not  possess  such  judicial  functions,  the  only  course  he  should  xnirsue  is  to 
receive  the  charge,  and  then  to  a.ssinne  the  responsibility  of  sending  the  members  of  his 
legation  to  their  own  country,  there  to  be  tried.  It  has  been  stated  before  this  com- 
mittee that  Mr.  Washburn's  conduct  at  that  time  betokened  that  we  were  really  guilty 
of  some  offense  against  the  Paraguayan  government.  I  can  state  positively  that  such 
was  not  the  fact.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end,  in  every  note  he  wrote  upon  the 
subject  to  the  Paraguayan  government,  Mr.  Washburn  strenuously  argued  against  the 
possibility  of  our  having  committed  any  such  offense.  He  argued  that  all  our  actions 
had  been-  perfectly  known  to  him,  and  that  he  of  his  own  knowledge  knew  that  we 
were  innocent  of  any  such  crime.  But  as  the  Paraguayan  government  insisted  over 
and  over  again  upon  our  criminality,  and  made  the  charges  more  and  more  specific, 
Mr.  Washburn  found  that  as  the  toils  were  tightening  around  us,  that  the  only  way  of 
escape  from  the  dilemma  Avould  be,  if  Lopez— that'is  to  say  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment—would accept  all  the  provisions  of  these  international  writers,  Mr.  Washburn 
was  willing  to  proceed  on  that  indication ;  that  is,  to  waive  the  question  of  our  crimi- 
nality and  leave  it  to  be  determined  by  our  own  government,  and,  in  deference  to  the 
charge  made  by  the  Paraguayan  government,  render  us  prisoners  in  the  legation  and 
send  us  at  the  earliest  opportunity  to  the  United  States.  That  is  a  correct  statement 
of  the  case. 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  307 

^       By  Mr.  Sw ANN: 

Q.  Have  you  seen  a  work  published  ou  Paraguay  by  Mr.  Masterman  ?— A.  I  have. 
Q.  What  18  your  estimate  of  the  characti^r  of  Mn  Mastermau  ?— A.  Mr.  Mastermau  is 
au  Englishman  who  has  an  exceedingly  great  prejudice  against  America  and  everv- 
thing  American.  He  is  a  man  of  a  temper  which  was  always  getting  him  into  a  diffi- 
culty with  his  own  countrymen  and  every  one  else  in  Paraguay.  His  excitable  nature, 
his  nervousness,  and  his  pride  are  the  cause  of  his  being  frequently  in  hot  water ;  and 
when  he  was  taken  out  of  prison  by  the  intervention  of  Mr.  Washbui-n,  he  never  felt  any 

fratitude  to  Mr.  \Vash])um  for  this  service ;  but,  although  given  a  home  in  the  house  of 
Ir.  Wiishburn,  as  physician  to  Mr.  Washburn's  family,  his  personal  relations  with  Mr. 
Washburn  very  soon  became  exceedingly  embarra*ed.  As  for  myself,  Mr.  Masterman 
and  I  have  never  been  friends. 

Q.  You  have  seen  the  slurs  upon  Mr.  Washburn  and  yourself  in  that  volume  ?— A. 
Yes,  sir.  I  will  state  in  that  respect  that  Mr.  Masterman  had  no  consultation  with  me 
ou  board  the  vessels  of  the  American  navy.  We  treated  each  other,  during  the  six 
weeks  we  wore  on  board  the  Wasp  and  Guerriere,  not  as  friends.  We  had  no  commu- 
nication with  each  other  concerning  what  we  had  passed  through,  with  the  exception 
of  a  long  conversation,  lasting  two  or  three  hours,  the  first  night  we  passed  on  board 
the  Wasj),  in  which  we,  each  of  us,  narrated  some  of  our  experiences.  We  never  after- 
ward Jjad  any  free  communication  upon  the  subject,  and  this  arose  from  Mastermau 
himself  not  desiring  to  obtain  any  further  information  from  me,  and  not  desiring  to 
communicate  to  me  anything  regarding  Jiimself.  From  the  time  then  that  we  were  on. 
board  the  Wasp  we  were  distantly  polite  to  each  other,  and  never  had  any  free  com- 
munication, which  explains  the  fact  that  he  has  committed  an  infinite  number  of 
blundere,  both  in  his  statement  of  what  we  expsrienced  in  our  imprisonment,  and  more 
particularly  in  what  he  states  regarding  Mr.  Washburn  and  myself,  though  I  do  not 
accuse  him  of  any  deliberate  intention  to  falsify.  I  do  not  charge  him  with  perjury, 
nor  do  I  believe  hira  capable  of  such  acts ;  but  I  could  show,  if  1  had  the  book  in  my 
Land,  a  large  number  of  cases  in  which  his  memory  is  at  fault,  and  in  which  his  state- 
ments become  very  confused  and  give  an  exceedingly  erroneous  idea  of  the  circum- 
stances. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  Mr.  Washburn  become  acquainted  with  his  character,  and 
want  of  gi-atitude  for  the  sen-ice  he  had  rendered  him  ? — A.  Very  soon  after.  Within 
a  very  short  time  after  his  release  fix)ni  i)rison  he  was  in  the  habit  of  cursing  Wa.sh- 
burn,  with  all  his  friends,  and,  in  short,  uO  great  length  of  time  passed  before  in  my 
own  presi'uce  Mr.  Washburn  and  Mr.  Masterman  had  a  quarrel  at  table,  after  which 
they  never  pretendtMl  to  treat  each  other  as  friends. 

Q.  What  induced  Mr.  Wiishbinu  to  retain  him  as  a  member  of  the  legation  after  he 
became  fully  acquainted  with  his  character,  and  his  want  of  gratitude  ?  Did  he  ever 
8peak  of  dissolving  his  connection  with  the  embassy,  and  getting  rid  of  liim  ? — A.  He 
did.  There  was  a  time  when  he  proposed  to  dismiss  Mr.  Masterman  from  the  legation. 
But  that  was  after  the  evacuiition  of  the  capital;  and  at  that  time,  if  Mastei'mau  had 
been  dismissed,  he  would  luive  found  himself  in  an  exceedingly  difficult  position.  He 
"Would  liavo  been  probably  immediately  arrested  on  the  old  grounds  of  dissatisfaction 
which  the  Paraguayan  government  had  with  him,  and  Mr.  Washburn,  on  second  thought 
probably  concluded  not  to  be  so  cruel  as  to  do  so— simply  on  humanitarian  principles. 


Department  of  State, 

Washington,  December  30,  1869. 
Sir  :  Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  27th  of  October  last,  inclosing  certain  interroga- 
tories concerning  General  Lopez,  and  affairs  in  Paraguay,  to  which  answers  were  re- 
quired, I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  a  copy  of  a  dispatch  of  the  10th  instant,  No.  177, 
from  J.  Lothrop  Motley,  esq.,  our  minister  at  London,  with  the  original  answers  made 
under  oath  by  Dr.  William  Stewart  to  the  interrogatories  referred  to. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

HAMILTON  FISH. 
Hon.  GoDLOVE  S,  Orth, 
•■  Chairman  of  the  Sab-Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Home  of  Eepresentatives. 

No.  177.]  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

London,  December  10,  1869. 
i^iR:  Referring  to  my  No.  153,  I  have  now  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith,  in  con- 
I'ormity  with  the  instructions  contained  in  your  No.  87,  answers  furnished  by  Dr.  W. 
Stewart  to  the  list  of  interrogatories  sent  to  me  in  your  above-mentioned  dispatch. 

Dr.  Stewart  having  prepared  these  answers,  appeared  in  person  at  the  legation  yester- 
day, where  they  were  read  over  to  him.    He  then  made  oath  of  their  truth. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY. 

Hon.  Hamilton  Fish,  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


308  PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION. 

Testimony  of  Dr.  WiUiam  Stewart,  late  of  Paraguay, 

Interrogatory  1.  How  long  were  yon  in  Paraguay  ?-~ Answer.  Twelve  years. 

Interrogatory  2.  What  was  your  position  there  ? — Answer.  Not  long  after  my  arrival 
I  was  engaged  by  Lopez,  at  that  tin)e  general  and  niinister  of  war,  (his  father  heiug 
then  President  of  the  republic,)  to  serve  as  miidical  officer  to  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment. Shortly  afterward  I  was  appointed  chief  of  the  medical  department  of  the 
state,  and  subsequently  surgeon-major  and  inspector  general  of  hospitals. 

Interrogatory  3.  Wliat  were  your  relations  with  President  Lopez?  Answer.  Durin;;^ 
the  lust  few  years  tlicy  were  of  an  intimate  kind.  My  official  position  brought  me  into 
constant  coniniunication  with  him.#  I  had  to  consult  him  on  all  matters  connected 
with  the  administrative  department  of  the  medical  service,  and  besides  was  his 
physician  in  ordinary.  In  this  capacity,  consulted  not  alone  by  himself,  but  becoming 
medical  adviser  of  his  father  and  of  tlie  whole  Lopez  family,  I  had  opportunities  both 
of  hearing  his  opinions  on  leading  subjects,  political  and  other,  of  studying  the  idiosyn- 
crasy of  the  man,  and  forming  an  estimate  of  his  character.  My  intercourse  with  hiin 
made  me  acquainted  with  the  more  prominent  personages  whom  he  admitted  to  his 
intimacy,  and  with  Mrs.  Lynch,  who  was  a  power  in  Paraguay,  and  whose  name  and 
character  are  now  well  known  both  in  Euiope  and  America. 

Interrogatory  4.  Were  you  on  intimate  terms  with  IsIt.  Washlmrn  ? — Answer.  Yes. 

Interrogatory  5.  What  were  the  relations  of  Mr.  Washburn  and  President  Lopez  pre- 
vious to  the  war? — Answer.  Solar  as  I  know,  amicable.  But  Lopez  was  habitually 
reserved,  and  I  should  presume  that  he  seldom,  if  ever,  relaxed  from  his  customary 
caution  with  Mr.  Washburn  more  than  he  would  with  any  one  else,  save  a  reasonable 
exception,  which  I  shall  have  to  notice  in  answering  question  22.  Lopez  often  spoke 
of  Mr.  Washburn,  as  he  did  of  others,  probably  with  the  view  of  sounding  or  testing 
me,  disparagingly.  Standing  in  the  relation  in  which  I  did  to  Lopez,  my  official  posi- 
tion being  a  coniidential  one,  I,  of  course,  gave  Mr.  Washburn  to  understand  that  the 
less  wo  said  to  one  another  of  Lopez  the  more  prudent,  as  well  as  honorable,  the 
restriction  we  should  impose  on  our  otherwise  friendly  relations.  As  an  instance  of  the 
suspicions  nature  of  Lopez,  I  may  mention  that,  with  his  mother's  permission,  which  I 
was  careful  to  obtain  beforehand,  I  introduced  Mr.  Washburn  to  her,  an  introduction 
which,  as  it  happened,  gave  great  offense  to  Lopez,  althovigh  the  introduction  did  not 
take  i^lace  until  a  week  after  I  had  proposed  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Lopez  would 
rather  not  have  Mr.  Washburn  and  his  family  on  visiting  terms.  Previously  to  the  war^ 
the  intercourse  between  Mr.  Washburn  and  the  President  maybe  characterized  as  that 
customary  between  the  representative  of  a  foreign  power  and  the  court  to  which  he  is 
accredited. 

Interrogatory  6.  Did  Lopez  change  in  his  feelings  toward  Mr.  Washburn  ;  if  so,  when, 
and  for  what  cause? — Answer.  Lopez  not  only  expected  the  resident  representatives  of 
foreign  governments  to  approve  of  his  proceedings  publicly,  but  managed  to  learn  their 
sentiments  by  a  system  ot  domestic  espionage  that  left  no  conversation  of  theirs  unre- 
ported to  him.  In  addition  to  these  household  spies,  Mrs.  Lynch  played  cleverly  into 
his  hands.  She  would  start  topics  when  entertaining  or  conversing  with  members  of 
the  dii)lomatic  corps  on  which  they  could  hardly  avoid  expressing  some  opinion  or 
other ;  and  whatever  they  said  was  reported  by  her  to  Lopez,  with  or  without  additions  or 
omissions.  From  personal  acquaintance,  during  my  residence  in  Paraguay,  with  all 
representatives  there  from  foreign  countries,  I  know  that,  Mr.  Washburn,  of  course,  in- 
clusive, they  were,  each  and  all,  extremely  guarded  in  their  conversation  when  speaking 
of  Lopez ;  yet  there  was  not  one  of  them  who,  some  time  or  other,  did  not  incur  his  dis- 
pleasure; I  nwiy  name  Mr.  Thornton,'British  minister;  Mr.  Gould,  her  British  Majesty's 
secretary  of  legation ;  and,  after  Mr.  Washburn's  remonstrating  with  Lopez  for  not 
allowing  the  Brazilian  minister.  Vidua  de  Lima,  to  leave  Paraguay  in  a  way  becomiiig 
the  dignity  of  his  olBcial  character,  Mr.  Washburn  likewise.  As  respects  this  gentleman, 
however,  when  he  succeeded  in  passing  the  blockade  and  returning  to  Paraguay  in 
1866,  Lopez  seemed  to  have  forgotten  his  dissatisfaction  with  him,  and  to  be  on  the  same 
terms  as  before,  although  he  testified  disappointment  at  Mr.  Washburn's  having  jwoceeded 
to  Asuncion  without  previously  presenting  himself  at  his  then  headquarters.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  Mr.  Washburn  repaired  thither  on  two  occasions.  The  first  visit  to  headquar- 
ters was  occasioned  by  his  undertaking  a  mission  of  peace  to  the  allied  camp  at  Tuyuti, 
his  object  being  to  mediate  between  Lopez  and  the  allies.  His  efforts  were  unavailing. 
The  Marquis  de  Caxias  very  properly  declined  entering  into  negotiations  on  other  terms 
than  the  abdication  of  Lopez  and  his  withdrawal  from  Paraguay.  On  Mr.  Washburn's 
return  to  headquarters  with  the  news  of  his  ill-success,  he  demonstrated  the  singleness 
and  honesty  of  purpose  which  had  prompted  his  endeavors  to  secure  repose  for  Para- 
guay by  penning  a  letter  to  the  Marquis,  in  which  he  observed  that  it  would  be  as 
reasonable,  or  unreasonable,  in  him  to  propose  the  abdication  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil 
as  the  only  basis  on  which  he  could  negotiate,  as  for  the  Marquis  to  insist  on  the  same 
stipulation  with  respect  to  Lopez.  Nevertheless,  the  failure  irritated  the  President,  and 
he  transferred  his  mortification  at  the  disai)pointment  it  caused  him  to  the  unsuccessful 


! 


PARAGUAYAN  INVESTIGATION.  30^ 

negotiator.  Lopez  never  bore  good-will  to  Mr. Washburn  after  this.  The  second  occasion 
was  to  receive  from  Captain  Kirkland,  comuumding  the  United  States  gunboat  "the 
Wasp,"  dispatches  from  Washington.  How  or  wherefore  it  happened  that  the  latter  had  to 
wait  at  the  camp  for  Mr. Washburn  instead  of  proceeding  to  Asuncion,  Captain  Kirkland 
can  no  doubt  explain,  as  dining  the  eight  days  of  his  stay  at  headquarters  he  had  frequent 
and  intimate  intercourse  with  the  President.  Lopez  always  flattered  the  naval  com- 
manders who  were  sent  to  Paraguay  in  the  interest  of  the  diplomatic  service,  and  tried 
to  win  them  over  to  his  views.  At  that  time  Lopez  boasted  to  his  confidants  that  the 
government  of  the  United  States  would  interfere  on  behalf  of  Paraguay,  and  in  corroboria- 
tion  of  statements  to  this  effect  he  one  day  requested  me  to  read  to  his  chief  officers,  trans- 
lating as  I  read,  iiit<»Si)ani,sh,  a  copy  of  the;  hitc  Geueral  Asboth's  correspondence  with 
the  government  at  Washington,  in  Avhich  the  general  advocates  the  cause  of  Paraguay. 
Lopez  told  US  at  the  same  time  that  Admiral  Godou  was  superseded  in  his  command  on 
account  of  his  showing  too  nnich  sympathy  for  Brazil.  On  the  occasion  of  this  second 
visit  of  Mr.  Washburu  I  observed  that  Lopez's  dislike  of  him  Avas  more  marked  and 
undisguised  than  it  had  been  before,  and  I  told  Mr.  Washburn  at  the  time  that  he 
ought  to  be  very  careful  to  avoid  giving  Lopez  any  cause  for  taking  oifense.  Mr. 
Washburn  and  I  spoke  to  one  another  about  Lopez's  ill-will  toward  him,  and  we  both 
agreed  in  thinking  that  it  was  owing  to  Mr.  Washburn's  failure  in  carrying  on  nego- 
tiations for  peace  to  a  successful  issue.  His  failure  was  the  subject  of  conversation  at 
headquarters  for  a  long  time,  and  it  was  a  pretext  for  much  abuse  of  Mr.  Washburn  on 
the  part  of  Lopez  and  his  confidants. 

Interrogatory  7.  After  that,  how  was  he  accustomed  to  speak  of  ]\Ir.  Washburn  ? — 
Answer.  At  table  ho  used  gi'eat  freedom  in  his  renaarks  upon  Mr.  Washburn's  diplomatic 
capabilities,  studiously  leading  those  present,  by  his  insidious  rellcctions  on  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's doings  in  his  public  capacity,  and  by  his  (Lopez's)  insinuations  as  to  his  deli- 
ciences,  regarded  as  a  gentleman,  (for  Lopez  affected  to  be  a  highly-bred  man,)  to  form 
a  false  estimate  of  Mr.  Washburn's  character,  and  considered  him  underbred  in  his 
social  status;  and  unequal  to  the  demands  of  his  diplomatic  position.  In  short,  Lopez 
tried  in  every  way,  and  from  every  \Hnut  of  view,  to  damage  Mr.  Washburn's  reputa- 
ti(m. 

Interrogatory  8.  Did  he  thus  speak  of  him  publicly  ? — Answer.  Indisputably,  and, 
dating  from  the  jieriod  that  a  correspondence  commenced  between  Mr.  Wasliburn  and 
the  Paraguayan  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  relative  to  the  individuals  who  had  placed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  American  Hag,  and  whom  Mr.  Washburn  reso- 
lutely refused  to  give  up,  from  this  period,  all  around  Lopez  could  not  please  him  better 
than  by  vituperating  and  calumniating  Mr.  Washburn.  In  particular,  Mrs.  Lynch 
gave  full  license  to  her  tongue.  She  seemed  implacable  in  her  enmity  (real,  or  feigned 
to  please  Loi»ez)  toward  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Washbuni.  She  constantly  spoke  of  both  at  the 
President's  table  in  the  most  disparaging  terms,  and  made  them  marks  for  her  scorn 
and  ridicuh'.  It  was  openly  asserted  by  her  and  the  rest  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  not 
only  harboring  and  sheltering  conspirators,  but  was  himself  a  conspirator.  In  fact,  as 
there  Avas  nothing  too  bad  to  think  of  him,  judging  from  their  imputations,  so  there 
was  nothing  too  bad  to  say  of  him. 

Interrogatory  9.  Did  you  know  of  any  other  motives  that  influenced  Lopez  in  his  con- 
duct towards  Mr.  Washburn,  besides  those  already  stated  ?— Answer.  Yes ;  and  notably 
Mr.  Washburn's  expression  of  sympathy  in  reply  to  a  note  from  the  Paraguayan  min- 
ister of  foreign  affairs,  informing  him  of  the  death  of  General  Mitre,  President  of  the 
Argentine  Kepublie,  and  at  the  time  connnander-iu-chief  of  the  allied  army.  The  re- 
port of  the  general's  death  was  a  canard  purposely  got  up  and  spread  among  the  troops. 
I  must  explain  that  General  Mitre  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  estimable  as  well 
as  distinguished  meu  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and  that,  accordingly,  Mr.  Washburn 
was  acting  in  conformity  not  alone  with  diplomatic  etiquette,  but  with  the  courtesy 
and  feelings  of  a  gentleman,  when  he  expressed  his  regret  at  the  loss  of  one  eminent 
as  citizen,  statesman,  and  man  of  letters.  The  Paraguayan  minister  forwarded  Mr. 
Washburn's  note  to  the  President,  who  called  together  his  staff,  o^  which  I  was  a  mem- 
ber, read  the  offensive  epistle  and  commented  in  strong  language  on  the  conduct  of  the 
writer.  On  this  hint  most  of  those  summoned  burst  forth,  he  had  insulted  alike  Para- 
guay and  its  President,  (so  ran  their  commentaries  upon  this  communication  marked 
by  every  generous  sentiment,)  by  not  only  commiserating  the  demise  of  an  enemy,  but 
l)y  daring  to  add  to  the  contumelious  act  the  praises  of  the  deceased  foe.  We  were 
severally  called  upon  for  our  opinions.  When  my  time  came,  I  remarked  that  we 
seemed  to  be  arguing  upon  erroneous  assumptions,  starting  in  fact  from  a  wrong  prem- 
ise. Mr.  Washburn,  I  observed,  was  the  representative  of  a  neutral  power  and  had 
Avritten  in  that  capacity.  Had  he,  I  urged,  neglected  the  courtesies  observed  by  the 
representatives  of  all  civilized  nations,  he  would  have  rendered  himself  amenable  to 
the  censure  of  his  own  government,  as  well  as  sinned  against  his  own  sell-respect. 
These  observations  of  mine  drew  down  upon  me  the  coarse  indignation  of  Ge«eral  Ees- 
quin,  the  President's  chief  of  the  staff;  and  doubtless  were  remembered  against  me  for 
vengeance  on  a  future  day. 


310  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

Interrogatory  10.  Were  you  acquainted  with  Porter  C.  Bliss  and  George  F.  Master^  j 
man,  while  in  Paraguay  ?— Answer.  Yes. 

Interrogatory  11.  Have  you  read  their  memorial  to  Congress,  and  the  printed  testi- 
mony of  Mr.  Bliss,  before  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Aflairs  on  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives ?— Answer.  Yes. 

Interrogatory  12.  How  far  can  you  corroborate,  from  youf  own  knowledge,  the  state- 
ments made  by  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  their  published  documents  ? — Answer. 
I  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  horrible  atrocities  committed  upon  many  hundreds  of  hu- 
man beings  who  were  accused  of  conspiracy.  I  saw  them  heavily  laden  with  irons, 
and  heard  their  cries  and  implorings  to  their  torturers  for  mercy,  I  thank  God  that  I 
am  alive  to  give  this  testimony.  Lopez  knew  all  that  was  going  on,  for  on  several  oc- 
casions at  table  he  told  us  that  Mr.  so  and  so  begged  to  be  shot,  but  that  Father  Maiz 
would  reply,  *'  Have  no  fear  for  that  when  we  have  done  with  you  we  will  shoot  you." 
The  medical  officers  who  were  occasionally  ordered  to  visit  the  i)rincipal  victims  ;  told 
me  how  awfully  cut  up  these  were  by  the  Hoggings,  and  asked  me  what  would  be  the 
best  treatment  for  their  wounds.  In  fact,  much  that  is  related  by  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  I  learnt  at  various  times  from  Lopez  himself,  and  from  other  sources  of  informa-  J 
tion,  as  for  instance  from  Mrs.  Lynch,  Fathers  Maiz  and  Roman,  Major  Albeiro,  Juan  |j 
Crisostomo  Centurion,  Silvero^  a  Corrantine  refugee,  and  from  my  wife,  who  used  to  get 
information  about  many  things  which  transpired  among  the  prisoners  accused  of  con- 
Bpiracy  from  Riveros,  the  native  doctor  of  the  ninth  battalion,  which  kept  guard  over 
the  prisoners  from  the  commencement  to  the  termination  of  the  trials.  From  all  these 
sources  of  information  I  derived  my  knowledge  of  the  events  at  the  time  of  their  oc- 
currence, and  I  can  vouch  for  the  general  truthfulness  of  the  statements  referred  to. 
The  said  Riveros  used  to  come  to  mo  for  advice,  and  on  these  occasions  he  would  chat 
with  Mrs.  Stewart,  (the  more  confidentially,  she  being  a  native  likewise,)  and  give  her 
details  of  many  circumstances,  which,  I  being  his  superior  officer,  he  shrunk  from  divulg- 
ing to  me,  but  which  I  was  sure  to  hear  from  her.  For  months,  innocent  individuals 
were  dragged  before  the  tribunals  by  order  of  the  Paraguayan  Domitian.  Hundreds 
were  brought  from  the  provinces  heavily  ironed.  Torture  was  all  but  indiscriminately 
applied  ;  and  those  who  survived  its  barbarities  were  put  to  death,  as  well  those  who 
denied  as  those  who  confessed  themselves  guilty  of  the  crimes  falsely  laid  to  their 
charge.  This  scene  of  butchery  went  on  almost  daily,  until  December  last.  The 
shrieks  of  personal  acquaintances  Avrithing  under  the  lash  are  still  ringing  in  my  ears, 
and  the  spectacle  of  their  disfigured,  lacerated,  and  rag-covered  bodies  stretched  on 
the.ground,  unsheltered  from  the  weather,  day  and  night,  in  the  most  rigorous  season 
of  the  year,  still  haunts  my  sight.  No  fewer  than  eight  hundred  persons,  comprising 
natives  of  nearly  every  country  in  the  civilized  world,  were  massacred  during  those 
terrible  mouths  from  June  to  December.  I  name  two  or  three  of  the  victims  most 
to  be  pitied,  perhaps,  where  all  were  to  be  pitied— name  them  in  proof  that  I  can  sub- 
stantiate every  word  I  relate :  Mr.  William  Stark,  an  English  merchant,  who  had  car- 
ried on  business  for  fourteen  years  in  Paraguay,  and  amassed  a  considerable  fortune, 
was  dragged  out  of  a  sick  bed,  sent  m  irons  to  Lopez's  camp,  and  subjected  as  he  was 
to  every  indignity,  as  well  as  suffering  from  dysentery,  was  soon  released  from  his  mis- 
eries by  death.  His  wife  and  six  children  were  turned  out  of  their  home,  and  if  yet 
alive  and  not  having  fallen  into  the  friendly  hands  of  the  allies,  are  probably  wander- 
ing in  the  forests,  half  naked  and  starving,  with  the  surviving  population  of  weak  and 
tender  outcasts  like  themselves.  Mr.  Newman,  after  many  months'  imprisonment,  and 
laboring  under  severe  illness,  was  similarly  sent  to  the  camp,  and  ultimately  expired  un- 
der the  lash.  Mr.  John  Watts,  engineer,  experienced  like  treatment,  but  was  shot ; 
Lis  crime,  the  having  sought  refuge  at  the  United  States  legation. 

Interrogatory  13.  Is  there  anything  contained  in  either  of  their  statements  that  you 
know  to  Ije  untrue  or  incorrect  ? — Answer*  To  the  best  of  my  belief  they  contain  noth- 
ing untrue  or  incorrect.  There  is  not  a1  statement  made  by  either  gentleman  which  I 
would  consider  to  be  an  error,  either  in  his  relation  or  in  his  appreciation  of  the  events 
narrated. 

Interrogatory  14.  Had  you  any  knowledge  of  the  alleged  conspiracy  or  attempt  at 
revolution  ? — Answer.  It  is  my  firm  conviction  and  belief  that  conspiracy  or  attempt 
at  revolution,  there  was  none ;  and  this  opinion  is  shared  by  many  European  gentle- 
men, long  resident  in  Paraguay,  who  have  escaped  from  Lopez  during  the  past  twelve 
months,  as  well  as  by  Mrs.  Stewart,  who  could  hardly  have  failed  to  hear  from  her 
compatriots  something  of  any  design,  had  it  been  contemplated,  since  all  who  knew 
placed  implicit  confidence  in  her.  Moreover,  after  the  defeat  of  Lopez,  and  his  precipi- 
tate flight  on  the  27th  of  December  last,  Avhen  I  and  many  of  the  Paraguayans,  fortu- 
nately, were  captured  by  the  allies,  I  took  great  pains  to  get  at  the  triith  of  the  mat- 
ter, and  made  many  inquiries,  all  of  which  had  the  same  result,  namely,  the  expres- 
sion of  surprise  that  I,  who  had  had  so  many  opportunities  of  learning  the  facts  of  the 
case,  should  think  it  necessary  to  inquire  into  what  I  must  have  known  to  be  a  pure 
myth.  These  Paraguayans  were  out  of  Lopez's  power,  and  had  no  possible  motive  for 
concealment.    One  of  them,  Bernardo  Valiente,  had  been  employed  as  a  clerk  to  take 


PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION.  311 

(lowii  the  evidence  during  the  trials  of  tlie  persons  who  had  been  thrown  into  prison 
l)y  Lopez,  charged  with  conspiring  against  him,  and  when  I  persisted  in  saying  that 
surely  Lopez  must  have  had  reason  to  sus]ject  some  of  the  prisoners,  he  rValiente) 
then  said  that  possibly  Bergcs  and  Benigno  Lopez  had  maintained  some  correspondence 
with  Caxias,  but  he  felt  certain  that  none  of  the  other  accused  persons  were  guilty  of 
any  complicity  in  a  conspiracy  or  revolution.  Of  the  rest,  who,  as  well  as  Valiente,  had 
had  every  means  of  ascertaining  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  charge  of  conspiracy,  and 
had  no  reason  to  fear  of  speaking  freely  now,  one  and  all  were  unanimous  in  scouting  the 
notion  of  consj^iracy,  and  pronounced  the  whole,  as  I  have  said,  a  "  myth,"  an  air- 
blown  bubble.  My  imi^ression  is,  that  Lopez  trumped  up  the  charge  in  the  hope  of 
exciting  sympathy,  and  of  turning  in  his  favor  the  tide  of  public  opinion  in  Europe 
and  the  United  States ;  and  he  was  sure  that  the  soldiery  would  be  much  gratified  by 
seeing  all  the  better  classes  of  natives  and  foreigners  imijrisoned,  tortured^  and  execu- 
ted. 

Interrogatory  15.  Under  the  system  of  espionage  that  Lopez  maintained,  was  any 
such  conspiracy  probable  ? — Answer.  No ;  but  previously  to  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Bliss,  I 
often  heard  from  Lopez,  (who  was  as  anxious  to  establish  the  charge  of  "  conspiracy  " 
as  Titus  Oates  was  to  instil  belief  in  the  reality  of  his  **  plot,")  that  prisoners  had  been 
confronted  with  an  Italian  named  Simone  Fidanza,  captain  of  an  Italian  merchant 
ship,  who  had  been  one  of  the  first  seized  on  the  charge  of  conspiracy.  This  man  soon 
confessed  his  guilt,  made  a  clean  breast  of  it,  as  Lopez  almost  daily  told  me  and 
others,  had  divulged  the  whole,  revealed  the  names  of  the  conspirators,  and  as  they 
were  arrested,  and,  on  being  questioned,  asserted  their  innocence,  he  was  brought  face 
to  face  with  them  by  way  of  dumbfounding  them,  and  of  proving  to  them  that  denial 
of  the  charge  was  vain,  and,  to  quote  the  ipsissuna  verha  of  Lopez,  the  said  Simone 
would  then  say,  "  Vd.  debe  confesar,  todo  estd  descubierto,  y  merecemos  que  Lopez  nos 
colgapor  el  pruvier  arbol ;"  which  means,  *'  You  had  best  confess  ;  all  is  now  discovered, 
and  we  deserve  that  Lopez  should  hang  us  to  the  first  tree."  All  this  time  Simone  Fi- 
danza had  his  wants  supplied  by  Mrs.  Lynch,  and,  as  she  told  me,  offered  in  his  grati- 
tude to  become  her  cook.  Moreover,  I  hapj)ened  to  be  with  Lopez  two  days  after  Bliss 
was  thrown  into  prison,  when  the  chief  '^  torturer,"  ilajor  Abeiro,  came  in  and  delivered 
to  the  President  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Bliss  to  Mr.  Washburn.  The  latter 
at  this  time  was  on  board  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp,  but  still  in  Paragauyai 
waters.  Lopez  handed  the  letter  to  me.  Its  contents  were  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Wash 
burn  was  the  organizer  of  the  alleged  conspiracy,  had  drawn  Mr.  Bliss  into  it,  and  bee; 
the  cause  of  all  his  errors  and  misfortunes.  It  was  x)lain  to  mo  from  this  that  he  ha- 
succumbed  to  the  torture,  or  to  threats  of  torture,  and  submitted  to  tell  the  stor 
best  suited  to  humor  the  President.  During  the  period  of  his  incarceration,  Lope 
fiom  time  to  time  acquainted  me  and  other  guests,  when  dining  with  him,  that  Mr. 
Bliss  continued  to  make  most  important  disclosures.  In  short,  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Bliss,  in  his  ''  printed  testimony,"  given  to  a  committee  of  Congress  at  Washiufrton, 
are,  I  believe,  a  true  and  circumstantial  narrative  of  all  that  occurred.  I  feel  it  in- 
cumbent on  me  to  add  my  opinion  that  Bliss's  life  would  have  been  in  danger  if  Lopez 
had  suspected  that  he  was  in  reality  exposing  him  instead  of  damaging  Mr.  Washburn, 
and  that  Lopez  read  to  me  and  others  present  several  pages  of  the  pamphlet  he  pub- 
lished at  the  instance  of  Lopez.  This  was  the  first  intimation  I  received  of  its  pub- 
lication, or  of  anything  of  the  kind  having  been  written.  Lopez  read  with  evident 
delight,  and  remarked,  "  What  a  clever  scoundrel  this  Bliss  is." 

Interrogatory  16.  Who  were  the  principal  confidants  ofLopez,  and  what  was  their  gen- 
eral character? — Answer.  Luis,  Caminos,  Falcon,  Centurion,  Abeirox,  Serrano,  Fathers 
Maiz  and  Roman,  Delvalle  and  Benits,  from  each  of  whom  he  received  daily,  in  person, 
a  separate  report  of  the  case  intrusted  to  his  charge.  The  majority  were  compelled  to 
be  the  instruments  of  the  cruelty  of  Lopez,  since  the  sole  alternative  left  them  was 
obedience  or  death.  Had  they  betrayed  any  hesitation,  showed  the  slightest  pity  for 
the  prisoners,  or  shrunk  from  wringing  from  them  by  torture  the  confessions  or  admis- 
sions that  Lopez  desired,  they  themselves  Avould  have  been  victims  instead  of  victim- 
izers.  Yet  there  were  noble  instances  of  this  self-immolation,  as  that  of  Maciel,  Sagiuer, 
and  others.  Some  of  these  large-hearted  Paraguayans  who  had  been  members  of  the 
tribunal  before  which  the  accused  were  brought,  braved  the  worst  that  Lopez  could 
do  rather  than  assist  in  sacrificing  and  butchering  the  innocent,  and  they  heroically 
met  the  fate  to  which  they  sternly  and  righteously  refused  to  doom  others.  Honor  to 
their  ashes.  • 

Interrogatory  17.  Did  you  consider  your  life  in  danger  previous  to  the  departure  of 
Mr.  W^ashburn  f— Answer.  Yes. 

Interrogatory  18.  Had  Mr.  Washburn  been  made  prisoner,  would  it  have  affected  your 
condition  and  that  of  other  foreigners  in  Paraguay  who  have  since  escaped ;  if  so,  how  ?— 
Answer.  Indisputably  ;  our  lives  would  have  been  endangered,  most  likely  taken;  and 
had  Mr.  Washburn  been  thrown  into  prison,  as  was  at  one  time  suggested  by  Mrs. 
Lynch,  and  by  the  late  bishop  of  Paraguay,  I  am  convinced  that  he  would  have  been 
tortured  and  made  way  with  like  the  other  victims  of  Lopez.    In  this  case  his  death 


312  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

would  no  doubt  Lave  been  attributed  to  natural  causes  or  to  suicide.  Lopez  would 
Lave  set  at  defiance  the  whole  power  of  the  United  States,  and  in  all  probability  he 
would  not  have  left  one  of  us  to  tell  the  story  of  his  crimes. 

Interrogatory  19.  Did  you  consider  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  and  the  departure  of  Mr. 
Washburn  as  improving  your  chance  of  escape  ? — Answer.  Certainly ;  the  belief  of  us  who 
remained  in  the  power  of  Lopez  was  that  our  chances  of  liberation  were  favored  by  his 
having  cscai>ed.  He  would  be  sure  to  acquaint  the  States  and  the  whole  civilized 
world  with  the  true  character  of  the  tryant,  was  our  thought ;  would  unveil  the  mys- 
tery which  had  so  long  shrouded  the  acts  of  the  President,  and  kept  out  of  sight  the 
sufferings  of  Paraguay.  Once  public  opinion  was  directed  to  the  subject  by  the  evi- 
dence of  an  unimpeachable  witness,  we  felt  assured  that  public  sympathy  would  follow, 
and  no  effort  be  spared  to  rescue  us  from  our  perilous  position.  Though  somewhat 
irrelevant  to  the  question  submitted  to  me  for  reply,  I  think  it  is  right  to  make  the  fol- 
lowing avowal.  While  the  Wasp,  with  Mr.  Washburn  on  board,  was  Awaiting  for  the 
correspondence  of  Lopez,  he  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  his  permitting  Mr.  Washburn 
to  leave  the  country.  Of  course  I  could  only  reply  that  it  was  a  proof  of  his  excel- 
lency's generosity,  for  I  myself  was  in  daily  dread  of  being  tortured  and  executed. 
Lopez  then  desired  me  to  write  a  letter  in  condemnation  of  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn. Under  date  of  10th  September,  1868,  I  wrote  to  my  brotiier  at  Buenos  Ayres,  in 
Lopez's  office  and  under  his  own  supervision  ;  he  read  it  very  attentively,  and  return- 
ing it,  told  me  to  give  it  to  his  secretary.  When  visiting  headquarters  on  the  same 
date,  Lopez  called  me  and  showed  me  the  letter  from  Mr.  Bliss  to  Mr.  Washburn.  In 
the  printed  documents  which  I  have  received  from  the  United  States  I  find  this  letter, 
bearing  date  of  11th  September,  1868. 

Interrogatory  20.  Do  you  know  of  Lopez  torturing  his  near  relatives  or  executing 
them  before  you  left  Paraguay  ;  if  so,  whom,  and  when  did  it  occur  ? — Answer.  To  the 
best  of  my  recollection  an  elderly  gentleman  named  Bojas  y  Aranda  was  the  first  of 
his  relatives  who  underwent  torture.  He  had  been  the  guardian  of  Lopez  during  his 
minority;  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  at  Asuncion;  and  was,  I  believe,  a 
cousin  of  the  individual  who  had  bequeathed  Lopez  the  fortune  the  latter  enjoyed. 
Connected  with  Lopez  by  such  close  ties,  he  had  been  accustomed  to  xise  more  famil- 
iarity with  him,  and  to  converse  with  greater  freedom  than  any  one  else  was  allowed 
or  presumed  to  use.  Early  in  1867,  he  had  come  to  Paso  Pucu  on  a  visit  to  Lopez  ;  and 
I  learned  from  Mrs.  Lynch  that  upon  his  arrival  he  had  been  thrown  into  prison  and 
two  or  three  pairs  of  irons  put  on  his  legs  because  he  had  imprudently  counselled  Lopez 
to  make  peace  with  the  allies,  alleging  their  successes  and  the  inability  of  Paraguay  to 
cope  with  them.  I  subsequently  heard  that  he  had  been  liberated  after  a  few  months' 
imprisonment  and  relegated  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country.  The  next  relative  whom 
Lopez  seized  was  his  brother-in-law,  Don  Satioruino  Bedoya,  Avho,  in  July,  1868,  was 
tortured  to  death  by  the  Sepo  Uruguayano — a  mode  of  torture  correctly  described  in 
the  published  statements  of  Mr.  Masterman  and  Mr.  Bliss.  I,  myself,  witnessed  the 
painful  sight  of  Loi^ez's  two  married  sisters  being  led  to  prison,  aud  was  several  times 
summoned  to  visit  the  elder  professionally.  She  was  the  wife  of  General  Barrios,  who 
was  prisoner  likewise.  Riveros,  the  Curandero,  of  whom  I  have  ali'eady  made  mention, 
told  Mrs.  Stewart  that  this  lady  had  been  flogged  several  times,  and  that  she  had  un- 
dergone this  severe  punishment  without  uttering  a  cry.  This  heroic  woman,  when 
questioned  about  her  husband,  simply  said,  "Ask  my  husband;  I  know  nothing;"  thus 
displaying  Spartan  fortitude,  and  the  tenderest  because  most  devoted  feminine  affection. 
I  saw  Lopez's  two  brothers,  Venancio  and  Benigno,  in  irons,  audheardfrommany  wit- 
nesses of  the  butchery ;  that  Benigno  had  been  cruelly  scourged  and  afterward  exe- 
cuted in  December,  1868.  General  Barrios  attempted  suicide  after  the  imprisonment 
of  his  noble  wife,  but  recovered,  and  was  then  laden  with  irons.  I  saw  him,  profes- 
sionally, before  his  execution,  and  found  him  quite  insane.    He  did  not  know  me. 

Interrogatory  21.  Were  you  present  at  the  interview  between  Lopez  and  Admiral 
Davis  ? — Answer.  No.  However,  I  saw  Lopez  on  his  return  from  the  interview,  when 
he  made  the  uncourteous  a'nd  ungentlemanly  remark:  "The  American  admiral  is  any- 
thing but  a  soldier,"  without  assigning  any  reason  for  his  opinion.  He  thought,  I  dare 
say,  that  he  was  raising  himself  by  this  senseless  depreciation  of  a  gallant  man  and 
able  officer.  Smiling  and  shrugging  his  shoulders,  he  asked  me :  "  What  think  you  of 
the  Yankees  now  ?  We  are  to  have  a  successor  to  Washburn."  From  this  outburst  of 
triumph  I  inferred  that  he  had  felt  some  alarm  at  the  probability  of  a  rupture  with  the 
States.  All  that  was  left  to  me  to  do  or  say  was  to  smile,  shrug  my  shoulders, 
in  return  to  his  smile  and  shrug ;  and  seeing  that  he  was  himself  so  surprised,  to 
express  my  astonishment  likewise. 

Interrogatory  22.  What  were  the  relations  existing  between  General  McMahon  aud 
President  Lopez ;  intimate  or  otherwise  ? — Answer.  This  is  a  somewhat  wide  question, 
requiring  for  its  complete  answer  various  details,  which,  however  petty  in  themselves, 
yet  combined  may  elucidate  the  whole  matter ;  and  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  of 
these  relates  to  the  will  made  by  Lopez.  I  saw  the  will,  read  it,  witnessed  it.  In 
this  document  Lopez  distinctly  stated  that  he  constituted  Dona  Eliza  A.  Lynch  his 


PARAGUAYAN    INVESTIGATION.  313 

heir,  in  requital  of  her  long  attachment  to  him  ;  and  I  consider  it  essential  to  add  that 
as  respects  the  relation  in  which  they  stood  to  each  other,  I  have  frequently  heard 
Lopez,  in  her  presence,  speak  of  himself,  clearly,  unmistakahly,  and  pointedly,  as  a 
bachelor.  General  McMahon  is  the  first  person  I  ever  knew  to  express  a  belief  that 
Lopez  and  she  were  privately  married.  I  was  in  nowise  surprised  to  find  General 
McMahon  named  in  it  as  a  trustee  and  executor,  or  that  Lopez's  youngest  child  was 
recommended  to  his  especial  guardianship  and  care,  since  I  had  understood  from  Mrs. 
Lynch  that  it  was  the  general  who  had  recommended  the  making  of  the  will,  and  since 
his  progress  in  the  favor  of  Lopez  and  in  the  confidence  of  Mrs.  Lynch  had  been  as 
marvelous  as  it  was  rapid.  The  general  arrived  at  headquarters  on  the  11th  Decem- 
ber, 1868,  and  left  the  camp  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month.  He  was  invited  to  dinner 
by  Lopez  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  and  I  met  him  at  table.  We  sat  opposite  to  each 
other,  and  I  had  to  act  as  interpreter  between  the  president  and  him,  not  on  this  occa- 
sion only,  but  on  several  others.  The  general  referred  to  the  reception  Masterman  and 
Bliss  had  met  with  from  Captain  Kirkland,  of  the  Wasp.  He  "  ordered  them  to  be 
taken  forward,"  said  McMahon.  I  give  the  account  in  the  words  of  the  latter.  "  Take 
these  men  forward  and  give  them  into  the  custody  of  the  master-at-arms,"  at  which  Mas- 
terman demurred,  observing,  "I  have  been  lieutenant  in  her  Britannic  Majesty's 
service."  To  this  Captain  Kirkland  retorted :  "  If  you  are  ladies,  and  not  men,  say 
HO,"  and  they  were  sent  forward  as  prisoners.  The  president  listened  with  undisguised 
pleasiire  to  this  narrative  of  McMahon's,  and  was  greatly  chagrined  and  displeased 
when  General  McMahon  put  the  question  to  me,  by  my  corroborating  Masterman's 
assertion  that  he  had  been  an  officer  in  our  service.  But  that  which  most  delighted 
the  president  was  McMahon's  declaring  thslt  Mr.  Bliss  had  applied  to  him  for  an  inter- 
view, and  that  his  answer  to  this  request  of  a  fellow-citizen  had  been,  that  when  he, 
McMahon,  wanted  to  see  him  he  would  let  him  know.  Another  day  Lopez  requested 
me  to  interpret  to  McMahon  a  long  account  it  was  his  pleasure  to  give  of  the  conduct 
of  the  allies  after  his  defeat  at  the  Ytororo.  He  dwelt  on  the  acts  of  rapine  and 
violence  they  had  committed,  and  emphatically  on  their  "  barbarities."  Lopez  under- 
stood English,  but  spoke  it  very  imperfectly.  Their  iiTegularities,  I  said  to  McMahon. 
"  Barbarities,"  thundered  out  Lopez,  "  I  call  them  barbarities."  Instance  this  little 
circumstance ;  inasmuch  just  as  straws  will  show  the  set  of  the  wind,  so  a  trifle  like 
this  may  recall  to  the  memory  of  the  general  a  fact  which  I  understand  he  has  forgot- 
ten, namely,  that  I  interpreted  between  Lopez  and  him.  Great  men's  memories  will 
sometimes  fail ;  even,  as  Horace  tell  us.  Homer  sometimes  "nods;"  or  as  we  moderns 
phrase  it,  indulges  in  "  forty  winks,"  so  has  the  general  been  napping.  Take  11  from 
23  and  12  remains ;  a  simple  arithmetical  operation  enough,  but  advancing  in  more 
than  geometrical  progression,  when  the  work  of  months  or  of  years  is  crowded  into 
days.  Lopez,  the  distrustful,  reserved,  and  wary,  became  the  reverse  to  the  general, 
who,  by  the  suaviter  in  modo,  I  conclude,  rapidly  grew  into  the  trusted  depository  of 
the  secrets,  as  he  was  made  custodian  of  the  interests  of  Lopez.  Of  Mrs.  Lynch 
and  of  their  children,  at  least,  the  inference,  from  his  being  the  curator  of  the  latter  is, 
that  he  was  privy  to  the  former.  Caesar-like,  he  came,  he  saw,  he  conquered ;  march- 
ing off  in  twelve  days  with  the  spolia  opim<{,  his  carriage  bearing  away,  as  the  current 
report  ran,  boxes  filled  with  valuables  amassed  by  the  worthy  pair,  Lopez  and  Mrs. 
Lynch,  in  the  course  of  their  amiable  and  now  historical  career. 

Interrogatory  23.  If  you  know  of  any  other  matter  connected  with  the  general  sub- 
ject, or  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  not  already  men- 
tioned, please  state  it. — Answer.  I  beg  to  refer  to  extracts  from  a  letter  of  mine  to  Mr. 
Washburn,  which  are  given  in  a  communication  addressed  by  him  to  the  editor  of  the 
New  York  Daily  Tribune,  and  published  in  that  paper  on  the  17th  November  last.  They 
will  show — indeed,  every  letter  that  I  have  written  to  him  or  to  others,  as  well  as  every 
word  I  have  spoken,  having  reference  to  Lopez,  would  show — that  I  have  been  con- 
sistent throughout  in  the  opinions  I  have  expressed  on  all  matters  and  persons  con- 
nected with  the  subject  of  the  present  inquiry.  But  it  may  be  argued  that  letters 
which  I  addressed  after  I  was  made  prisoner,  one  to  General  McMahon,  and  another  to 
Lopez,  inclosed  therein,  contradict  the  foregoing  assertion ;  and  I  understand  that  they 
have  been  instanced  in  disproval  of  it.  The  one  to  the  general  was  an  appeal  to  him 
to  protect  my  wife  and  children  as  far  as  might  be  in  his  power,  should  the  president 
lay  heavy  hands  on  them.  That  to  the  president  detailed  the  circumstances  of  my 
capture  and  advised  him  to  have  a  president  elected  in  his  place,  withdraw  from  the 
country,  and  restore  it  to  tranquility  by  taking  this  step,  which  alone  could  end  the 
war,  since,  otherwise,  the  allies  would  drive  him  to  extremity.  Of  course,  I  adverted 
to  my  wife  and  family,  and  wrote  in  terms  calculated  to  soothe  and  appease  him  in 
case  he  should  construe  my  being  taken  prisoner  into  i)remeditated  flight  Irom  him,  and 
should  wreak  his  anger  upon  them.  How  could  I  have  written  to  either  otherwise  ? 
Would  it  have  helped  those  dearer  to  me  than  all  the  world  besides,  to  have  told  Mc- 
Mahon that  I  suspected  him  to  be  anything  rather  than  what  the  minister  of  any  State, 
much  more  of  a  powerful  republic,  ought  to  be,  or  to  have  reviled  Lopez  as  murderer 
and  monster,  and  dared  him  to  do  his  worst?    To  bring  these  letters  forward  by  way 

91     T>    T 


314  PARAGUAYAN   INVESTIGATION. 

of  impugning  my  testimony  is  preposterous.    They  are  the  exceptions  which  prove  the 
rule. 

Mention,  however,  of  these  letters,  leads  me  to  relate  a  circumstance  wliich  has  a 
direct  bearing  on  General  McMahon's  veracity.  Mr.  Washburn  and  I  called  on  the 
Gener*J  when  he  visited  London  before  returning  to  the  States.  We  saw  him  at  the 
"Castle  and  Falcon,"  Aldersgate  street,  where  he  put  up;  and  I  was  assured  by  him, 
« ongrafculatingly,  that  he  had  left  my  wife  in  good  health.  Her  imprisonment,  he  told 
me,  had  been  only  for  a  few  days ;  and  this,  he  said,  had  occurred  solely  from  a  belief 
that  I  had  confided  to  her  keeping  property  belonging  to  the  State.  I  then  inquired 
more  closely  as  to  her  having  been  brought  prisoner,  and  her  detention,  and  expressed 
my  surprise  at  his  bein^  unaware  of  what  had  really  taken  place,  observing  that  his 
account  difiered  materially  from  that  which  had  been  given  me  by  deserters  from 
Lopez's  camp,  who  had  witnessed  the  treatment  she  had  experienced. 

He  further  gave  me  a  watch  guard-chain  made  of  Mrs.  Stewart's  hair,  and  which,  he 
stated,  together  with  some  lace,  had  been  presented  by  my  wife  to  Mrs.  Lynch,  but  the 
watch  chain  that  lady  had  requested  him  to  hand  over  to  me  ;  I  had,  and  have,  my 
own  suspicions  as  to  the  cause  of  this  restoration.  But  I  have  no  suspicion  at  all,  on 
the  contrary  I  have  implicit  belief,  and  unimpeachable  testimony  to  back  the  belief, 
that,  as  respected  my  wife's  imprisonment,  he,  to  use  a  common  saying,  "  lied  like  a 
trooper."  No  sooner  had  she  been  brought  by  command  of  Lopez  to  his  headquarters, 
than  her  bullock  wagon  and  its  team  were  taken  from  her,  she  was  placed  in  a  common 
cart,  with  a  sentry  over  her,  and  remained  in  this  condition  for  six  weeks,  during 
which  period  one  of  our  children  died.  So  reduced  was  my  wife  that  she  had  to  part 
with  her  clothes  in  order  to  procure  the  commonest  necessaries,  and  of  these  she  had 
been  able  to  get  sufficient  just  to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  Her  state,  when  deliv- 
ered by  the  allied  forces,  was  such  as  to  move  to  tears  all  who  knew  her,  and  her  escape, 
her  narrative  of  which  was  published  in  the  Buenos  Ayres  papers,  has  been  character- 
ized as  miraculous. 

And  now  I  ask,  what  must  Mrs.  Lynch  he,  who  could  allow  such  protracted  suffer- 
ing ;  what  the  heroic  general  who  had  eyes  to  see  yet  saw  not  ?  Eyes !  and  the  gen- 
eral could  not  see  (I  have  this  fact  from  several  eye-witnesses  now  in  London)  the 
emaciated  wretches  removed  morning  after  morning  from  his  door-steps,  whither  they 
had  flocked  for  shelter  and  relief,  removed  lifeless  or  in  the  death  agony.  Why,  as  one 
walked  through  the  camp,  one  could  not  avoid  seeing  the  corpses  of  women,  denuded  of 
such  apparel  as  they  might  have  possessed,  carried  for  interment  by  bearers  of  their 
own  sex.  From  January  to  August,  last  year,  I  have  been  assured  by  parties  on  whose 
truth  1  can  rely,  and  not  I  only,  but  whose  evidence,  when  their  names  are  made  pub- 
lic, will  obtain  credence,  that  no  fewer  than  one  hundred  thousand  women  and  children 
perished  in  the  Corderillas,  to  which  they  had  been  driven  by  the  inhuman  Lopez,  and 
which  McMahon  states  was  a  humane  measure  on  the  part  of  Lopez  ! 

To  another  important  point.  The  Hon.  Henryi  Gether  Worthiugton,  late  United 
States  minister  to  the  Argentine  Republic,  has  stated  that  he  was  surprised  on  his 
meeting  me  first  at  the  English  ministry  ;  then,  on  two  other  occasions,  that  I  did  not 
give  vent  to  those  opinions  of  mine  respecting  Lopez  which  I  have  since  made  known. 

On  my  introduction  to  Mr.  Worthington  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Stuart,  I  spoke  unre- 
servedly to  him  of  Lopez  and  his  fiendish  acts,  in  the  full  belief  that  I  was  dealing  with 
a  man  of  honor.  When  I  met  him  on  subsequent  occasions  I  was  cautious  and  less 
communicative,  having  been  informed  that  he  was  an  enemy  of  Mr.  Washburn's  and  a 
partisan  of  McMahon's.  The  same  true  and  simple  explanation  which  I  have  already 
given  of  the  tone  of  my  letters  to  Lopez  and  General  McMahon  applies  to  my  conduct 
whilst  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  will,  I  hope,  recover  Mr.  Worthington  from  his  surprise* 
It  will,  I  feel  sure,  go  home  to  every  manly  and  honest  heart.  My  wife  and  children 
were  in  the  tyrant's  clutch.  He  had  emissaries  at  the  capital  of  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic— detectives,  disguised  as  gentlemen,  I  may  say  on  the  watch  for  all  opinions  volun- 
teered of  him.  I  knew  this,  and  whatever  my  confidence  in  and  respect  for  others,  my 
lips  were  sealed.  The  fate  of  my  own  ones  hu»g  trembling  in  the  balance.  A  word 
from  me  might  have  sealed  their  doom. 

WILLIAM  STEWART,  M.  D., 
L.  B.  C.  S.,  Edinhurg,  late  Inspector  General  of  HospitaU  in  Paraguay. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

London,  December  9,  1869. 
Personally  appeared  before  me,  on  this  ninth  day  of  December,  1869,  Dr.  William 
Stewart,  and  made  oath  that  the  foregoing  answers,  written  out  by  him  to  interroga- 
tories, in  conformity  with  the  directions  transmitted  to  me  by  the  honorable  Secretary 
of  State,  and  duly  read  to  him  in  my  presence,  are,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and' 
belief  the  truth. 
[SEAL.]  JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minist&r  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 


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